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I would be so glad if I could pay the author his royalties directly. It is beyond me that at this stage of the game, authors and artists have not yet set up their own cooperatives for distributing their work electronically. The cooperative itself would be non-profit, it would charge just enough for its own subsistence (including of course the salaries of its employees). That would do away with the publishers and other intermediaries, who not only add to the cost of the final product, but also take away a substantial part of the profit of the authors. There are also many known instances of publishers ripping off their authors.
I think this could work, because 1) the cost of the final product would be reduced, 2) it would generate sympathy among the public and 3) it would be a good deterrent against piracy (or social DRM, whatever you want to call it) because it would create a more direct relationship between the authors and the customer
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