Piracy in the age of digital media

[ImmortalDreams]

While I'll always pay for something instead of pirating it unless there is absolutely no other option, internet piracy has hit home for me horribly over the years. It doesn't just hurt big corporations. It hurts indies.

I used to actually be doing pretty well as a self published author, then my novels got mass pirated. I used to think I would be flattered if my stuff could ever be considered pirate worthy. Instead, I just felt really hurt by my readers. I spent hundreds of hours and several years of my life writing a book series (not my one on tapas), and the majority of my readers just downloaded stolen versions. (googleing yourself and your work can be pretty revealing...)

Anyways, it's taken me years to really get back into writing and to heal enough to give things another try. I'm here on tapas to share my stories for free, even if nothing financially stable can come out of it, because I realized what mattered more to me. Sharing and connecting with others through storytelling.

[GesuGesu]

In the case of the music industry, I have a few thoughts: My mom asked me why Kpop is now bigger than Jpop, and I told her that Jpop is very inaccessible compared to Kpop these days.

Kpop music can often be found with full MVs on the company's official youtube channel, with English subs.

Jpop music can be found on their company's official youtube channel too, but sometimes it's region-locked. Fans may upload the music themselves, but then Sony Music Japan hits those videos with copyright strikes and takedowns.
Then people like me who want to buy their official CDs so I can actually listen to a full version of a song instead of a 30 second clip have difficulty because many Japanese sites don't ship outside of Japan.

They make it very inaccessible for most people, so many people resort to pirating. If one lucky person manages to buy the physical copy of the disc, they will upload and share the music online for everyone else because it's so ducking hard to access it legally.

You know why I pirated Interspecies Reviewers? It's because Funimation dropped it from their streaming services, but they also refused to let other companies to buy their license for the show. In addition, despite no longer streaming Interspecies Reviewers, they also issued copyright takedowns to fans uploading compilation videos of the series onto video sharing sites. If the legal license holder drops the show, and refused to let other licensors to buy the license off them, then no streaming service can air the show in the west! What can we do??? Pirate!!

-Wheezes- This was my industry rant about accessibility of media and resorting to pirating.

[ArthurAleksei]

The problem here is that studios are deadlocked into these streaming services because of the state of the industry. They have absolutely no control over Netflix's/iTunes'/etc policies.

A donation box MIGHT work, but I kinda doubt it would--especially if the fans never leave the piracy sites to visit the studios' website and find the donation box in the first place.
I'm not saying it isn't a good idea, though. I just doubt it would be universally effective.

Like I said, piracy is a very complex problem. There might not be any straightforward solutions to it...

[nostalgicroxas]

Piracy is also a fine line. Take a game for example. As long as you own an iteration of it, then you can legally use an emulator to play it because you've already bought and own it. Maybe you bought Pokemon Blue on GB back in the day but now your system doesn't work (gee I wonder why) but the cartridge still works. You can legally play the emulator of it on your computer.

It's also a fine line where, some consoles are region locked while others aren't (looking at you Wii and DSi). I can legally play Tales of Hearts on my DSi because it's not a region locked console, and I can legally play the emulator of it with a translated Word doc up and read through the script that someone took the time to translate and I've saved.

Music, last I checked, is of a similar thread. So long as you own a physical copy of it - tape, CD, proof of buying the MP3 file - then you legally can transfer it to any thing else you own. CDs have taken the route to try and stop you from doing this- the Skyward Sword music disc that came with the game has a built in piracy blocker so you cannot easily rip of the music off. Rather that, you can rip it off, but you cannot then translate those files over to a MP3 player. Which is dumb cause like, at some point, they won't make that CD anymore, and CDs will eventually wear out when you listen to them a billion and a half times. I'd rather take my chances in murdering the batteries of a cheap MP3 player.

