The digital future is here. Streaming is increasing and downloading is shrinking.

While the major record labels are floundering, Google is backing a small new new record label called “300” (named after the movie about the last stand of the Spartans at Thermopylae).

This reveals “that Google is prepared to invest in at least partially owning music copyrights and helping to develop artists outside of the traditional label system“:

• 300 will be “a music content company devoted to the discovery and development of the artists of the future.”
• The general idea is “to create an innovative artist development structure with greater flexibility and lower overheads to challenge the majors.”
• Other investment funds are involved in addition to Google, but Google is the biggest investor.
• … 300 “promises to push the envelope in terms of artist development and distribution.”