Piracy originally referred to the illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted material online through programs like Napster. While some argue it is justified for economic or convenience reasons, content creators and distributors saw it as lost profits. Digital distribution services like iTunes, Spotify, and Netflix emerged to legally provide the access, convenience and sharing capabilities people had come to expect, gaining popularity by meeting consumer demand. This demonstrated that with quality legal options available, people are willing to pay for media, shifting the focus from fighting piracy to competing with it through digital distribution.

1. PIRACY
How
Led to Digital Distribution

2. The illegal reproduction and distribution
of copyrighted material on the Web.
- PCMag
What is piracy?
Image Credit: www.catalystmedia.org.uk/reviews/images/copyright_piracy.jpg

3. What is piracy?
…sooooo why do people ‘pirate’?
Image Credit: www.catalystmedia.org.uk/reviews/images/copyright_piracy.jpg
The illegal reproduction and distribution
of copyrighted material on the Web.
- PCMag

4. What is piracy?
…sooooo why do people ‘pirate’? and is it ‘ bad’?
Image Credit: www.catalystmedia.org.uk/reviews/images/copyright_piracy.jpg
The illegal reproduction and distribution
of copyrighted material on the Web.
- PCMag

5. The question of whether or not ‘pirating’ is controversial; it
involves debates upon copyright, and how we approach the
politics of rapidly changing technology; and thus, a rapidly
changing society…Not to mention the admittedly rational
arguments for piracy.

6. Why do people ‘pirate’?Answers provided by users on Reddit. Full
citation in sources section

7. Why do people ‘pirate’?
Economic
“My desire to consume media
exceeds my
budget.”!
! -- [deleted]
“I am a college student with
little disposable income, so I
saved up for a nice PC and
quit buying media.”
! -- djaeke

8. Why do people ‘pirate’?
Economic
Convenience/
Quality
“Because if I go out
and BUY the thing, I
have to sit through
adverts and ----,
which as a paying
customer just isn't
cool.”
! -- DeepSquirrel
“My desire to consume media
exceeds my
budget.”!
! -- [deleted]
“I am a college student with
little disposable income, so I
saved up for a nice PC and
quit buying media.”
! -- djaeke

9. “To watch TV shows I
have no other access to.”
! -- GreatName
!
“Because paying an extra
10 to 40% for games just
because I happen to live
in Australia is absurd”
! - Rikeus
“Because if I go out
and BUY the thing, I
have to sit through
adverts and ----,
which as a paying
customer just isn't
cool.”
! -- DeepSquirrel
“My desire to consume media
exceeds my
budget.”!
! -- [deleted]
“I am a college student with
little disposable income, so I
saved up for a nice PC and
quit buying media.”
! -- djaeke
Economic
Convenience/
Quality Access
Why do people ‘pirate’?

10. “…it's about ease of experience…Ultimately all you need
to do to convert me into a paying customer is make it
easier to purchase your work, than it is to download it.
Allow for digital downloads, accept as many forms of
payment as possible (credit card, paypal, etc). Don't use
DRM, or anything that will make it harder to install and
play.”
- Gene_P00le on Reddit
So basically…

11. While obviously being a factor, it’s not just about free
content; people want our forms of entertainment to catch
up to our digital technology. Above all, we want access,
convenience and the ability to share
but when did this become an expectation? and why is
this significant?

12. Napster and Sharing
“In about 1998, Napster would allow people to dip into each other’s hard drive and
share their MP3 music files…people scoffed. ‘Share? Why would anyone do that?’…
Just one year later over four million songs were in circulation,” the true potential for
‘sharing’ on the internet had been revealed. (Tom Lamont, the Guardian)

13. “I share, therefore I am”
- Sherry Turkle

14. Napster ushered in people connecting online
through shared content via digital technology.
This act was revolutionary, and sent content
distribution into an age of…

15. “Napsterization”
An effect stemming from the revolutionary program Napster that has created, “networked
consumers armed with technology and high-speed connectivity [who are now] disrupt[ing]
traditional institutions…consumers have come to expect that a digitized version of a product —
such as news, movies or television shows—should be available online for free.”
– Mary Madden

16. “Technology is advancing at such an exponential pace that I can’t blame
my parents for falling behind.”
- Keri Flannagan

17. Like Keri Flanagan’s parents, much of the entertainment industry - cable
companies, record companies, etc. - had (and are having) a difficult time
keeping up with this digital technology. Especially that of ‘cost’

18. The new
worth of
‘free’ While it may seem counterintuitive,
some experts see consumers’ insatiable
appetite for free content as an
opportunity rather than a cause for
concern
– Mary Madden

