Media Piracy - Subscribing To The Problem

Sharing is caring unless it's illegal

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Everyone loves the start of something new, especially if it's something you already enjoy. New season of your favorite show? You were on board the hype train months ago. New season for sports? You've been counting down the days until the pre-season. New movie got announced for early next year? Better start planning the watch party. It goes to show how hype can fuel a fanbase and really set something up for success.

That hype has value. If people want something, businesses know that the best possible move is to provide that something... at a price. If a fanbase is willing to shell out money for physical merchandise, engage online on social media, and generate more attention through good old word of mouth, you better believe that they'd pay the cost of entry to see that thing they're excited for. If what you have to offer the viewing public has a proven reputation of being exactly what they're calling for, you have yourself a license to print money at that point.

That's all great, but most adults have other things in their lives they have to pay for. Stuff like house payments (or rent), utilities, groceries, car payments, insurance, and more. It adds up quick. And you're asking people who want to simply enjoy and engage with your creation for a little extra cash? It's enough to price a good number of people out of the market. That doesn't mean they are completely out of luck.

Piracy is a dirty word. It's illegal, and as many pre-roll adverts will tell you, "Piracy is not a victimless crime". It's basically theft. You're getting something that costs money without paying for it. It's no different than going into your local gas station and grabbing yourself a couple bags of chips before walking out without paying. Many people would never think of doing that, and yet that same group will just as quickly turn to pirating content they want. When people are out of luck money-wise or choose not to pay the cost of entry, piracy becomes the option of choice.

There will always be people who will seek to get this sort of stuff for free. You cannot change that mentality for a certain portion of your audience. However, there is a large number of people that are more than willing to go through proper channels if given the chance. But with the amount of services that currently exist and the lack of clarity regarding what these services offer, you can't help but wonder if companies haven't helped the problem grow. Pricing is one thing but has subscription confusion has doubled down the issue?

First of all, what really is piracy? What sorts of issues are driving piracy today? And how are subscription models making things worse?

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Arrrrrrrrrr!

Right out of the gate, let's quickly cover something off here...

Is piracy illegal like I said before? YES

Is piracy basically theft like I said before? YES

Can I see and understand why people pirate stuff? YES

THAT BEING SAID, I AM NOT ENDORSING THAT YOU GO PIRATE STUFF!

Alright, cool. Cover my butt portion is out of the way. So yeah, what is piracy?

As it applies to media (and that can mean movies, TV, livestreams, video games, or anything else that you can get on your phone over the internet), it basically is the act of accessing that content without purchasing the right to view or use it. This also typically extends to content reproduction or content sharing. For pretty much any service you access this sort of stuff on, these rules apply.

In easy-to-understand terms, you can't watch without paying and you can't pay to access it then spread it to those who haven't paid.

Piracy is not a new thing either. As long as people have something to steal and a means of going about stealing it, they're going to find a way to steal it. The methods have changed, but the goal is always the same... don't pay a dime for what you are trying to get access to. This takes a few different forms:

Manual Uploads

Ever see one of those videos where someone uploaded a blurry video taken from the back row of a movie theater? It was likely a spoiler, but some actually go through the trouble of recording entire pieces of movies or TV shows for re-upload to video websites. The accounts who post these are easy to find and shut down, but with most websites allowing unlimited account creation, the fix is often temporary.

Reproduction and Bootlegging

Becoming increasingly uncommon, this method of piracy often involves copying a movie or game file to a physical item such as a DVD, USB, or VHS tape (anyone under 18 may not know what those are anymore but trust me it was the same deal). Often it was easy for people pirating to turn a profit this way though.

Streaming and File Sharing

A cute way that people beat "The System" for a while was that they could upload a file to be "Shared". It took the approach of "It's my copy and I'm just sharing it like I would with my family". It was extremely common in the music scene and spawned sites such as LimeWire (which had quite the following). The players changed often here but the game was always the same.

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The next generation

As I just touched on, the players change but the game stays the same. It's completely true... Piracy is still here and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. But why? Wouldn't we expect that this sort of thing would decrease with the fact that everything moved firmly into an online space? While it may be harder to turn a profit on the venture, there is still a very strong piracy community (yes, piracy community) based around two groups of people...

