However, a future without record companies (or whatever their digital equivalent will turn out to be) also seems somewhat impractical. I can promote my two CD's on my web site (one of a hundred million or so sites)...but that requires the potential customers to have a reason to visit the site. Since the CD's are in a niche genre (blues)...what I would need to do is to mail out "promo" copies to every station (electromagnetic-wave radio AND net-based "radio") in hopes it will be heard and folks will like the music enough to do a web search for a source (or that the deejays will tell their listeners where to look...?!). As it is, the now-vanishing model has "record companies" mailing out promo copies...and, through a web of distributors, making their "product" available in both "record stores" and general-merchandise stores/chains that sell CD's. Note that as a relative unknown, I can't access this distribution web...!