Up-Front/Guaranteed Revenue will lead to hitting the release dates. As it is now, you'd be lucky as an artist to get 100 pre-orders. Imagine if that was 500+, guaranteed, on the day you dropped the album.
What we need is a facilitator/distributor, who's willing to put up a few grand here and there. And along with that--artists that can process in their mind that selling 1000 albums at $10 IS NOT FUCKING BETTER than selling 5000 albums at $5. Tell that that "I won't cheapen my music" shit to the bill-collectors when they come calling for your Visa, Mortgage, Cable and Electricity payments.