A Really Bad Idea

If I was going to answer more thoroughly, here are my answers on why to start something:

1) you can work on what you like, and in a way that you like
2) it's higher beta, meaning the top outcomes are higher than working for others.
3) it is a chance to immediately start working on a high impact idea that could change society. There are other ways to work on high impact ideas, but often times you need to put in a lot of time paying dues to get to the point you can work on them.
4) if you are successful, it can be a source of mainstream fame (think Richard Branson) -- if you care about this at all.

Here's a summary I wrote of my YC interview that I did with Emmett back in 2005: http://areallybadidea.com/34320844

Seems to me the fundamental economic difference is that record labels control distribution, so they have much more leverage than VCs.

edit, found a source: "This pattern is mirrored in many other industries, such as the music industry, where record labels control radio / media distribution and are much more powerful than the actual artists, or the clothing industry, where small designers are beholden to retail outlets and have to take terrible terms to get distribution. The takeaway? Being the distribution platform is a lot better than being a producer."

[1] http://areallybadidea.com/what-i-learned-from-watching-six-hours-of-sta

In case you’re curious, I’ll be starting another business with the proceeds. We spent a long time getting this group video chat to work really well - ours is the only tech which actually works and doesn’t get choppy when you add more people. We are very proud of this tech and it would be sad to see it rot.

Hat tip to Justin Kan for the inspiration with his sale of Kiko (http://areallybadidea.com/selling-kiko). If we sell this I'll be sure to write a post about it too :)