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I suspect that Apple/iTunes and the recording industry have an "agreement" (written or not) that would preclude a band -- especially one that the recording industry feels it should "own" -- from selling their music sans middle man.
Also, consider how big of a headache it would be to potentially have to negotiate with every band who wanted to do that. Managing all those agreements while trying to keep the recording industry from pulling the plug on their content (out of retaliation) would be a logistical nightmare for Apple.
The only way we get rid of the record label leeches is to let them commit suicide. They were clearly going down that road for a good long time, but it's entirely possible that iTunes might have saved them. And for this good turn, the labels all despise Apple. That's the deal with money -- no matter how much they have, it's never enough.
