Quote:
Originally Posted by howyoudoin
It's got to do with the nature of the product.
While an author might spend hours and months producing a book, his efforts come to an end when its published (discounting the publicity and book signings which are mere marketing).
A doctor or lawyer might spend hours and months learning their trade, but their efforts do not come to an end when they get licensed. They only make money if they show up to work everyday and apply the knowledge gained in a repeated manner for clients. The moment somebody comes up with a paradigm where, similar to the authors, the doctors and lawyers can make money despite not having to keep working every day, their clients and patients will automatically downgrade the 'value' of their services and expect a deep downgrade to the monetary compensation they receive too.
It's the very nature of humans to think that way. It's why people won't mind paying good money to watch musicians perform live, but they'll certainly resent paying the same prices for a mass produced recording of the same pieces.
People value sustained repetition of effort. It's as simple as that.
|
Of course, there's that whole supply and demand thing, too. Book prices are partially based on "what the market will bear" with a production/distribution/royalties/fixed costs floor beneath.
The author's sustained effort is
before the book is printed, distributed, etc. While the payment for her/his effort is dispersed over the years of purchases, it is nevertheless payment for the effort sustained previous to publication.