[c-hendricks]

I'm glad you brought up "in the age of the internet" because there's a part of "separate the art from the artist" that I don't see discussed enough:

In the internet age, simply consuming an artists media funds the artist. Get as philosophical as you'd like while separating the art from the artist, but if they're still alive you're still basically saying "look you're a piece of shit but here's a couple of bucks anyways".

[nickthegreek]

People consume media without paying anyone. The internet is kinda famous for it.

[nimih]

That's a pretty lazy analysis. As an easy counterpoint, no one pays to look at Facebook or Instagram posts, but both Meta and (at least some) individual influencers are able to run profitable businesses based on that media consumption (and you could say the same of some bloggers in the late 00s/early 10s, for that matter). More speculatively, I think there is also an argument to be made that even gratis media consumption gives cultural weight to a work which is then available for monetization, especially in this age of tentpole franchises and granularly tracked personal behavior.

[c-hendricks]

It's true, piracy does get around the whole monetary side of the equation.

[pc86]

Eyeballs increase ad revenue, just because you're not paying money doesn't mean the artist isn't making money.

[mjr00]

> but you're still basically saying "look you're a piece of shit but here's a couple of bucks anyways".

Is it ethical to buy Dilbert books now that Adams is dead and the money's not going to him?

[pfdietz]

Ethical? I'd say it would be fine.

Tolerable? I couldn't enjoy the books. It's like when I found out about the Breendoggle and tossed all my MZB books in the recycling bin.

[pc86]

If you (the royal you) thought it was unethical to buy a Dilbert book because the person who stood to make something like $4 off of it had some views you disagree with, you are a broken person. Even if Adams agreed with every single opinion you had, it's a statistical certainty that a dozen people who also make money off that book have views you find reprehensible.

[c-hendricks]

Still depends on where the money ultimately goes.

[BurningFrog]

That makes a certain kind of sense.

Then again looking at the table, laptop, and protein drink in front of me, I know that many people were involved in making and shipping them. Some were quite possibly rapists, racists and/or worse.

And I don't find myself caring at all.

This is something special about art, isn't it?

[dostick]

That’s interesting analogy! With art, you re receiving something that’s not physically consumed but informs you or even changes your mind - depends how that art works for you.