That’s how Britain’s Times Online Labs blog describes the chart below, posted in an entry titled “Do artists fare better in a world with illegal file-sharing?” And if you’re a recording artist looking for a record deal, then, yeah, the big label fat cats probably don’t want you to see this.

The chart shows revenue from live performances, record sales and broadcast royalties collected through PRS (kind of like our BMI and ASCAP). It also shows revenues that go straight to the artist versus to the labels and concert promoters.

The big thing to notice is that while revenue to labels for recorded music plummets (the red line), revenue to artists for live music rises (um, medium-hued blue). As the Labs blogger puts it:

The most immediate revelation, of course, is that at some point next year revenues from gigs payable to artists will for the first time overtake revenues accrued by labels from sales of recorded music.

At the same time, direct-to-artist record sales are dropping, while royalties are rising. This seems to back up the argument for artists not only bypassing labels when putting out music but not even expecting to make money off album sales. It’s the label-as-flier-for-the-tour model in action. Get your music out there however you can — giving it away for free, letting fans pick the price point, whatever — and watch as your live draw increases. In the meantime, be sure to register your music with SoundExchange and own the publishing rights so you can make money when Pandora plays your latest jam or if it gets picked up by Gossip Girl.

Indeed, the “Have a Cigar” days are over. And the good news is you’ll be able to buy your own stogie.

In the meantime, it’s also important to be managing and tracking your social media web buzz, and it just so happens we’ve got a tool for that.