Music collectives...

I've been listening to a lot of RIO (rock in oppostion)lately, which has prompted me to think about music collectives in general. Nowadays you see a lot of bands forming their own small labels to issue and distribute their material either as collectives or single projects (right now I'm actually thinking of small labels by post-metal bands in Scandanavia but there are A LOT more I'm aware of).

I wanted to ask about prominent collectives or band run labels you, as ILM posters, might be aware of, and perhaps something about their organization or stated purpose. I also wonder about the contemporary possibilty of non-label affiliated collectives running an alternative, ideally politicized, opposition to the business orientated labels. Of course, the prototypes for this already exist, but I'd like to know what you think.

Personally I like the idea of working with several bands that share ideas, musicians, artists, stagehands and equipment, and operate with a collective spirit, negotiating their own deals with distributors without the label middlemen and setting up their own shows.