Copyright law was invented as a law preventing businesses profiting from the investments of other businesses. i.e. stopping one book publisher printing a cheaper copy of a book from another publisher, when the first publisher had paid the author and wished to recover that cost. Note that is what happens in free markets: competitors who can reduce costs emerge in competition to existing players. Copyright is something that kinda goes against "fundamental thing[s] about capitalism"
Anyway, as the public did not own the technology to copy books (printing presses), this was a law solely against commercial copying, and did not restrict the public in any way. Copyright law has been transformed from a solely commercial law into a law that is also against non-commercial copying by the public. Also, now as the technology to copy is now owned by the public, this law has to be maintained by restricting the public in ever greater measures, viz. DRM and DMCA. So, first ethical point: It restricts the public now they own the technology to copy for themselves, whereas it never used to. Second ethical point: Copyright law against non-commercial copying is an ethic that says helping your neighbour (e.g. by giving a copy of a useful program), or sharing with your friends is morally wrong. Something of an poor ethic.
But I do think you have a point, nonetheless. Certain kinds of task cannot easily be divided up and solved by communities. Movie making is an example. On the other hand, software making can be spread amongst a community that shares knowledge easily. That kind of organisation have none of the ethical problems discussed above. And we no longer have to theorise about whether free-software authors can get paid. They do. Right now. By companies who sell services based on free software.
The question is how can artists and authors be encouraged (i.e. paid) for their efforts, and the recording industry monumentally fails to pay musicians money. Most musicians end up nominally OWING money to record companies. Only a small minority of musicians actually receive money in royalities. Those who were successful enough to negiotiate a contract that works in their favour. The record industry maybe completely redundant now that $3000 of equipment can get you recorded reasonably well.
If there is a solution that allows non-commercial copying, whilst commercial copying and publishing has to be paid for... if there is a business model that could work with that then that is what I'd like to see. Maybe we have to give up big budget movies? *shrugs* Small budget movies and music making will continue even with non-commercial copying, since that is what happens already in other countries, like Nigeria and Brazil. And I, for one, wont miss the majority of the musak that comes from the industry-pushed mediocre hacklike poseurs.