Online piracy exists around the world and is common in many countries. Typically, it stands out for the high prices of the products, like music, films and games.
Do you want to know curiosities about online piracy?
People behind Game of Thrones are happy that the series is pirated.
This is one of the most pirated series of all time. However, those who worked on the series consider online piracy a compliment, even more so than a prize.
Netflix uses online piracy to decide the next series in the catalog.
Netflix has admitted that it is mindful of what people pirate most to decide which series and movies to add to the catalog. For example, they noticed that in the Netherlands people really liked Prison Break, so they put the series as one of the big titles on the list of what it had to offer.
Trent Reznor has fans download their music for free
The Nine Inch Nails frontman hates the high prices of the band’s CDs. On a visit to Australia, he was stunned by the high prices being charged for his music, which on stage told the fans to steal the songs.
The producer told him the price was too high, because fans of the band would buy the albums regardless of the cost.
The System of a Down album
Shortly after the System of a Down released the album Toxicity, which was quite successful, some songs of poor quality were released on an album called Toxicity 2. The bands did not want to release these songs and when they heard of it, they recorded an entirely new album and added even more music to irritate pirates. This new album was called “Steal this Album!”.
As they noticed that people pirated their music, they wrote and recorded better songs, in a cheaper version than the versions sold by the pirates.
Microsoft does not mind people downloading software, as long as it’s theirs
Microsoft invests millions in anti-piracy measures, although they know people will pirate their products anyway. Therefore, the company adopted the attitude of “if they will steal, steal from us”. The logic is that, although free of charge, the person is using the software and possibly will become a customer. Microsoft is not happy about people getting free downloads of their products, but they can be proud of it more with them than with Apple.
Radiohead songs were so smuggled that fans were able to sing their new album at a concert
The Radiohead realized early on that people would download their music anyway, so they accepted it. When the band went to Barcelona to perform, on the launch tour of the album Kid A, the whole concert was recorded and then became available on Napster. When the band performed in Israel a few weeks later, the audience sang the songs along with them. The bassist of the band thought it was wonderful, because even though people illegally took the songs, they spent money to see them live.
Lars Ulrich hacked the Metallica album simply because he could
The co-founder of Metallica admitted in an interview that after the release of the album Death Magnetic, he illegally downloaded just to know how piracy worked and why he simply could. He said, “If there’s anyone who has the right to download Death Magnetic for free, it’s me.”