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Besides, like in any production, there must be a continuous flow of works of a same author; there is no unique, isolated, work of art. A work of art belongs and get meaning within a life work.

With these arguments we reconsider the question about royalties: whose are they? In most cases they belong formally to the authors, those who painted, wrote, photographed or composed. In truth they are of those who decide on the circulation of works. That is to say, in practice they are of a collection of persons and institutions, no matter whose name they belong to. Paradoxically then, those who get more symbolical and material benefit of the circulation of a work of art are not the authors but the institutions that concur to their diffusion.

When royalties are protected, authors are seen as victims of affronts to intellectual property. This is the most forceful argument, and all other beneficiaries are forgotten. If we would consider them we would find better solutions to preserve the just remuneration for a work done,

To answer the question about royalties it is necessary though to consider an essential fact and that is that the production of a work of art is a job like any other, that is to say, it happens in a complex productive chain. A work of art is a social fact with a material and symbolic value constructed by a set of individuals and institutions.

This implies clearing the romantic myth of art as an emanation of the soul or the spirit of the individual artist. For a human product to become a work of art many social agents that work in a chain must concur: in literature writers, editorials, bookstores, literary critics, the academia that elaborates theses and analyses, the media, diffusion magazines, etc. In visual arts, painters, photographers and other specialists, galleries, critics, academia, specialized and diffusion magazines, many internet portals and pages, publicity, etc. And so with any art form. A work in any of these fields does not become a work of art until all the other actors that define it as such have concurred.

A work is only potentially art if it remains in the private sphere of its author.

than the mere repression of those who try to violate them. The prize of an art work affects the violation of royalties. For example an agreement or in their absence a control on sometimes excessive utilities of intermediaries (editorials, galleries, event –for example concert - producers, music labels, film producers and distributors, etc) would lower the cost of the works and disincentive piracy. Decrease frivolity in the art world, putting it in its right perspective which is to reveal truth, is another possible strategy because frivolity goes hand in hand with excessive spending.

Aiming to sell works in larger quantities and for lower prizes would put them in reach of more people without diminishing incomes for producers.

Many other strategies are possible, but only if we demystify the work and the ambience that produces it.