A good many independent musicians are now making their music available for purchase on the Internet.  At least in theory, this could herald an age of unparalleled opportunity for creative artists to connect directly with the public, without having to go through a traditional system that’s so overwhelmed with submissions that they can’t even get their demos listened to—and where meaningful access requires connections whose scarcity fosters exploitation.

Unfortunately, hardly anyone is having much luck selling their own music on the Net.

Turning this situation around will require taking a hard look at what's causing them to fall short.