How can artists utilize this law? Let's take Courtney Love as an example. She has been battling the record labels for years, claiming they have been systematically cheating her of the full money owed to her.

After Nov 15th, her record label's books must be in order and must be able to provide her with an accurate statement of the true revenues, expenditures and pay outs regarding her music. Automatically, her proper reimbursement should come in.

The good news is it probably will.

But if she feels that there are still shenanigans going on, here is where it gets interesting.

Theoretically, Courtney can buy one share of stock in her label and then attend the next stockholders meeting. There, she can state that her experience with her own account with the company leads her to believe there is deception about. Then she accuses the entire board, the president and other executive managers of failure to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Remember, the requirement here is due diligence. Even accidental failure to comply subjects executive management to fines and jail time because they failed the diligence requirement. That requirement was a response to Enron's CEO's claim that he didn't know what was really going on. Today a CEO better know what's going on or they go to jail for recklessly exposing their company - and its stockholders - to unnecessary risk.

Once Courtney makes her claim she can demand an external audit at the company's expense to prove the accounting is solid. This will include an audit of her account where she saw the symptoms that lead to her accusation.

If the numbers prove faulty, she as a stockholder can order the arrest of the entire board and executive management for failure to comply with the Sarbanes-Ocley Act. Furthermore, the Act opens it up for her to pierce the corporate veil and personally sue these same executives in civil court.

See how powerful the new law is. Now multiply Miss Love with the many other artists who feel they are being cheated and you have one heck of a class action suit. A suit that can go after the personal assets of each and every board member.

Needless to say, the executives will not let it get that far. With the corporate protections stripped away, self-preservation will become the rule. The numbers that Love so desperately tried to pull from her label should now become fully accessible as will those of other artists. Sic 'em, artists - I bet we'll see "voluntary" changes to label accounting practices just prior to November 15 - coinkydink? You decide.

More on record industry accounting practices here, here, here and here.