But a new industry report claims things haven’t changed that much.

It’s a myth that artists can use the internet to make music without record labels, it says.

Global music industry body the IFPI says in a report that no new artists had broken through without the help of a label.

IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) chief executive John Kennedy said attempting to build a career online, competing with millions of other acts on MySpace, was like “screaming in spac.

“There’s not really any evidence of anybody succeeding having gone direct,” he said. “Even artists who are typically described as having broken from the internet like Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen or Sandi Thom all ended up combining with a conventional record label.”

He added that bands such as Radiohead, who have struck out on their own, have done so after years of record company support.

The IFPI says it costs over $1million to launch a new band. And without that money, forget it kid, it’s never going to happen.

Many don’t agree – and point to bands such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah as an act that has gotten attention and success without a record deal.

“Increasingly we’re starting to see artists emerging that are selling out venues without having had any mainstream exposure whatsoever and without the involvement of a major record label, but having developed fan communities online who know about them,” Jeremey Silver, chief executive of the Featured Artists’ Coalition lobby group told the BBC.

“They indicate a future opportunity for a much more varied set of approaches for building a career as a musician.” What do you think?

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• This guy may be a talented actor, but his fame so far has been more about his personal life rather than his professional life. That may change with the release of his next film, which he hopes will be the one that launches him for his talent, rather than for whom he is dating. However, be prepared for him to dump his current arm candy if the numbers show that his relationship with her prevents people from taking him seriously. It will be sad when he breaks her heart, though, because while he sees her as a publicity ploy, she is genuinely in love with him.

• What A list television and movie actor broke up with his most recent girlfriend because she didn’t spank him hard enough?

• This right on the cusp of A list television and movie actor on a very hit network show is supposedly happily married. Why then did he spend the night with this A list comedienne.

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The images show the pair holding hands in a loved up trip to a market in Malibu. You can see them here.

While Simon Cowell has already confessed to being smitten with fiancee Mezhgan Hussainy it was still a shock to see X Factor’s Mr Nasty get mushy in Malibu with girlfriend Mezhgan – nicknamed Mish.

It’s a big switch from the start of their relationship which was kept tightly under wraps.

But now Simon is happy for the world to know he is in love – and even agreed to pictures with fans while out for a stroll.

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• We had a source that called this one in recently after being at a resort with this singer (who has done a little acting here and there.) Apparently, our source saw the celeb  at an all-inclusive resort and claims that the girl was pounding the alcohol down as fast as she could the entire time. She was constantly wasted, wore no underwear under her tiny sundress, and let strangers hit on her and grope her constantly. Classy! She allegedly never had a moment where there wasn’t a drink in her hand. Except for the time our source saw her giving an older mystery gentleman what we’ll call, um, ‘lip service’ in a public dining area. But you don’t really need two hands for that. Not Jessica Simpson.

• The cast of this ensemble TV show is feeling a little stressed out about tensions between a male and a female cast member. The actress recently invited a young relative of hers to spend the day on the set. Everything was going well until she returned to her trailer to find her underage relative entwined with one of the male leads. The actress went ballistic. She screamed and clawed at the actor, kicked him out of her trailer, and sent her relative home. Now she is asking the show’s executives to eliminate or minimize the actor’s role.

• This movie actress who qualifies as A list under the rules but is probably just a B recently had a miscarriage at about four months. The reason? She couldn’t stop using c*ke. Even when her doctors told her she needed to stop she just couldn’t. The thing is her husband doesn’t even know she uses c*ke. I wonder what she told him.

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Tiger Woods will “most likely” mark his comeback to golf at the Masters and not at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, according to sources close to the situation. The green at Augusta National has already closed its press credentials list, meaning that reporters and curious onlookers will be kept firmly outside the gates at the Masters. /DN 66, NYP 83

Rumors are swirling about the disintegration of the high-glam marriage between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former model Carla Bruni, with Sarkozy reportedly about town with karate champ and political ally Chantal Jouanno and Bruni getting friendly with pop star Benjamin Biolay. /NYP 29

Olympic bronze medalist Joannie Rochette will take to the ice again in her first public appearance since the games for two guest performances in “Thin Ice,” a figure-skating competition similar to “Dancing With the Stars.” Rochette performed at the Olympics just four days after her mother’s death of a heart attack last month. /DN 50

Conan O’Brien will be launching a cross-country comedy show that will hit 30 cities in 20 states. The former “Tonight Show” host promises “a night of music, comedy, hugging and the occasional awkward silence.” /DN 9, NYP 21

The 22 pieces of custom-made furniture Michael Jackson commissioned for his London home are going on the auction block, with proceeds going to charity. Jackson initially intended to use the furnishings during his “This Is It” comeback concert run in London. /AP

Madonna appeared on Thursday’s “The Marriage Ref” alongside actor-comedians Larry David and Ricky Gervais. Among her thoughts on marriage: She doesn’t think a wife should withhold sex from a sloppy husband, but a wife should dispose of her late husband’s prosthetic leg to spare the feelings of the wife’s current mate. /AP

National Enquirer vet Barry Levine was on “The View” yesterday to discuss the weekly’s bid for a Pulitzer Prize for its stories about John Edwards, Rielle Hunter and their love child Quinn. /NYP 10

The Daily News picked up People’s report that former cast members Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch will appear alongside host Betty White on “SNL” on May 8. /DN 98

James Cameron talks about the future of 3D, including its potential in the home, converting “Titanic” to 3D and the possible availability this fall of a Blu-ray DVD “Avatar” 3D. /USAT 3B

“Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger got downright dirty on Twitter in a recent post about Bethenny Frankel on behalf of her new gal pal, fellow “Housewife” Jill Zarin. “My BFF Jill Zarin is getting the shaft on NYC Housewives bc of a dark haired loser!” Stanger posted. “Any cow can give birth.” /DN 26

