One of the most compelling reasons for the rise in piracy over the past decade is the cost. We have the option of buying songs or movies from certain places or we can rip them for free. It can be quite enticing and has fueled the growth of an industry that is currently under fire for hurting other industries.
When one looks at the “true” cost of piracy, opinions can change. That’s the perspective taken in the infographic below by BackgroundCheck. Click to enlarge.
So, basically what this tells me is that these companies are throwing away money and blaming it on piracy. All because they “think” that there is a 1 to 1 conversion with digital content. When it reality there isn’t. An illegal download does not correlate to a lost sale. I guarantee that the losses they claim are unsubstantiated.
Prices are too high and what you “own” when you purchase is a lower quality product than what you “own” when you pirate. That is why people pirate.
If I pirate a movie, I have no commercials, I have the quality I want, the format I want. If I pirate music, I get the songs I want without having to deal with DRM, the files are in a format I can use on any device, as many devices, and for as long as I want it to. I don’t have to deal with commercials between songs, I don’t have to deal with a paid streaming license, and I don’t have to pay for cloud storage.
If other industries were ran like media/software, people would flip their lids.
What if the auto industry did what the music industry does?
Oh you want a car? You’ll have to purchase this special key that is only good for X amount of days, then you have to check back in with us in order for your key to work again. If at any point we decide to be closed, you won’t have access to your car any more. Also, we’re going to embed your personal information into your vehicle to deter you from illegally lending out your vehicle. Also, you’re only allowed to drive it on approved roads and you must listen to our commercials.