revolt against traditional channels of distribution

More and more, Wil Wheaton appears to be a cool cat. In a recent Slashdot interview, he urges artists not to "participate in the soul-crushing aspects of the entertainment industry":

• You want to publish a book? It's easier than ever to create an e-book with free software like Scribus and OpenOffice.org, and use a service like PayPalDownloads to deliver it.
• You want to release your music? Garageband will host your files and connect you with people who want to hear you.
• You have a great idea for a play? There are 99 seat Equity-waiver theaters in every big city in America.
• Don't want to shop your brilliant short film to myopic studio buyers who are just going to steal your idea anyway? Produce it yourself! Film it on digital video, edit it on your Mac, and create your own DVDs.
• When you've got a physical product to sell, PayPal will process payments for you and create shipping labels you can print, or you can use a service like Yahoo Shopping to do your fulfillment.

If you've got passion, you believe in yourself, and you're willing to take financial risks, you don't need anyone's permission to release your work. Your success or failure won't be left in the hands of anyone else. You are in charge, and you'll sink or swim based upon your efforts. I'll repeat, as the voice of experience: You do not need the so-called traditional channels of distribution to get your work to an audience, and you'll probably be happier and more successful by not going through those channels.

Via boing boing