[myffical]

Add musician Jonathan Coulton to that list: makes ~$500,000 a year without having ever signed on to a major label.

[_delirium]

True, in indie music that's possible, though that also predates the internet; e.g. Fugazi made millions in the 90s with self-distribution (Ian MacKaye's estimated net worth is something like $20 million these days). Would be curious if it's accelerated, decelerated, or remained constant in frequency.