I agree that this is a huge problem to be solved, but I don’t think it excuses piracy in any way.
On another note, one emerging new framework is patreon. Instead of paying for printing/distribution, you’re paying the author directly to continue writing.
Over 3/4 of the media I pay for is creative commons, redistributable, non-commercial, no-modifications, attribution licensed. (The other 1/4 is streaming video, music, etc, which is not CC licensed.)
I am 1%-5% of some of the CC artists' income. I'm probably < 0.000001% of the income for the corporate media sources I pay.
On another note, one emerging new framework is patreon. Instead of paying for printing/distribution, you’re paying the author directly to continue writing.