Why do you pirate movies/TV shows?

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CringeFest's Avatar
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It's very interesting to see the complex reasons people pirate things.


I've recently had technical issues with watching pirated stuff: since digital media is in such cheap abundance due to streaming services, tech companies tend to make things less favorable for pirates in the name of "security". Also, programming can be pretty hard work. I've ended up buying dvd-rws and writing pirated movies to discs. I wouldn't have this problem if I didn't insist on lying down to watch movies, but this is what I do.


Netflix is just way too convenient to stop using, it gives you access to brand new material constantly. I personally think most other streaming services are garbage. It's crazy how productive Netflix is for such a cheap cost, they're always running on a lot of debt.


I typically just pirate older movies and all music. Netflix DVD is good but you have to wait for the discs.


I pirate a lot of things but I also buy a lot of music and movies too just cuz I like it. To me, any sort guilt associated with pirating anything is silly. It's not even "stealing": it's simply copying media without the artists permission. If it's easy and cheap to do, then its self defeating to get mad about it. Return to VHS and record players to stop people from pirating your stuff! Charge 50$ per item! Concerts with security guards and abandoned shacks! Ascap is the music mafia and they can blow me.


All art I make is either freely available or negotiable, the thought of hoards of "freeloaders" pirating my art is exciting. Typically people often want to pay more than what I ask, which is comforting. I'm still not serious of enough of an artist to make any money off it anyways.



Video Pirates:




Disk rot!



A good article, ostensibly about COVID effects on blockbusters, that actually directly relates to some of the arguments made earlier in this thread.

In short, it's not binary: just because films make a lot of money, it doesn't mean there's no effect to pirating. There are always films just on the cusp of being made or not and therefore even marginal changes will change which films get made, and inarguably change the budgets of the ones that are. And in fact, it may be the non-blockbusters that suffer the most from this:

The Future of Hollywood’s Billion Dollar Babies is Up For Grabs
“Hollywood’s big budget blockbusters may not be going anywhere, but its non-tentpole movies are going to see a serious trimming of the budget,” Jason Cherubini, co-founder and CFO of Dawn’s Light Media, a film and media production company focused on action movies and thrillers, told Observer. “Where in the past, the lowest risk recipe for a profitable film was a large budget on established IP, the decrease in theater-going has concentrated the demand for these types of films into the few tentpoles. This means that secondary films will not have the revenue potential to command high budgets.”



CringeFest's Avatar
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A good article, ostensibly about COVID effects on blockbusters, that actually directly relates to some of the arguments made earlier in this thread.

In short, it's not binary: just because films make a lot of money, it doesn't mean there's no effect to pirating. There are always films just on the cusp of being made or not and therefore even marginal changes will change which films get made, and inarguably change the budgets of the ones that are. And in fact, it may be the non-blockbusters that suffer the most from this:

That's true, pirating has more than a negligible effect, but its totally unclear whether it's negative or positive in the long run. I think copyright laws are much worse though, and media piracy will always be there. It doesn't hurt to throw artists a buck now and then, probably best to do that with an in-person interactions. Bandcamp is also a great project, maybe movie makers will make something like that instead of letting YouTube and Netflix hog the limelight?



I'm pretty sympathetic to the idea that a lot of copyright law needs to be reformed, but I'm not convinced pirating accomplishes that. I'm also not convinced most pirating is done by people who are happy to buy the thing when it's easy to get, or support the artists in other ways. I'm sure some do, but I think for most it remains a theoretical justification that they'll raise when questioned but then often just forget about.

I mostly just take aim at a) the really bad arguments pretending there's somehow no effect, which betrays a total lack of economic understanding and b) the really bad rationalizations that are pretty obviously just covering for wanting to do it because it's free and easy.

I don't think it's awful and I'm not interested in moralizing about it in every instance. I only get worked up if people start offering up poorly considered justifications.



CringeFest's Avatar
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I so far focused on the moral indignation around pirating, i guess cuz i'm sick of hearing it, but i would actually like to answer this question.

The three reasons i do it, besides money, are:

-availability. so many films are only available through either YouTube (which is not something i get that excited about, even though i like to watch movies in the public domain when they are free) or a payed streaming service.

-ease of rewatching and control. The modern internet unfortunately just wants everyone to move on to something else once they've consumed one form of media. I think this is both manipulative and rediculous.

-convenience.

