It wasn’t that long ago (1990s) that scientists themselves would have to go to the library and photocopy their own journal articles (or I guess if you were a prof, you probably had an assistant do it).

I don’t understand the current business model of journals existing as PDF files mailed around. The purchase price of $35 per article is absurd and no one ever pays that. Big schools do subscribe to the journals their research teams publish in. So that’s how scientists get themselves get access.

If they don’t have to actually print as many physical copies of the journal, it should be cheaper than it was before, but it can’t be free. There are still administrative costs. I don’t know how much the senior editors get paid.