Another problem with this system of streaming is what's happened on services like Netflix and Hulu. You've bought into streaming to watch on them, but the moment either stopped hosting Disney movies (the selection being few and far between anyway), I have less reason to have that service. Why pay for a service when I can stick in my DVD of said movie? Or worse, the streaming service doesn't have the movie that I have on VHS, but I want to watch it. But this pirated site DOES have it. Am I legally allowed to watch it because I own the physical thing, or am I legally allowed to use one of the many tools (some even for sale on stores like QVC) to just rip the old VHS content to the modern day computer?
And what about for movies that I don't "own" but were recorded to VHS when they were on TV, and were never released for people to buy? Like "Brink" the movie, has pretty much never seen an at-home release to watch. It's a fun movie and I have it on a VHS somewhere. Am I legally allowed to watch it? Yes, so long as I'm not charging at the door to come in and see it. That's where the clause of "private use" only comes in at the start of every movie.

[rajillustration]

Technology changes so rapidly that it doesn't matter if you physically own it. Unless it's a book (and even then, books fall apart) the copyright to own that copy is only temporary. Maybe it's a long time before a book wears out--but that's how long you have the right to own it. Nothing is forever, basically, and the way art works is through selling limited copyrights.

I think there's exceptions to when piracy is OK, when it's to protect works that are disappearing or are inaccessible because of outdated technology--but overall, piracy is not OK, and people tend to think that because it's OK sometimes it's OK all the time. But that's...a fantasy. It does not bully big corporations into doing what you want. They barely care because they have insurance that covers theft (and they destroy copies they don't sell anyway--all of the physical items you buy--they only make so many of them, and what doesn't sell, gets buried in the desert like ET the video game) The only people it hurts is the independent artists and small studios working under them that now won't make as much profit, and therefore won't get funded enough the next time they go to make a book or a game or a movie.

Just go to a library, and then everyone wins.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

This video is a little long, but I highly recommend watching it to gain an understanding of what piracy did to the music industry, and how it...actually helped it evolve into what it is today, with the various streaming services.

Believe it or not, there was a time where indie metal and punk bands encouraged piracy back in the 80s and 90s, because the big companies did nothing for them. One way they could get their music out there was through cassete tape trades.

[Snickerdoodles]

Can you give more details? Why would the majority of your readers download stolen versions?

[IdiotWithPencil]

The problem here is that studios are deadlocked into these streaming services because of the state of the industry. They have absolutely no control over Netflix's/iTunes'/etc policies.

of course they don't the clients do, studios are product services are transport, the trasports clients aren't the producers or suppliers it's the consumer, the ones with the power to change it are the consumers, sadly studios will need to either put their foot down or find a new system if they want these services to change.

A donation box MIGHT work, but I kinda doubt it would--especially if the fans never leave the piracy sites to visit the studios' website and find the donation box in the first place.

already has happened before 2018 animator dormitory project had over 20 million dollars raised thanks in part to a YouTuber telling pirates to donate to stick it to crunchy. I'll let you guess what happened

pirates have money they will gladly give it to the studios or services if they are good, nothing more nothing less

Like I said, piracy is a very complex problem. There might not be any straightforward solutions to it...

it isin't a problem it's a tool that will for ever be in the clients favor, we lose piracy we lose control over the industry and are under the whims of idiots in suits.

[Darth_Biomech]

If piracy would be bad, the industry would've suffered for that. Instead we have films that make billions in the revenue and games like Witcher III that make loads of money while being completely DRM-free (not to mention the whole indie game explosion). Honestly, the whole debate is this all over again:

I am of the opinion that copyright and IP rights should be abolished completely for legal persons. Actual people should own their actual ideas, from now till death and not a minute longer, and companies should only have a non-exclusive (Or exclusive only for a very limited time, like say 5-10 years) permission to use them in their products. So if you want to write story about Superman you should go to Jerry Siegel, not DC, and if you would want to have Stormtrooper outfits in your fiction you'd go to John Mollo and not LucasFilm Disney.

[Snickerdoodles]

Actual people should own their actual ideas, from now till death and not a minute longer

Authors will get murdered so that their works will enter the public domain.

