Hey, i'm on the same boat. I'm working everyday on my project since the beginning of this year, after hesitating for 3 years between physics and music. It's really hard since i had to learn how to record properly guitar/bass/reamp/synths/daw... and had to learn about what a good acoustic is, monitors and all the recording gears. After building my studio, which took me some months, I began to learn the "code" of the music i blend (modern melodeath, D'n'B, electro)...
so much work! And it's very stressfull to be alone, not knowing if you do the right things. I miss a band to work with sometimes! Being alone let you total control but being with friend making music is cool and divide the work for you!
I'm not in yet in the second part of my project building a band for live; I'm sure it'll be quite easy to find some peoples to make a band, and it'll avoid the problem of not having enough skilled musician to begin with, like friends you finally have to fire (hate those situations).
But i'm thinking about what's the best way to be known to make it. If you try to live from making music. And working alone may be better than with a band from a money point of view.
Even if internet is here with all the options to sell the music by yourself, I think working to be signed by a good label really is important, cause they "legitimate" your work, making it "worth to listen/try", and the second part is their power to make advertisments for you (if the label is good) and will help you to make shows (which cost money). So I wouldn't give my work away but maybe in a very low quality with some words in the middle of the song like " you'r listening to *title* from *band* forthcoming album" or something like that. So It's not the final cd that the label could sell but you can begin to be known, spreading your album freely on the web.
) 