19. The new
worth of
‘free’The real power of social media [and
also in this case digital distribution as
well], compared to passive mass
media, is that they can be used by any
person or self-organizing
group for a common goal.
– Sabrina Bresciani, and Schmeil, A

20. whether through ‘Piracy’ or legal
means – utilizes this mentality as
something like music can be sold by
the band themselves for little cost, and
create awareness for their
Digital Distribution
B(R)AND

21. Wilco, in 2001 released their album ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ for
free online – it epitomized the process of digital awareness
leading to physical profit.
Image Credit: All rights reserved to Wilco, and Nonesuch Records

22. was later commercially
released by Nonesuch Records on April 23, 2002 – it would
eventually go on to sell over 500 000 copies (Madden, Mary)
Image Credit: All rights reserved to Wilco, and Nonesuch Records

23. Content was not just meant for profit, but
also for awareness – which can become
profit if this technology is utilized
rather than repressed
Image Credit: All rights reserved to Wilco, and Nonesuch Records

24. Or awareness, convenience
and distribution can be
melded through this
technology

25. Like the tradeoff between “privacy and personalization” discussed by Sean
Madden in “Tech That TracksYour Every Move Can Be Convenient, Not
Creepy” – i.e. the allure of personalization overshadowing the fear of
‘privacy invasion’ – there is a tradeoff between form of content and
convenience. One company that realized this early on was Apple.

26. “iTunes utilizes the digital
distribution of music and product;
acknowledging the virtue of
convenience and price for product.
People no longer held the physical
properties of music as sacred – the
song itself became everything.”
iTunes
– Greg Sandoval, CNET
Image Credit: Sip Khoon Tan, Flickr

27. iTunes
Now that the definition of
ownership and access had
changed - the next step
would come with Spotify
“iTunes utilizes the digital
distribution of music and product;
acknowledging the virtue of
convenience and price for product.
People no longer held the physical
properties of music as sacred – the
song itself became everything”
– Greg Sandoval, CNET
Image Credit: Sip Khoon Tan, Flickr

28. Spotify“Spotify was launched in 2008 and has completely changed they way people
listen to music ever since. By allowing users to play music directly from the
cloud — rather than by downloading it first — Spotify became wildly popular,
and as a startup gave entrenched music industry players like Apple’s iTunes a
run for its money.” (John Pullen, Time)
Like the internet of things, Spotify utilizes this growing digital
interconnectedness through, “next-generation Internet connectivity to create
an expanded roster of advanced services.” (Arlen, Gary). People use it for its
convenience (no downloading), its access (its presence in the cloud), and its
subscription service (they are after all willing to pay for quality service)

29. While Piracy certainly exists
today, its alternatives are
becoming more prevelant, and
more appealing all the time:
iTunes, Spotify, and Netflix to
name a few. It has been
demonstrated that people will pay
if they feel the service around the
content is of quality. Thus, it
seems as though,

30. “media companies would be best
served by competing with piracy
through digital distribution
rather than hoping that the
lack of a legitimate digital
distribution channel will drive
consumers away from the
digital channel and back to
physical purchases.” (Danaher,
33)

31. so, Thank
“Napsterization” for
the Netflix you binge
upon, and the Spotify or
iTunes you jam out
to!

32. Sources
• Turkle, Sherry.“The Documented Life” NewYorkTimes. 15 Dec 2013
• “Why doYOU Pirate?”Reddit/ Web. 23 Nov. 2013
• “Definition of Internet Piracy” PCMag. Web. 18th Jan. 2012
• Madden, Mary.“The State of Music Online:TenYears After Napster” Pew Internet. June 2009
• Flanagan, Kerri.“Teaching my 60-year-old father how to text” Guardian. 16 Dec 2013
• Bresciani, Sabrina and Schmeil,A.“Social media platforms for social good” 6th IEEE
International Conference on Digital Ecosystems andTechnologies (DEST). 2012
• Madden, Sean.“Tech That TracksYour Every Move Can Be Convenient, Not Creepy “
• Sandoval, Greg.“Was Napster or iTunes more influential?” CNET. Web. 27 May, 2011
• Pullen, John P. “EverythingYou Need to Know About Spotify” Time. 3 June 2015
• Arlen, Gary. "The internet of things: looking ahead to an interconnected world."
Multichannel News24 Feb. 2014: 10+.Academic OneFile.Web. 11 June 2015.

33. Image Credits
• Slides 26-27 feature “Steve Jobs Action Figure” by Sip Khoon Tan on www.Flickr.com. No
changes or modifications were made to the image, and I attribute all copyright over to these
parties. The image can be found at this link: www.flickr.com/photos/sipkhoon/5804370238/in/
gallery-yahooeditorspicks-72157627827922060/
• All images uncredited are from www.pexel.com, and do not require attribution