The days that only the major labels distributed music is gone forever. Sure enough, they may not like that evolution - why else would there be a thing such as the RIAA - but evolution can't be stopped. EMI for one is seriously considering offering music from their catalog without DRM annoyances. I can only guess at the effect this will have on the other labels, but even more on their profits. I don't see those profits crumble because they remove the "protection" (read strict limits) on the music they put out, well on the contrary. But enough about that for the time being...
Some artists, bands like being and staying independent or distribute themselves. Others sign up with Unsigned. In the New-Wave Artists category I found bands such as AquaCow from the USA (who are more Punk then New Wave if you ask me), autobahn_gb from the UK (New Wave/Electro), and HeroMAY (hip/hop, rap) from the States as well. Maybe Unsigned uses a bit too broad categories - or are too lenient on what goes where - but labels are overrated anyway and there are definitely interesting bands on the site.
I decided to check out the Electronica section coz that's more up my sleeve. 70171 brings gentle electro with a beat, enjoyable but not truly my piece of cake. 2kings from London, UK sounds more industrial/metal and Acid Void was another band I may look into deeper. They reminded me a lot about Velvet Acid Christ, and not only because they both have Acid in the band name. I think I'll spend more time in this category of music :)
And when I'm done with that, there's still the Drum n Bass section, Gothic, Techno and Industrial to browse through.
This post is brought to you by Unsigned.com.