“I can’t escape the economic system that’s forced onto me, so let me at least get some free entertainment while I’m stuck here”
In the digital era, piracy has become a contentious issue, with opinions often split between condemnation and understanding. For many, the justification for piracy comes from a sense of frustration with the economic system and the way media companies operate. There are two main approaches to piracy: one rooted in a critique of corporate practices and another stemming from a more straightforward desire to access content without paying.
Firstly, companies often engage in terrible practices and shady behaviors, effectively pushing consumers toward piracy as a more appealing alternative. An interesting example is the failure to preserve digital content. Many companies don’t even bother to back up their original products for more than a decade, while dedicated fans maintain archives spanning several decades. In cases where big corporations make their media inaccessible, piracy becomes a form of cultural preservation. Art is created to be experienced, and it would be a disservice to the artists if their works were allowed to fade into oblivion simply because the corporations that own the rights no longer see them as profitable.
This sentiment is amplified by a general distrust in companies to preserve history. Many individuals adopt the mindset of “if I can have something for myself, I will keep it forever.” This distrust is not unfounded, given the convoluted nature of copyright laws, many of which date back to the 1950s and often make it difficult for organizations to determine who owns the intellectual property, further complicating preservation efforts. This confusion is exacerbated by the belief among some ideological groups, such as Marxists and libertarians, that intellectual property doesn’t even exist in the first place.
Furthermore, when consumers pay for content, whether it’s a product, a service, a game, or a television show, they often encounter a less-than-ideal experience compared to what they would get through pirated means. This phenomenon emphasizes the idea that piracy is more of a service issue than a price issue. Platforms like Spotify and Steam have gained popularity not because they offer content for free, but because they provide a better service than piracy. The presence of DRM (Digital Rights Management) only aggravates the situation, making piracy not just justified in the eyes of many but almost mandatory. Any online discussion will certainly contain the infamous quote “if buying isn’t owning, piracy is not theft.” The true essence of piracy, after all, is taking something from someone and selling it on the black market, depriving the original owner of the item. In contrast, digital piracy is merely the unauthorized reproduction of another’s work, without any physical loss to the original.
The sentiment “If the company doesn’t care about the consumer, the consumer shouldn’t care about the company” encapsulates a growing frustration with how companies treat their customers. This leads us to the second approach to piracy: the simple desire to not pay for things. While some people might not delve deeply into the ethics of their choices, their actions often stem from a perception that companies engage in bad actions toward consumers. It’s not necessarily about rejecting the economy or refusing to support creators; rather, it’s a reaction to the feeling that companies are exploiting the consuming masses. For many, the decision to pirate content is less about the cost and more about rejecting a system that feels fundamentally unfair.
The prevalence and nature of digital piracy vary significantly across different regions of the world, reflecting broader economic disparities and technological access. In developing countries, where income levels are lower and access to legal content may be limited, piracy rates tend to be higher. This is not merely a matter of affordability but also availability - many streaming services and digital platforms are not accessible in certain regions due to licensing restrictions or lack of infrastructure.
For instance, in countries like India or Brazil, piracy often serves as a means of accessing content that is otherwise unavailable or prohibitively expensive. This creates a complex dynamic where piracy, while illegal, becomes a de facto method of cultural exchange and information dissemination. In contrast, developed nations with higher incomes and more robust digital infrastructures generally see lower piracy rates, though they are far from immune to the practice.
The economic impact of piracy is multifaceted and often counterintuitive. While the immediate effect is a potential loss of revenue for content creators and distributors, some argue that piracy can have positive externalities. It can increase exposure to content, potentially leading to increased legitimate consumption in the future. For example, a study on the impact of music piracy found that it can actually boost sales by exposing more people to an artist’s work.1
The rise of subscription-based streaming services can be seen as a direct response to the challenge posed by piracy. Services like Netflix, Spotify, and Disney+ aim to offer a more attractive alternative to piracy by providing vast libraries of content at a relatively low monthly cost. This model addresses one of the key drivers of piracy - the desire for convenient, affordable access to a wide range of content.