Pirates by way of passion

There is a portion of the population that pirate as a hobby. It's just what they do. Chalk it up to feeling like they're helping the community or sticking it to the business giants that run entertainment empires, these are the people who will seek to never pay for a song or video ever again. Keep in mind that while that prospect sounds attractive, these people also have to be very good on a computer. Files uploaded without checks in place can see you downloading more than just the latest episode of your favorite TV show. Oh yeah, it's also illegal. Don't forget that part. Ultimately, no amount of anti-piracy efforts will deter people who fall into this group from finding ways around.

Pirates by way of choice

Whereas you get a mix of content suppliers and downloaders in the previous group, people in this group are almost exclusively downloaders. They aren't pirating because they want free stuff. Believe it or not, many people actually are more willing to pay for media, software, or programs than take a chance on whatever they find floating around on the internet. This is certainly the group that will be swayed back to the legal side of the line when it suits them. What is means is that people existing in this group and actively participating in the piracy scene represent lost sales.

It's easy to point to money and claim that it's the only thing causing piracy, but that isn't quite true. Yes, cost is one major factor, but there is another one that people respond to as much if not more than money...

EASE

Ease of access is huge. People have proven they will pay for convenience. Offer easy access at a decent price and piracy will drop. As we are about to explore though, streaming services and subscription models are driving people towards that "Way of Choice" group at an ever increasingly fast pace.

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Unsubscribed!

So why pick on streaming services? Because they're new? Because you personally dislike them? Quite the contrary, I think streaming services are great! The issue is that they are flying in the face of that "Ease" factor I mentioned above.

At a quick overview, you have HBO Max, Kanopy, Criterion, Disney+, Netflix, Crave, Prime Video, Paramount+, Showtime, Tubi, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Roku... the list continues for a lot longer. There are simply too many to list. Choice is great, but the biggest problem isn't the selection... it's the gatekeeping.

In an effort to attract people to their service, many offer some general release content, but they also create their own stuff. They then take that general release content and lock it down so no one else can offer it. What ends up happening is that no one knows where to find anything anymore. You pretty much have to guess where a service is found now. There's no consistency (and to rub salt in the wound, there's no guarantee that an entire set of content for any one series will be available).

So now we've already made it harder to get to content... price it out. Even having a few of these services at any one time is expensive. And really, that's it. You have a service spider web of sorts where you are asked to pay a small fortune for services that don't give you everything you want. On top of it all, many of these services are cracking down on functions such as family sharing and group ownership.

Or you can pirate it, getting whatever you want for free or a small, unified price.

Again, I'm not saying to go and pirate things. I'm saying that... well... I get it. Things aren't getting cheaper and people are finding ways to cut costs. It's only a matter of time before streaming services are forced to adapt or join the service graveyard.

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A problem once more

Piracy is an ongoing issue and unlikely to ever truly go away. It's an issue of both legality and morality, and for many it represents the only time they will ever break the law (not counting stuff like traffic infractions). As everyday life becomes harder to afford, it would be foolish to think the amount of piracy will do anything but increase.

People pay for convenience, and right now, streaming services are not convenient. Sure it's great if you have an easy-to-hit target, but for many shows and games you need a spreadsheet and some serious insider knowledge in order to plan your next weekend's entertainment binge. Without a drop in price and an increase in content transparency, people will continue to flock to services that offer "File Sharing". There's a pain point even here; trying to figure out which website won't steal your personal information. Unfortunately, navigating that minefield has become preferable to paying for several services that refuse to offer a full package.

It's a losing battle that will be won with public opinion. Pirates will remain relevant because they stay ahead of anti-piracy measures. The only way to combat piracy is to win back the masses the proper way. It remains to be seen when and if this will happen.

~IR

Do you take advantage of piracy or File Sharing services? How much do you pay for streaming services? Or maybe you just have a comment to add? Check out the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn page and let everyone know. Don't forget to follow or like the page for updates! And share this article if you feel others should give it a read!

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