Summary
The move from physical books, CDs and DVDs to downloadable digital versions was supposed to unlock all kinds of new possibilities. The problem is that copyright, in the form of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), is too powerful, and its reach is too wide.
Before copyright, most creative endeavors were supported in this way, through funding by true fans. The difference in the 21st century is that the internet has democratized patronage. So-called piracy becomes marketing since it allows artists to gain new fans. Copyright is failing, because it is based on criminalizing that urge.
I think it would be worthwhile to attempt to do as more and more people are enabled by the internet to reach a wider audience. As we've seen on stores like Amazon, there are more people self publishing today than ever before.
Limiting the amount of times a library can lend out an ebook is the most asinine concept these corporations have come up with. The whole point of it being a digital product is that you're not limited by a physical object.