I've been pirating things for 20 years now, and i don't see much of a reason to stop doing it...maybe if i actually have decent internet or a higher income one of these days, i will, but so far pirating is the only thing that can satisfy certain desires i have.



so far pirating is the only thing that can satisfy certain desires i have.
This is basically what I mean. I can only get so worked up about this idea, so long as people are clear-headed about it. If you understand that it might not be morally defensible but you're willing to live with that for the enjoyment you get from it, then there's really nothing useful to argue about; we have different axioms but not different logics. It's when people break logic and contort their usual standards to rationalize an action that I feel compelled to argue with them.

As for the reasons you give for pirating: I have mixed feelings. Only a lack of availability feels like a real reason (and I'm not sure "it's only available streaming" qualifies as a lack of availability). The other two are basically identical to a reason anyone could give for stealing anything (it's convenient and gives me more control)

But let's steel man the argument: let's say you literally cannot purchase a film you would legitimately purchase if you could. Then I have to ask: is the pirating restricted to things that cannot be purchased? If so, then fair enough. We have different axioms. But if not, then it's not actually the reason. It's just an edge case being used to cover all cases, like talking about "stealing bread to feed my starving family" and then, having established the defensibility of theft, walking off with a flat screen monitor.



Re: the analogy at the end there. I will preemptively note that I am not equating physical goods with digital ones. The analogy is only about the dubious logic of using extreme circumstances to justify an action, only to apply it under normal circumstances as well.



...I've been pirating things for 20 years now, and i don't see much of a reason to stop doing it...maybe if i actually have decent internet or a higher income one of these days, i will, but so far pirating is the only thing that can satisfy certain desires i have.
Just a question about safety: are you worried about being detected? Are you worried about getting a virus/malware on your computer? If you've done this for 20 years have you ever got a warning?

I'm just curious, not judging at all



CringeFest's Avatar
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Just a question about safety:
Uh-oh, time for my autism to go into full blown mania! Three questions.

are you worried about being detected?
Yes but no. Without going into too many details, the FBI are the ones who persecute the media and software pirates. For most people, this comes in the form of a notification from an internet service provider. ISPs only take it personally when they also support streaming services.

Are you worried about getting a virus/malware on your computer?
yes, and that's why all booty-loving pirates need to learn how to identify sources of malware/viruses before getting too click happy.

If you've done this for 20 years have you ever got a warning?
no, just morality/ethics arguments, interestingly often from people who aid/abet my piracy. However, overtime the pirates have started to realize how ridiculous and hypocritical it is to judge the people who have more of a hit-and-run approach to the people who host pirated content. Artists still eat...you might enjoy this song:
.



Re: "artists can still eat."

I realize if you download Kanye's latest album he's still going to be stupid rich. This is similar to the "oh right Marvel's going to go out of business if I don't buy a ticket to this one." But both cases ignore all the people who are part of the process and not filthy stinking rich, whose wages and employment exist around the margins.

All money lost to pirating changes which films get made and for how much, and those budgets change how many people get hired and how well their industries do, and the overwhelming of those people are not wealthy.



I don't do it super often and try to limit it to movies that aren't easily available through legal methods. I'm fortunate though that, in addition to numerous streaming options, I have access to good video rental stores in my city (although I haven't gone since March 2020), so have access to most things I want to see at a reasonable cost. When I do buy movies, it's usually from boutique labels so I feel pretty good about spending my money to support them.



"How tall is King Kong ?"
I have around 800 DVDs. And I still buy films if they're worth it, because having a dedicated physical support for each makes me feel absurdly safer about their preservation (and also is a requirement for me to feel I "own" it, and because a physical library is as cool to behold as it is cumbersome). But with that money and space dedicated to them, I can't really feel guilty for also pirating some. Especially ones that are difficult to find. And I really don't want to pay money for a "mere" file on a computer or, worse, the internet cloud.

That being said, I do buy many films or books from second hand shops, and this raise its own interesting ethical questions (as, in those cases, no data or money goes back to the authors, yet a legal economic market is sustained).
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Some interesting/relevant discussion here: What Does a 'Buy' Button Really Mean in the Digital Age?

Short version: "Buy" is probably misleading when done on digital platforms, it's more a form of licensing, so at some point we'll either have to change that terminology or augment the law to create some kind of permanent digital ownership (and/or allow it to be transferred to another person, though I can see that being problematic pretty quickly).