> They get paid by selling, directly or through middlemen, hard or digital copies of their work Yes, but if other copies of this were essentially free, they w

> They get paid by selling, directly or through middlemen, hard or digital copies of their work Yes, but if other copies of this were essentially free, they wouldn't be able to sell these copies! (Or at least, probably only a small fraction). > or simply get paid to create in the first place, via services like Patreon or by commission. I'm a big Patreon fan and the rise of Patreon makes me very happy. However, it's worth noting that there are some problems with this model - for example, only art that pleases wealthy people will tend to get made under this model - it's better economics to target people living in rich Western countries over people living anywhere else. Also, only art that is kind of "acceptable" will tend to get made. Art that is more experimental, less likely to be immediately popular, less likely to immediately catch the eyes of the rich audience - that kind of art will become less prevalent.