Most of the money spent on making a book does not go away just because you can copy the finished product for nothing, but I also expect to see a little saving because publishers and retailers have to pay less (they still pay for servers and retail websites and other e-business costs) for transport and storage.

But if i’m paying the same as a hardback or paperback I want the same quality editing , proofreading, layout in an ebook as I get in a paperback.

The argument of it costing the same should only really be valid when epublishing is as successful as hardcopy. Most of the money comes from booksales, so ebooks shoudl still be reaching out rather than pushing away.

elibraries would be an interesting concept that could work wherever you can get an online service. You could pay to use the site but you would never “own” a copy as it only exists on the server.

To me, notes from a musical instrument are like words from a book. I hope, you, as an artist, don’t think that your art can only be appreciated when printed on a sheet of paper.