You have no idea how much work is involved in becoming a creative professional.

If you think it's easy, try it.

Don't forget to let us know how successful you are.

I can both appreciate their work and not believe their profession deserves a free ride.

In what sense is getting paid for copies of a creative product any more of a free ride than app builders getting paid for downloads or web app builders getting paid for adsense impressions?

>comparatively absurdly small effort

Comparatively absurdly small compared to what? There are photographers risking their lives covering wars, and there are musicians practicing and working harder than any keyboard jockey...

And they're not the ones complaining, really.

I don't know. Have you heard of Marc Ribot, for one?

Actually some do complain, but no one hears them.

On average, I'd say that the ratio of financial payoff to "effort" in music or photography is much, much smaller than in, say, software engineering.

Most musicians are poor. A couple get rich, but not because of music sales but rather concerts and tours.

What weird stuff for people to say. Nothing in life is free... Successful people almost always have to work hard for it.

I agree, but society doesn't glamorize coding. I'd wager there are fewer people taking up software expecting to get rich than those picking up a camera or mic.

You mentioned a ratio, can you explain the basis to compare "effort" of a software engineer vs a photographer?