I agree with @
AK Pig Of The Hut and Gene Simmons. I was in a rock/metal band for over 15 years and never had any success; but with the state that the music industry's in (and
was during that 15 years), I'm glad we never made it. I have no doubt that we were good enough to hang with the big boys, but things have gotten terrible out there. Plus, I hold the songs I write and perform to an utmost height, and that's just not - from my understanding - how the biz works nowadays. You've got all these pre-made bands, for which executives and "pro songwriters" write songs for, and any semblance of art is flushed completely down the toilet. That's the main reason that I think rock is dead - all faith in the artist's ability to create has been destroyed, which is essentially the basis for rock music - one's ability to express themselves to their hearts content. This has forced a lot of bands to go the indie route, but most bands lack promotion skills, and "file sharing" doesn't help them do well either.
And yes, Pig, file sharing sites and all that garbage definitely put a huge damper on the industry as a whole, as well as rock. I mean, seriously - with all the file sharing sites out there, giving records away for free, why should anyone actually buy one? People should have at least some sort of moral center, but apparently, that's not the case with most folks.