Reading long-form fiction or nonfiction takes a lot more concentration and attention. The dopamine hit is much more quick. It's the same reason fast food and su

Reading long-form fiction or nonfiction takes a lot more concentration and attention. The dopamine hit is much more quick. It's the same reason fast food and sugar is so popular. I don't think it is at all related to what others said about "most people can write" (those people have probably not tried actually writing fiction) -- especially not with today's music production tools and how easy they are (FLStudio, Garage Band, etc.). You also have to keep in mind the power laws are just slightly different here. There are some very very rich writers, that are far richer than even the best-selling musicians of all time. Stephen King and J. K. Rowling, for examples. It's just a market. More people are interested in consuming and paying for an album, because it takes 45 minutes to listen to, whereas a single book might take 10+ hours to read.