Spotify should make it so they can make deals directly with artists and then promote them in their store, kind of like how Amazon is doing with its self-publishing platform. They are big enough now for this to work. The problem is they most likely got forced into signing a non-compete clause with the labels, and they took that deal. So now they can't do that anymore, which makes them completely dependent on the labels in the foreseeable future, and the labels can keep asking for 98% of their revenue.
And next time the labels brag about supporting innovations like Spotify (like when they did when they wanted to pass SOPA), remind them that they are what's killing innovations like Spotify, and these services usually achieve success despite them.
No artist signed to a major label can do deals outside of that deal. The whole point of their signing is that they have an exclusive deal with the label.
So while Spotify could go direct to some artists, none of the big ones can make that kind of deal.
They don't have to take all the big ones immediately. Just start a trend, and some of the big ones might join later once their contracts with the labels expire. They probably wouldn't be able to put their old songs there, but they could the new ones.
And next time the labels brag about supporting innovations like Spotify (like when they did when they wanted to pass SOPA), remind them that they are what's killing innovations like Spotify, and these services usually achieve success despite them.