"and suddenly Walmart won't distribute it, there are a lot of other ways to sell mousetraps" You are forgetting though (in this Walmart example) that Walmart p

"and suddenly Walmart won't distribute it, there are a lot of other ways to sell mousetraps" You are forgetting though (in this Walmart example) that Walmart provides volume. And volume drives down your costs. A big customer may very well be a necessary evil that you can't avoid. Manufacturers are also known for selling the same (or slightly different or even inferior) product through multiple channels in order to drive down costs. (And example might be Sears private labeling washing machines manufacturered by Westinghouse). "Demand Media made was creating a lot of crappy content" Agree with that.