If you are unsigned and not on the brink of getting a label deal, my answer is NO. What you need is a consultant. No, this is not a shameless plug for my services, but a genuine examination of the state of the music business. Here is my reasoning:

In the past the most important thing for a band to do was make music and play gigs. Not so anymore. Now your job also includes managing your Online presence. But where do you begin and how do you do it effectively? A New Media consultant can guide and advise you - without taking 20% of everything you make. They can also help you understand digital distribution, eTeam marketing, how to design your profiles and blogs, how to attract fans to your sites and increase comments. They can teach you how to do it yourself. Yes, it’s a lot more work. But it is also YOUR career and for the first time - it is in YOUR HANDS.

Record labels are suffering and the last thing they are going to do is invest in a band that hasn’t invested in themselves. It will be a very rare case that a band, on talent alone, is signed to a major deal. If you can’t sell records or merchandise and collect lots of genuine fans on your own, then you won’t be able to do it with their help either. It is also a good point of leverage for you to have all of this - under your ownership. Once you’ve sold records, built your profiles up and your fans are rabid for new material - then hire a manager to help you with the details. Until then, hire someone to teach and advise you that isn’t attached to the project. Learn to do it yourself and you will own more of yourself in the end.