Love - who's suing Universal Music Group (dossier) for violating a California labor law that allows artists to terminate their contracts with entertainment companies after seven years - wrote an open letter in mid-March asking recording artists to rally behind her and form an organization to represent their interests in Washington. (Love and her manager, Jim Barber, didn't respond to repeated requests to comment for this story.)

However artists feel about the issue of forming a new union - Love's letter said R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, U2, Alanis Morissette, Bush and Q-Tip have contacted her to voice support for the idea - it's a safe bet that musicians and major labels alike are watching her lawsuit closely. The issues she raises are particularly urgent in today's post-Napster (dossier) era, when artists are closely watching developments that concern copyrights, revenues and the very way that the majors do business. If she prevails in court, we could see a stampede of artists lining up to hop on Love's fight-the-power bandwagon. Los Angeles Times writer Chuck Philips said that a win for Love could "rewrite the economics of the recorded music industry and lead to a wholesale exodus of recording acts from their labels." In other words, we're talkin' about a revolution.

Or are we? Organizing wildly diverse musicians - who run the gamut from wannabe to superstar - sounds like the sort of pipe dream that only makes sense in a trashed hotel room at 4 a.m. For one thing, whether or not Love wins her suit, the vast majority of working musicians will never attain her level of wealth or success. For them, issues like getting affordable health insurance are far more pressing than whether the major labels set up the system to benefit themselves first and foremost. And some industry veterans would point out that, after all, there are already unions for musicians to join - the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the American Federation of Musicians.

But Love says that these organizations don't do a good enough job for enough artists: "Neither union represents all artists," she writes in the letter, which describes several well-known artists who wound up broke in spite of selling huge numbers of records. They range from the three members of the group TLC who filed for bankruptcy, to Jimi Hendrix, whose heirs work "menial jobs," to Florence Ballard, an original member of the Supremes who was reportedly on welfare when she died in 1976.

Few will deny that the music industry has horror stories a-plenty in its vaults, but Dick Gabriel, spokesman for the AFM, says he's drafting a response to Love's letter that will detail the work the union is doing to address many of the concerns that Love raises. "She's got an open invitation to call us," Gabriel says, adding that the union has been involved in talks in Washington regarding issues of particular interest to musicians, such as last year's battle over adding sound recordings to the list of copyrighted works that could be considered as "works for hire," and that he's spent much of the last year traveling around the country telling bands about the union.

But no union is going to solve all the quandaries that musicians face over the course of their careers. Dean Kay, who's on the board of both the American Society of Composers and Publishers and the National Music Publishers' Association, believes that the larger issue is simply that artists need to learn to make smart choices, understand their rights and retain good legal representation. "Hit records are usually really hot - and then they're not," he says. "Some musicians run out and spend their money without considering that their career will probably be short-lived and that they should provide for themselves and their future when they're successful."

Members of AFTRA and the AFM can participate in pension plans and get health insurance, but Love says musicians don't get nearly the share of profits as their counterparts in the film and sports industries do. "Like the music business, the film and the sports industries generate billions of dollars in income each year, but those industries offer far better benefits to the men and women who create their wealth." She says musicians should not only go public and speak out against unfair record contracts, they should realize that "artists have all the power."

Evan Silverman, guitarist and vocalist of the band the Rosenbergs - which achieved some notoriety by turning down a proffered contract from Farmclub, a division of Universal - says Love is on the right track by advocating a new union. "Most musicians, including the Rosenbergs, have no health insurance or music equipment insurance," Silverman said via e-mail. "With a union, quite possibly the days of artists getting 6 cents from each record sold can be over."

While it could be years until the court case is decided - Love claims she'll take it to the Supreme Court if necessary - one hopes the majors are at least paying attention to the grumbling in the ranks. One also hopes that the music industry's latest crop of Next Big Things is socking away some money now - before they wind up as a Behind the Music segment on VH1.