[ImmortalDreams]

I googled myself and my work, and my books were available on multiple pirated e-book websites. There were more downloads listed on those sites than the legitimate sales I had gotten. These pirated ebook websites get taken down from time to time, so I don't know if the ones I found in 2017 are even still around. I also once tried to post my novels as free audiobooks on youtube one time, hoping that I could get watch time as a trade off. At least everyone got free books, and I got a benefit too, right? Some time later I googled myself again, and found someone hosting my audiobook videos as mp3 downloads... I don't even get watch time that way. It was just really inconsiderate, considering I was trying to make everyone happy and compromise. I'm not against internet piracy in certain circumstances. I've watched my share of otherwise unavailable shows over the years too, so I don't mean to be a hypocrite. If it really hurts others, especially creators struggling to make it through each paycheck, then I'm not cool with it. There was a time when I didn't care about or even think about who I might be hurting by reading/watching pirated content, then I got pirated. Bad karma, maybe?

[Darth_Biomech]

Or they could be murdered right after sighing a contract so they couldn't back out of it or demand to change it.
Both scenarios are ridiculously unlikely and won't happen in a real word, because murder is a crime and most people aren't psychopaths.

[Luminosophy]

It signals, that monopoly is bad and the consumers demand independent creators. Like here on tapas we can chose where our money goes and buy the things we want, instead of being foced to buy an all-inclusive bundle for 1000 shows we don't even want.

I want to agree, but I've seen the antithesis to what you're talking about time and time again on any creator's pages who had the audacity to charge even mere cents for their work. Insults like 'how dare you', 'lol why should we pay for u to doodle shit in 5 minutes', 'it's not fair for us who cant afford it', iced with threats to acquire and disseminate the work. I don't think consumers can tell the difference between 'big corp' and independents, because they seem to feel that asking for any payment for a service is a grievous offense.

[DukeOfOool]

Yeah I've seen that too, but I think these people aren't real fans anyways, more like looters trying to get as much free content as they want, maybe they even feel entitled to get it. They won't make a difference, as they didn't pay anyways. In the worst case they'll pirate, but if they're more likely to just jump to another free comic.

So this is more a conflict between the paid comics, the comics which get financed by donations and add revenue and how the consumers move between those two.

[Snickerdoodles]

Or they could be murdered right after sighing a contract so they couldn't back out of it or demand to change it.
Both scenarios are ridiculously unlikely and won't happen in a real word, because murder is a crime and most people aren't psychopaths.

A dead contract-signer has backed out of the contract in the most definitive manner possible. Good luck getting them to deliver.

And murder doesn't seem unlikely when we're talking about IPs worth millions or even billions of dollars. People get killed for less all the time.

[thedude3445]

It annoys me that the items I legally purchase in digital form are sometimes inaccessible to me when that service goes down or even if I move countries. All of my digital movies on Vudu? Can't even use them in Japan! All those games I got on Desura? Those are gone forever lol, not that I particularly cared I guess.

The slight movement towards DRM-free digital purchases with things like GOG and Gumroad is the real future, I think. The slow acceptance that piracy and bootlegs are going to persist no matter what and the only thing the big companies can do is make their paid content easier and safer to access than the awful free piracy websites. I at least trust that my digital movies on Google or Microsoft will remain for decades to come, but the fact that I don't have a copy of them on my own PC tends to make me leery.

[DiegoPalacios]

People get killed for less all the time.

Remember when a Voltron "fan" attempted to blackmail the studio that worked on it to make a ship cannon?......

For a ship......a SHIP!!!!!!!!!!......i can see a weirdo like that one going further.......

[ArthurAleksei]

Just to be clear, I'm not defending Netflix or it's counterparts, but I think there is definitely an issue when piracy sites like KissAnime.Ru make money off pirated anime and give nothing back to the creators (I'm not saying all piracy sites do this).

Interestingly enough though, I've heard that streaming sites started as a way for the studios to make money since nobody wanted to by DVDs anymore when you could just watch the movie for free on a piracy site. I don't know how true this is, and haven't looked into it.

[ArthurAleksei]

My point about the donation box concept is that, while it could work very well for a well-known studio, smaller studios would have a much harder time making money that way. Yes, a small studio can do it, but not all.
Maybe I'm wrong--I hope I am.

[ArthurAleksei]

@rajillustration:
I think there's exceptions to when piracy is OK, when it's to protect works that are disappearing or are inaccessible because of outdated technology--but overall, piracy is not OK, and people tend to think that because it's OK sometimes it's OK all the time.

Good point. You see this kind of reasoning all the time: X is okay because sometimes Y, so that means X is okay when there is no Y (dunno if that made sense )