Software bloat works by the same principle as dynamic range compression does for rock musicians. DRC creates fake loudness by removing a dimension of complexity

Software bloat works by the same principle as dynamic range compression does for rock musicians. DRC creates fake loudness by removing a dimension of complexity from audio tracks. Rock musicians complain all the time about how they need to do it in order to sound professional, because everyone else does it. With software it's the same way. Many consumers have come to associate bloat with value. If you sell someone a 300kb exe file, then they might feel robbed if your competitor ships a 30gb installer that in essence does the same thing. What's the solution? Don't write rock music. Focus on classical, jazz, opera, ballet, etc. which has a fewer number of fans with more money who have a better education in appreciating your music. That same concept can be applied to software.