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by John_KZ 2997 days ago
Piracy fixed some issues (like extremely inflated profit margins in the Music/Movie industry) but it also created some others. It is no longer possible for small producers of movies or documentaries to fund themselves. It's also not possible to distribute software for people to run on their own machines and still get paid.

The piracy era was incredibly beneficial for society because it gave a lot of people access to software tools and knowledge they previously could never afford to access, but when it proliferated too much, the companies and individuals that produced software and books and video could no longer sustain themselves financially.

This doesn't mean piracy is inherently bad but instead we need a better system that can provide income to those producing useful material while ensuring access to that material to everyone that needs it. It's hard to achieve but it's certainly not impossible.

2 comments

> It is no longer possible for small producers of movies or documentaries to fund themselves.

When was this golden age? Before the internet was widespread, small producers could not even get broadcasted due to the prohibitive cost of broadcasting methods.

> The piracy era was incredibly beneficial for society because it gave a lot of people access to software tools and knowledge they previously could never afford to access, but when it proliferated too much, the companies and individuals that produced software and books and video could no longer sustain themselves financially.

There's currently no research suggesting that piracy makes creators lose money unlike the movie industries are claiming.

> It is no longer possible for small producers of movies or documentaries to fund themselves.

KickStarter allow small producers to fund themselves, YouTube allow to monetize your views.