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83
6 votes
Aug 14, 2015

Yes and no. While piracy is generally bad, it is considered a crime, and it is really hard to quantify the extent of the damage it causes, a certain level of piracy has some positive effect.

The most important thing is that piracy introduces a competition - manufacturers of digital goods must invest in quality to be competitive on the market (companies compete not only with other companies but also with the pirates). As we all know, competition is always good for the consumer (it lowers prices, increases quality etc.). On the other hand it lowers the revenue of a company, and it can even bring it to ruin.

Generally I would say that piracy is not bad, or not as bad as some people think. I vote "no".

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-1
main reply
1 vote,
Aug 14, 2015

I really feel that everything should be free on the Internet. So-called piracy only affects 1/2 percent of "sales" anyway.

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0
0 votes,
Aug 14, 2015

Piracy has an actual effect however Who is paying for it? The movie actors that get paid Millions? The Cinema's that constantly raise prices? Sure do well and people will flock to you. No problem however in other cases its not always clear cut starving artists need money to survive but in order to support them we have to give 60 cents per dollar to their record label. Obviously we're getting reduced innovation especially with good disruptive companies like Netflix or Pandora/Spotify. Piracy is bred out of need. Sure every society has free loaders but do you honestly think piracy at the levels its reaching now worldwide is all people that want free stuff just because its free?

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60
5 votes
Aug 14, 2015

Hard to say. It's bringing fast-paced change to every industry that produces digital content (film, video games, music, publishing). It probably means a short- and medium-term reduction in profit growth for these industries (see the ever-crashing CD sales, for instance), followed by a new influx of wealth directed at the people who find out the business models that make sense in the new technological reality (Notch, the creator of Minecraft, being one example).

In the medium-to-long term, I'd say it's a good thing for the global economy. All these industries are incredibly consolidated and are de facto oligopolies, with 3-5 "majors" controlling 95% of the market. Technological disruption will give (/is actually giving) an edge to small, agile companies/individuals. This will mean more competition.

The more interesting question is that of the cultural effects of piracy, and more broadly speaking of the Internet. Practically speaking, it has never been easier to become an artist - and indeed more and more people are producing art every day, probably more than at any point in the history of the world. But at the same time, it means that it's getting even harder to make a living doing whatever art form you practice.

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100
main reply
2 votes,
Aug 14, 2015

I think that piracy is good both for the economy and for the people of the world. The good for the economy is that it forces companies to give people good means of buying their goods. It also makes it easier for less established artists/movie/show/music makers to get known and start making money. Spotify (and music streaming in general) has practically killed music piracy, except for music that is hard to get a hold of outside of piracy. Netflix and other streaming companies are killing the show and movie download piracy, but it's still very usual due to these services generally not being good enough, and not all content is available in this way. Piracy also creates a lot of new customers as people are willing to pay money to companies that make things that they really like.

When it comes to the good for the people, piracy helps give the customers better products, cheaper products, and better availability.

Piracy definitely is a win win. However, I believe it would be the best for all if there was no piracy, because the benefits of purchasing was better.

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100
User voted No.
1 vote
Oct 27, 2015

Not the global economy no, digital piracy doesn't take the money you would have spent on a movie ticket and incinerate it. It makes it so that it's able to be spent on something else. A much better question is",Is digital piracy bad for the economy of the entertainment industry?" Which it isn't, art will always be payed for if it's publicized correctly. And publicity isn't a post-cost, it comes before and during the first few weeks of its world premiere. Indie artists mostly depend upon word of mouth anyway, and if it's piss then no one will recommend it.

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0
opinion
0 votes
Aug 17, 2015

Today it's easy for me to blame piracy in my money problems, but, in fact, if it wasn't for piracy, I wouldn't even found enough readers to consider ditching old work in favor of writing. That's all.

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0
opinion
0 votes
Aug 27, 2015

Yes, But only if the digital content has just been made. If you for example download a video game or music when it is not available anymore or if it is say something like 2-4 years old, The profit has probaly already been made. Unless ofcourse it is like most games now early access which can be developed for years sometimes or if it is something like minecraft which is still worked upon, with setain updates. There should be "free for public" release dates.

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0
0 votes
Sep 28, 2015

It's very hard to say.

Many of the answers that say "Yes" here don't even bother measuring the effect that might be had from exposing people to new ideas, or the idea that there are parasitic industries. Consider the textbook industry. College textbooks are an additional onerous barrier to the success of poor students. Torrented college textbooks cheapen education and can give people the ability to learn.

Every person who listens to a song, watches a movie, reads a book, and doesn't pay for it, does deprive someone of money they would get, but they also grow and learn.

We don't even have the measurements to figure out how to rate that as a value, let alone to figure out its long term impacts.

What's clear is that digital piracy is a service issue. People are willing to pay in lots of instances, if they're being given a better product. Piracy is actually competition.

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