paying artists

[Ben Finney]

Alex Hudson <home at alexhudson.com> writes:

> The end goal is to redistribute money, roughly from the consumer to the
> artist.

That's *not* the goal of copyright.

The goal of (USA) copyright is to promote "the Progress of Science and
useful Arts". Redistributing money is only ever a means to this
explicit end. A system that focusses on redistributing money to the
detriment of progress in science and useful arts is *failing* at the
stated goal of copyright.

> I really don't buy into the "they don't have a right to earn a
> living unless they can make money on it on their own" arguments that
> some people have implied.

Again, I hold that everyone has the right to attempt to earn a living.
If society does not value their specific activities enough to pay them
a living income, though, then they fail; and that is not a violation
of their rights.

-- 
 \         "Sunday: A day given over by Americans to wishing that they |
  `\      themselves were dead and in Heaven, and that their neighbors |
_o__)                     were dead and in Hell."  -- Henry L. Mencken |
Ben Finney