Why do people pirate content?

I pirate because i cant afford to pay £30 - £2000 for software. I am only 14 and i have very limited money. I wont be making any money from the software, and i wouldnt be buying it anyway, so form my view, i dont think that i am losing them any money. i dont actually pirate that often

I'll use your example of music, although this could easily be extended to movies.

You asked "$0.69, $0.99, and $1.29 is too much to ask for?" I answer with a resounding YES! I will never buy from iTunes or Amazon or any other digital music distribution service so long as they use those prices selling mp3s.

Mp3 is a lossy format, meaning that there is data lost in the compression when converting the file to mp3. CD's are lossless, and in fact are not compressed at all. Yet if I were to buy a full CD's worth of mp3's I would would be spending the same amount of money, including shipping in many cases. Yet I don't get the physical medium, I don't get the booklet that often comes with the CD, and I get the music in an inferior format.

Why in hell would I want to buy my music this way? I should be able to buy songs in a flac format, or at least in SOME lossless compression, and it should ultimately cost less than getting a CD shipped. Until then I will never pay money for music via direct download.

Now before everyone gets all up in arms, I do still purchase music, I just continue buying CD's like I did a decade and more ago. I then convert to mp3 or ogg (if my current mp3 player supports it) and store the CD in a closet.

My point is that I understand. I understand why all this piracy occurs. The industry has still not learned that blatantly ripping off the customer is bad news. The industry has still not learned that people will get their products with other means if they are not treated fairly. And in the case of gaming and DRM, that punishing loyal paying customers makes for one TERRIBLE business model.

Please forgive my rant, but this stuff really bothers me.

'Piracy' is just another word for 'Stealing', 'Shoplifting', etc. In some cases these thieves are diagnosed with having the mental disorder, 'Kleptomania'.

Kleptomania (from Greek: κλέπτειν, kleptein, "to steal", and μανία, "mania") is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape. Some kleptomaniacs may not even be aware that they have committed the theft[dubious – discuss].

Kleptomania was first officially recognized in the US as a mental disorder in the 1960s in the case of the state of California v. Douglas Jones.[citation needed]

Kleptomania is distinguished from shoplifting or ordinary theft, as shoplifters and thieves generally steal for monetary value, or associated gains and usually display intent or premeditation, while kleptomaniacs are not necessarily contemplating the value of the items they steal or even the theft until they are compelled without motive. Of all reported shoplifting, less than 5% are actually committed by kleptomaniacs.[citation needed]

This disorder usually manifests during puberty and, in some cases, may last throughout the person's life.

People with this disorder are likely to have a comorbid condition, specifically paranoid, schizoid or borderline personality disorder.[1] Kleptomania can occur after traumatic brain injury and carbon monoxide poisoning.[2][3]

Kleptomania is usually thought of as part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum, although emerging evidence suggests that it may be more similar to addictive and mood disorders. In particular, this disorder is frequently co-morbid with substance use disorders, and it is common for individuals with kleptomania to have first-degree relatives who suffer from a substance use disorder.[4]

These people steal because of their upbringing. That's what they know. In their eyes, they've done nothing wrong. It's these same people that wouldn't think twice about stealing office supplies from their place of work, taking your pen, not repaying a personal loan, etc.

Some people may not understand the consequences, feel invisible, feel it's not a crime because 'what's the problem if I just do it'. The connection to a real crime and piracy never seems to link to people.

Everyone who downloads content would never steal from a real shop, the anonymous nature of the internet makes people feel anonymous, although to geeks like us we know the opposite.

Not enough people get prosecuted so people who pirate never get deterred. Sometimes people don't want drm that comes with paid for software or the ties and limitations that sometimes gets put on software.

A lot of people download a lot to try before they buy, this is a thought shared by many of my piers who then find themselves going to more gigs as a consequences of their downloading.

They may also wish to try games before they buy to make sure that they work on their computers.

Pricing is a big part, people don't feel the product is worth the price and would buy it if it was lower.

I have admitted loads of times that I IIUKBlitzII is a pirate. But I don't like to brag about what I torrent and so on.

With regards music I was fed up paying £10+ for real cds and getting home and listening to them and realising I actually only like one or two songs on this.

So for me downloading music is sort of like a trial, if I really like the album chances are I'm going to buy the real cd cause call me old fashioned but I love having the physical album and the artwork etc.

Some bands that I would never EVER have bought their music I've downloaded and in turn liked them so much I've;

A. Went to their concert (Can't illegally download music tickets)

B. Bought merchandise (Which by the way is also ridiculously priced, £20+ for a printed cheap shirt)

C. Bought cds they had previously released.

So all in all most bands that I have illegally downloaded their work have HUGELY profited as a result of it.

Time will come when record label's realise the only way to "Beat the pirate" is by making music free, there is literally thousands of other ways to make money from music without selling the actual music.

Because some of them think they rule the world.