We already had this debate back in the early naughts when services like Napster and Kazaa were widely used. They provided a very obvious benefit, and it wasn't just that music was free, it provided you with MP3 files that you could use on your MP3 player. For years and years, record companies just refused to sell digital music.
These days, I don't know a single person that pirates music. The answer why is pretty simple, Spotify or Apple Music or whatever they use is "good enough", so they use that one service and it's _way_ easier than pirating MP3s and transferring them manually.
So why do people pirate movies and TV shows? Literally because it is, in fact, easier. There's no reason it has to be, but as long as it is, people will keep doing it.
South Park pretty much nailed it with their episode on the water park filled with piss, I don't blame people for not wanting to pay for 10 different streaming services where 5% of the content is of acceptable quality.
JumpCrisscross•1d ago
> 10 different streaming services where 5% of the content is of acceptable quality
Yet here is the thing: I’ll pay! I signed up for Paramount+ to watch South Park.
But if you literally don’t make the content available, either because you’re embargoing it (Rick and Morty) or it’s old (Medici), there really isn’t an alternative to pirating. And at this point, you don’t need to even download anything—you can pirate streaming.
anovikov•1d ago
This is the stance i take with all digital content: selling it is a good thing to do. Buying it isn't.
hnarn•1d ago
These days, I don't know a single person that pirates music. The answer why is pretty simple, Spotify or Apple Music or whatever they use is "good enough", so they use that one service and it's _way_ easier than pirating MP3s and transferring them manually.
So why do people pirate movies and TV shows? Literally because it is, in fact, easier. There's no reason it has to be, but as long as it is, people will keep doing it.
South Park pretty much nailed it with their episode on the water park filled with piss, I don't blame people for not wanting to pay for 10 different streaming services where 5% of the content is of acceptable quality.
JumpCrisscross•1d ago
Yet here is the thing: I’ll pay! I signed up for Paramount+ to watch South Park.
But if you literally don’t make the content available, either because you’re embargoing it (Rick and Morty) or it’s old (Medici), there really isn’t an alternative to pirating. And at this point, you don’t need to even download anything—you can pirate streaming.