This new musical economy is characterized by the consolidation of power around three mega-corporations - Universal, Warner and Sony - three behemoths sitting on an incredible bank of assets - the last 70 years of recorded music. We're reaching a point in our culture where the holders of IP are looking at the financial risks of trying to produce new intellectual property versus trying to monetize what they've already got and making the rational capitalist calculation that the latter is the smart way to go.