"Ask any book or music publisher: you can't expect to profit much from distribution if you can always get the same thing for free next door. If you get anything, it pretty much amounts to a donation."

Lies. Using music as an example, look at Spotify (or Itunes or whatever) as an example vs. downloading mp3s for free.

I'm aware this is anecdotal evidence, but I haven't downloaded any music for years due to Spotify being so convenient to use. Neither have any of the people I know.

I strongly believe that given a superior distribution model, money will follow.