Piracy – the unauthorised use, reproduction, and distribution of another’s content, information or work, customarily only exchanged for monetary gain. It sounds like a crime, right? Well, it is. But is something criminal necessarily something unethical?
We’ve all seen the iconic “You Wouldn’t Steal a Car” advert-turned-meme which first aired in July 2004. This internationally broadcast advertisement, which warned of the consequences of illegally downloading digital content, brought a new wave of attention to a crime of which the general public was not previously cognisant. Movie piracy has been an issue since the birth of the industry itself. The ease of copying film reels aided in the unauthorised selling of movies and the commonality of unlicensed screenings. However, it wasn’t until the invention of the DVD and, later on, the internet, that piracy became more of a widespread practice among amateur movie-enjoyers, and consequently more regulated by law.
A Criminal Offence
On the surface, it might be difficult to see any reasoning as to why piracy might be considered ethical. After all, it is a criminal offence punishable by as much as five years imprisonment and a £5,000 fine. Predictably, the answer lies in capitalism. But before we jump into arguments surrounding the morality of piracy, we must first explore the reasons for the practice’s criminal status.
One of the biggest impacts of movie piracy is the financial loss suffered by the film industry. As people forgo the expensive cinema experience for a free at-home option, piracy reduces box-office profit and undermines sales of DVDs and legally acquired downloads. Particularly for low-budget, independent productions, this financial loss can be devastating. The run-on effect of these losses can also manifest in job losses across film-related sectors such as marketing teams and cinema employees. On top of this, creative incentives can be harmed by the practice – it can be discouraging to filmmakers when the possibility of financial loss from piracy is so detrimental. So how can piracy possibly be ethical?
Capitalist Consumption
Under capitalism, there is no such thing as ethical consumption. The capitalist system survives off the notion that profit equals success, and companies maximise profits by keeping labour costs low (i.e. underpaying their workers). This creates the foundation for a structure in which it is nearly impossible to buy and consume without having some hand in sustaining the system of exploitation in place to create a product. This allows large corporations to sell their products for cheap but leaves buying from ‘ethical’ companies who pay their workers fairly an unattainable goal for the average consumer. Ironically, the only people who can afford to buy from ethical companies are the same people who benefit from the unequal wealth distribution produced by capitalism.
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An Ethical Crime?
But what does this have to do with piracy? Well, the idea of gaining a product without exchanging money is a threat to the capitalist system. The money made from film sales (whether box office or digital media like DVDs or subscription streaming services), generally goes directly to the large studio and distribution companies, with a portion of cinema ticket sales going to theatre owners. Much of the time, albeit this is not always the case, the cast and crew have already been paid by the time a film is released, meaning they don’t see a penny of its profit.
Therefore, it can be argued that pirating a movie or TV show does not negatively affect the hardworking people who actually helped to create the media. In fact, some small companies don’t mind viewers pirating their products since it ultimately gets their name out there. With the frankly ridiculous addition of advertisement breaks to streaming services already charging for their use, as well as the ever-increasing price of each subscription, it is not difficult to see the advantage of movie piracy.
Ultimately, it is difficult to conclude a fully unbiased view on this topic. In the context of capitalism, the question of ethics is compromised in every aspect of life. I suppose the rule of piracy is the same as the unspoken rule of shoplifting: “If it’s a chain, it’s free reign”. Don’t pirate small indie movies, they need as much financial support as possible. But something by a thriving billion-dollar company? Well, I won’t tell if you won’t!