Distribution and getting listeners/fans is only a part of the problem... Getting a studio and a professional to edit your music is the real cost that new artists have to deal with. I have a friend that makes music on a computer!!! and he's been wanting to produce a professional recording for more than a year (needs $$$ for studio/editing/mixing/I-have-no-idea-what).
I guess it depends on what kind of music you are recording, but do the first songs you release to potential listeners have to be professionally edited or mixed? As long as its recorded using somewhat decent equipment, it seems like that would be enough to get something together to release.
The problem is that professionally edited and mixed music is the norm. Nobody's stopping bands from releasing poorly edited and mixed music, but it adds another hurdle to overcome.
Not that expensive, I have many friends with bands and records and I can tell you a "good enough" studio is dirt cheap nowadays, you can get pro sound for a few K at most - still takes a lot of editing work though.
