It's the money. Without the money, we never would have gotten to this state. So, in that regard, it's an artificial, state-enforced monopoly. A limited monop

It's the money. Without the money, we never would have gotten to this state. So, in that regard, it's an artificial, state-enforced monopoly. A limited monopoly affords the producer the opportunity to make a living in return for significant contributions. However, we've... "regressed" to essentially unlimited monopoly, the boundaries of which we continue to expand (e.g. DMCA). We've exchanged physical fiefdoms for "intellectual" fiefdoms, to similar effect.