[Perndog]

The record company sends a rep to talk to the band, and the band (if they're smart) hires an entertainment lawyer to negotiate.

You're right, bands that are already hugely successful do not do a lot of their own grunt work. But of all the working musicians I've met, every one of them either is or is in a band with a person who is very skilled and experienced at promotion and marketing. They make little money for it until they get a really nice break, and *then* they can (maybe) quit their day-jobs and reap the fruits of their labor. Any non-manufactured band on the billboard went through their own time in the same situation, they've just made it past that point.

My point is that people bitch about musicians being greedy because they want a lot of money for what they do, but I think they deserve it.