Um, that's all well and good, but misses the point of my question. My fault for being subtle. Why would a publisher pay an artist to create a work? What does

Um, that's all well and good, but misses the point of my question. My fault for being subtle. Why would a publisher pay an artist to create a work? What does the publisher need it for? The answer: to sell it. How can the publisher profit from this arrangement? Without the exclusive right to that work (i.e. copyright), they can't.