One problem that the music and movie industries have created for themselves with consolidation, is that the large overhead of the consolidated organizations has exacerbated the need for a multi-platinum CD or a blockbuster movie bringing in $500 million in order to be profitable. In a feast-or-famine sink-or-swim environment there is little opportunity for independent artists (film-makers or bands) to develop. The *AA only see immediate return on investment.
In the music industry especially, the larger labels will add in contractual obligations to spend %X of the advance on recording, using a pre-approved list of producers and studios. Of course the label has a financial interest in these studios/producers, and by having these stipulations in the contract, get to squeeze more profit from the artist by essentially being paid twice, once when the artist uses his/her advance, and again when the label recoups the advance from royalties.
Indie bands, singer-songwriters and other artists that don't get much airplay, and rely on touring to survive, have found it much easier to be profitable off smaller sales volume by either recording for an independent label, or forming their own label. The artist then controls his/her costs, rather than suffer the label inflating the costs to compensate for not selling X million copies.