[bscphil]

>I wish there was an easier way to just buy content, in a way that I knew was going to support the creators and not line the pockets of the distribution network.

I agree (Bandcamp for movies?) but the economics of this are hard. While you can make a solid album with free software, cheap instruments you own already, and a few hundred dollars worth of equipment, even a well made indie movie is going to run into hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in costs. They have to recoup those somehow, and it's a terrifying leap to go from a traditional production / distribution network to relying directly on consumers to pay for your product. It's "no one ever got fired for buying IBM" except in the movie distribution industry.

I suppose if there's one industry leading the way it's in video games. If I'm not mistaken several AAA games have been included in Humble Bundles, which means you pay what you want and get a non-DRM copy of the game. (Even a torrent link!)