The script usually reads something like this: Talented band breaks through with record contract. Talented band records a few hit singles and, buoyed by the promotional bucks and distribution of the label, achieves success on the charts for one or two albums. Talented band then falls short of those high-water marks with ensuing albums, is dropped by the label and falls apart over a few years, usually providing fodder for VH1’s “Where Are They Now?” in the process. 
