There are plenty of things that are free and also provided for a fee. You can pay to go to a conference and hear someone talk, or you can just go outside and hear people talk for free, and often times enjoy it more than the conference talk. You can pay for admittance to a dance club or go to another one for free. You can buy bottled water or drink from the public water system for (mostly) free. It's not an either-or situation.