“Jersey Shore” star Jenni “J-Wowww” Farley displayed some diva behavior by making a brand-new Cadillac Escalade sent to take her to Boston’s Estate club wait 45 minutes, and telling the driver she “doesn’t travel in Escalades,” opting for a limo service instead. /DN 26

Jessica Biel smiled as a group of excited girls tipped off café @65 diners yesterday by writing her name in big letters in their notebooks and pressing them against the glass window for all the other patrons to see. /NYP 11

Gerard Butler jokes that he has curbed his sexual prowess since the Tiger Woods scandal. “I get laid less now than I used to because I’m way more paranoid now,” the actor said of worrying his antics will end up in the press. /DN 27

Kara DioGuardi tells Women’s Health that she was initially resistant to the idea of baring her bikini body for the mag, but now admits the stunt “probably saved [my] job.” Of her decision, the “Idol” judge says: “It was a defining moment, like, ‘She’s … as kooky as everyone else on this panel.’” /DN 27

Chris Brown is begging fans to help save his career by calling into radio stations and requesting his songs. “A lot of radio stations aren’t playing my records,” the singer says in an audio message on SayNow.com. “They are not being that supportive.” /DN 27

Nickelodeon’s TeenNick will premiere the 10th season of “Degrassi: The Next Generation” this summer to test out the viability of the telenovela format. English-speaking networks have yet to hit on a telenovela format that works. /DN 98

The $200 million, 10-part HBO miniseries Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks teamed up for, “The Pacific,” will premiere Sunday night. /USAT 1D

Photos in the Daily News: Ed Westwick stopping to feed a meter in NYC while filming for “Gossip Girl.” /DN 26

Photos in the Post: Newly engaged Hilary Duff promoting Samsung’s new 3D TV at the Time Warner Center; Beyoncé heading to Brooklyn in a houndstooth jacket; Sharon Stone in hair curlers on the set of “Law and Order: SVU” in Manhattan; Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston at the London premiere of “The Bounty Hunter.” /NYP 21, NYP 17, NYP 11

ABBA fans will only find one half of their favorite quartet reunited next Monday night, when the group, which hasn’t played together since 1982, is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Benny Anderson and ex-wife Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad are scheduled to attend. /USAT 1D

USA Today highlights the final 12 contestants for this season of “American Idol,” as well as follows up on last season’s top 13. /USAT 3D

Russian model-turned-makeup artist Irina Krupnik is suing the makers of film “Couples Retreat,” claiming that they used an old photo of her from her bikini-modeling days, and that she is disgusted that her clients recognize her in the raunchy scene. /DN 14, NYP 3, AP

A healthy 6-pound 9-ounce baby boy was born in the back of a cab midway through the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel yesterday. Said first-time dad Eric Handelsman: “I was there to catch him; he slipped right into my hands.” Mom Maya Polton joked: “We don’t know if he was born on the Brooklyn side or the Manhattan side.” /DN 56

Former TV announcer and Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen died yesterday at City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 69. He was diagnosed with cancer of the lung lining last year. /DN 92, NYP 18

A magnitude 6.9 aftershock rocked Chile yesterday just as a new president was being sworn into office. The follow-up quake was nearly as strong as the one that devastated Haiti in January, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. /USAT 7A

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They made me sad.

When Life photographer Gerry Deiter took the shots, Lennon was considered an important figure in popular culture. As the leader of the most popular rock band ever, his views on politics and spirituality were, rightly or wrongly, taken very seriously indeed.

The pictures, which were shelved and left in the photographers drawer for 40 years until they were recently discovered, show Lennon stroking a guitar as Ono chats to 16 year old Gail Reynard. She had scaled the fire escape and begged to stay and watch proceedings and the couple had agreed.

Gail was given the handwritten lyrics for Lennon’s song as a gift. In 2008 she sold the note for £400,000. The song, Give Peace A Chance, became the anthem of the anti-war movement and was sung by half a million demonstrators in Washington DC at the Vietnam Moratorium Day on October 15 1969.

Today, security would have had her arrested, Lennon would be a finalist on American Idol and they’d certainly be no thought to world peace.

In the words of indie rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club , Whatever happened to you, rock n’ roll?

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The world’s most overrated film director has announced he has no plans to quit directing anytime soon. Terrific. Wonderful news. Hang out the bunting!

Clint’s next project – film number 36, I believe – is a biopic of J. Edgar Hoover and his days as the controversial director of the FBI.

Will it be a musical? A comedy? A noir thriller? No. It will be a literal-minded tale free from dramatic devices such as irony, metaphor or anything that might make the darn thing interesting.

In other words, yet another simple-minded snooze fest, just like his recent films Invictus or, God forbid, the insultingly bad Gran Torino.

Still it could be worse. Ol’ granite-face might decide to “act.” As Italian director Sergio Leone noted, Clint Eastwood can do two expressions: “hat on and hat off.”

And as writer Allen Barra points out in a ferocious takedown published here:

Leone was being generous. If you have a huge chunk of time on your hands, try watching the Leone-Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns and the Dirty Harry films and ask yourself whether it really makes a difference to Eastwood’s performance if he’s wearing a hat. Then watch the comedies in which he costarred with an orangutan and Tightrope (1984), in which he costarred with Genevieve Bujold, and see if you can detect any variation in Eastwood’s performances.

Why does the Academy continue throw plaudits at this right wing blowhard – Pauline Kael famously called Dirty Harry “facistic” – who hasn’t made a watcheable film since 1992’s Unforgiven?

Stephen Spielberg and Woody Allen haven’t yet won as many Oscars as Clint.

The mind boggles. Patience dwindles.Credulity flees.

Who will rid the world of Clint Eastwood?

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