"And that is where labels are a major help. Labels can coordinate to have you support a bigger band on tour. They can foot the bill when you are making $150/show while driving yourself around the country. They will pay the record producers that make your songs stand out from the static of 1,000,000 other indie rock bands."

got me thinking, VC is to startup like a major record label is to an artist?

I'm a first time entrepreneur (Penn State Junior). I just recently discovered the hacker news and startup community and have been working on my own startup, http://currenthiphop.com, in my spare time.