Journal space is not a limited resource. Premium journal space is.
That's because every researcher has a hierarchy of journals that they monitor. Prestigious journals are read by many researchers. So you're essentially competing for access to the limited attention of many researchers.
Conversely, publishing in a premium journal has more value than a regular journal. And the big scientific publishers are therefore in competition to make sure that they own the premium journals. Which they have multiple tricks to ensure.
Interestingly, their tricks only really work in science. That's because in the humanities, it is harder to establish objective opinions about quality. By contrast everyone can agree in science that Nature generally has the best papers. So attempting to raise the price on a prestigious science journal, works. Attempting to raise the price on a prestigious humanities journal, results in its circulation going down. Which makes it less prestigious.
That's because every researcher has a hierarchy of journals that they monitor. Prestigious journals are read by many researchers. So you're essentially competing for access to the limited attention of many researchers.
Conversely, publishing in a premium journal has more value than a regular journal. And the big scientific publishers are therefore in competition to make sure that they own the premium journals. Which they have multiple tricks to ensure.
Interestingly, their tricks only really work in science. That's because in the humanities, it is harder to establish objective opinions about quality. By contrast everyone can agree in science that Nature generally has the best papers. So attempting to raise the price on a prestigious science journal, works. Attempting to raise the price on a prestigious humanities journal, results in its circulation going down. Which makes it less prestigious.