are record deals even necessary anymore?

and i guess that also implies the question: are record labels necessary anymore?

to answer this myself, i would like to see the revitalization of record labels! unfortunately, the times are a-changing. musicians have way more integrity than the puppet pop acts of the late 90s had! its not all 'you sing we pay' anymore. its more 'i'll sing what i like and if you dont like it, screw you!' ....and that's music to my ears! sure tons of acts are getting dropped from their label every single day but whatever because labels and record deals aren't vital to your career anymore...right?

a while back i had a super in depth conversation with
cheyenne's mom about the ridiculousness of her record label and the things they wouldn't let cheyenne do and the fact that no matter how talented you are, if you aren't submissive enough to the labels liking you will get dropped. As of right now she is no longer on her label, neither is her ex-label mate Josh Hoge. It's not like they aren't talented so WTF?

I personally feel like the music industry is making a mistake by not respecting the artists they give 'record deals' to! This basically just goes out to the major labels, btw. I totally support the Indie label movement. In fact, I don't think there will even be any 'major' labels anymore...It will be all about the indie label.

Not to mention the D-I-Yers like Jeffree Star and Tila Tequila leaving their mark on iTunes without having to have a record deal AT ALL!

The music industry is changing but it looks like the music industry is totally unaware.