There is a VAST difference between songwriters/artists and publishers/copyright holders beginning with the fact that they are often not the same person/entity.
The problem that has evolved is the audience demanding everything for free, in blackmail that they won’t buy anything unless they get free stuff first. Then the artist / creators HOPES they buy something. And many then do not.
Expecting something for free and leaving the producers to hope for payment eventually has been pursued by the RIAA on file sharing, but Obamacare is part of the same mentality. They want doctors and creative types to put out for free, and the state / collective might eventually feed them.
I say this as an author who publishes digitally.
“There is a VAST difference between songwriters/artists and publishers/copyright holders beginning with the fact that they are often not the same person/entity.”
Of course there is...but songwriters make their money on unit sales. They are being cheated...stealing is wrong, regardless of how wealthy the “artist” may be.