The NY Times has a good article on the rise of the 360 record deal wherein the major labels are creating a last desperate grasp of artist revenue through vague promises of "long term career development" in return for a piece of the whole piece - merch, touring, licensing. Among the funny things about this piece is how the author somehow thinks this is a new idea and that rap artists are going to be left OUT of the branding idea.

There's an outline of an Atlantic deal:

-conventional cash advance and royalty for sales after expenses were recouped.
-after the artist’s first album the label has an option to pay an additional $200,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the net income from all touring, merchandise, endorsements and fan-club fees.
-Atlantic has the right to approve the act’s tour schedule, and the salaries of certain tour and merchandise sales employees hired by the artist.
-the label offers 30 percent cut of the label’s album profits (industry standard is 15 percent)

Question: What's 30 percent of zero + losing all rights to control any aspect of your career?

Answer: The New Deal: the band as brand

Here's a funboring quote about how majors use blogs as A&R but then ignore the jaded backlash:

While most labels now monitor blogs for new acts to sign, many executives insist that, once they commit to developing a new act’s career, they can discount much of the online banter. “It’s not just like, ‘Oh my god, they’re not hip in Williamsburg anymore, so therefore it’s over,’” said Steve Ralbovsky, a longtime A&R executive who signed artists including Kings of Leon at RCA Records and now runs his own unit, Canvasback, at Columbia Records. “You just have to realize there’s a world apart” from the blogosphere.