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For bands, MySpace offers a chance to go from "completely unknown" to "known by 30 people around the world". For the most part, Myspace by itself isn't a springboard. It is a modern tool in the same line as a magazine article, a local newspaper review, or an interview spot on the local college radio.
For the most part, MySpace reaches people who already know you exist or that fall over you randomly. It is not some great "make them out of nothing" site.
How music would be marketed and sold int he future is really the same discussion as porn torrents and tube sites. The question has everything to do with turning something that is very popular with people (giving shit away for nothing) and turning it into a model where the people pay enough to make the venture profitable.
If a band has to pay 20k-50k of (cheap) studio time and a few months of effort to make a pro sounding album, they need to find at least 100,000 people to pay $1 to make it worth getting out of bed in the morning. Just having a myspace page isn't going to do it. They need some way to get from "nobodies with an album" to "tons of people want a copy".
It is a question of business model. Without a route to a business model, all of this stuff is horseshit. Older established bands without record deals aren't burning a brave new path through the bush, they are just attempting to profit from the left overs of their hard earned reputations and fan base.
I have heard the one song the local radio is playing from the Radiohead album. I suspect most people picking it up will be happy their paid nothing for it, because it the music equivilent of a direct to DVD movie.
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