tbf the confusion is not so much that the author would be allowed to but that they'd want to. people would naturally assume that like with many things people put time into creating, such as novels and video games and whatever else, that the fee required to access it is desired by the author and in some way benefits them.
Imagine living in a world where it has to be explicitly said that you are allowed to send someone a free copy of something you wrote.
tbf the confusion is not so much that the author would be allowed to but that they'd want to. people would naturally assume that like with many things people put time into creating, such as novels and video games and whatever else, that the fee required to access it is desired by the author and in some way benefits them.