The success of these models varies by region and content type. In music, for example, Spotify has been particularly effective in reducing piracy rates in many countries. However, the proliferation of streaming services has led to a new problem: content fragmentation. As more companies launch their own platforms, consumers find themselves needing multiple subscriptions to access all the content they want, potentially driving some back to piracy.
Sailing safely
The world of torrenting requires more than merely comprehending the technology behind it all, as it also demands a keen awareness of both ethical considerations and potential risks - whether it is computer related or legally related. This includes understanding the fundamentals of how torrents work, choosing the right tools, and ensuring one’s privacy and security.
What is torrenting?
“Torrenting” is the act of downloading what is shared by others and sharing to others what you have downloaded. It is done through “peer-to-peer” (P2P). This communication protocol has single handedly transformed the way of distributing large files online. Unlike traditional file sharing, Torrenting relies on decentralization and the collective power of its users because each and every downloaded file is obtained from multiple sources, referred to as “seeds” and “peers” as flawlessly explained by Edouard Courty2:
Torrenting works by breaking down large files into smaller pieces. When you initiate a download, your Torrent client contacts a tracker (a specialized server), which helps it find other users who have the same Torrent file or are downloading the same content. These users are your potential sources for the file. Once your client connects to other users, it begins downloading and uploading pieces of the file simultaneously. This is the essence of peer-to-peer sharing. As you download more pieces, you also start to upload the pieces you’ve already downloaded to others, contributing to the distributed nature of the network. This system of sharing allows for efficient and resilient file transfers. The more “seeds” available, the faster your download will be, as seeds are users who have completed the download and are now sharing the entire file. “Peers” are users who are currently downloading the file, and they, too, can share pieces of it with you. “Leechers” are users who are downloading but not yet uploading much, if at all. Torrenting is a two-way street; you both receive and contribute to the network as you download. The more you upload, the more you contribute to the health of the Torrent ecosystem.
The most reliable and universally accessible Torrenting client currently is qBittorrent. Released in 2006, it is a cross-platform, free and open-source BitTorrent client written in C++. It is interesting to have some sort of protection before torrenting on a public tracker* due to the nature of the protocol, that allows for the exposure of your IP address. Mind that it is advised not to use free VPNs but rather subscribing to a service such as Mullvad, ProtonVPN or similar.
I personally recommend looking for some sort of search engine specifically for torrenting, such as snowfl and filtering by number of seeders. Remember to be a good friend and always seed your downloads! However, there are other sources for finding torrent files such these other popular places-to-go, as follow:
- 1337x: Super hub for renowned repackers, crackers, and a vast collection of torrent files.
- LimeTorrents: File-sharing service providing a range of content including music, video, and software files.
- MagnetDL: Torrent aggregator that distributes software, movies, games, ebooks, TV shows, and music.
- RuTracker: Features a wide genre library, robust seeding, and is known as the most comprehensive public tracker, but requires registering for using the search functions.
When it comes to direct downloads, there are, among other options, these:
- InternetArchive: Millions of free books, films, songs, and more are available at this nonprofit library.
- Anna’s Archive: The largest truly open library in human history, mirroring Sci-Hub and LibGen, and scraping Z-Lib, DuXiu and more. By the way, it’s open source.
You can check out more sources over at perhaps the pirate’s sacred book, reddit’s r/piracy megathread.
In conclusion, be careful and do what suits you best.
*: public (or “open”) trackers don’t require any registration or login and they are open for all, in opposition to private trackers, that require registering on their site before using it. Usually those work via maintaining a download-upload ration.
1: SAVELKOUL, Ruben. Superstars vs the long tail: How does music piracy affect digital song sales for different segments of the industry? Information Economics and Policy, v. 50, p. 100847–100847, 2020. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167624519300782. Accessed: 6 ago. 2024.
2: EDOUARD COURTY. How does the Torrent protocol work? - Edouard Courty - Medium. Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@edouard.courty/how-does-the-torrent-protocol-work-4ff40615d2ba#:~:text=The%20Torrent%20protocol%20is%20a%20peer%2Dto%2Dpeer%20(P2P,collective%20power%20of%20its%20users.. Accessed: 7 ago. 2024.