Coolfer is just on a roll! Previously, he gave out tips for P2P. Now, he looks at the labels themselves.

• Stop blaming piracy. Piracy is just part of the problem. The sooner you recognize the issues you face, the better off you'll be and the more consumer confidence you'll command.
• Use digital music to help create a better relationship with consumers. We're in an era of relationship marketing in which the companies that have the best relationship with their customers will be the most prosperous.
• You don't have to swing for a homerun every time you're at the plate. It's OK to start small and build to greater success.
• Embrace MP3 blogs. Look, there is a precedent here. You already give advance tracks and exclusive remixes to mixtape DJs and look the other way when their mixtapes are sold without giving you a penny in royalties.

I do take some exception on this, though. The labels have seen fit to prosecute people who traffic in mix tapes.

The swinging for the fences seems to be a result of the economic realities that have emerged over the last few decades where most artists don't make enough money to recover the labels' investments, but one or two make enough to recover the investment on both themselves and most of the other acts on the label's roster. Given that is the only way that the labels have been rewarded, it's natural that they would evolve to support that business model.