Agreed. I think a way through this may be to emphasize the notion of 'performance rights' over 'copyrights'. So distributing a work digitally, for consumption o

Agreed. I think a way through this may be to emphasize the notion of 'performance rights' over 'copyrights'. So distributing a work digitally, for consumption on a personal device, would be free of encumbrances. But performing the work, which would include physical embodiment, e.g. turning into an actual book, or entertaining an audience, would be something that could be controlled and monetized by the author.