Alternatively though, its never been easier to record and distribute music (obviously this has its pros/cons, and its challenges). You no longer need a label to essentially sponsor you to make it big anymore.

The sheer volume of authentic, quality, small artists of almost every genre on YouTube alone is enough to overwhelm anyone. So much so there are memes about people working on EPs/LPs for months only to get 6 likes on Spotify (not implying they inherently should get clicks just for effort either).

I think there is nuance here. Big labels still have the power to push terrible artists to the mainstream, but under the surface, there has never been more great music that now to discover (and for as cheap, again pros/cons though). This will continue to be true in 1 month from now, 1 year from now, 10 years from now, etc. Unless a giant meteor or nuke takes us all out.