[jprete]

None of those services could exist today if copyright didn't exist, because streaming services wouldn't be able to compete with free downloads. I think Patreon and Kickstarter are how creative work is funded in that world.

[Kim_Bruning]

Piracy isn’t a legal problem—it’s a service problem [1].

Netflix, Spotify, and Valve (Steam) didn’t succeed because of copyright enforcement. They won because they made paying for content easier, faster, and better than piracy.

Piracy isn’t hard, but these services solved the friction: instant access, high quality, fair pricing, and features that free alternatives couldn’t match. That’s why they still thrive today.

[1] https://www.escapistmagazine.com/valves-gabe-newell-says-pir...

[JumpCrisscross]

> They won because they made paying for content easier, faster, and better than piracy

PopcornTime would eat their lunch if it were allowed to work [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn_Time

[jprete]

If it were legal to download movies and music, Netflix and Spotify would absolutely not exist.

Steam is an unusual case, because games are running software and can't be trivially reproduced in their unencoded form. The publishers can include copy protection, network connection requirements, or even run essential parts of game logic on their own servers. So free downloads became a much worse experience over time.

[thatcat]

Alternative take: those services have a smaller selection, use annoying algorithms to promote IP they own, and are generally worse that piracy, but people don't like being hassled by their ISP and initially they cost a similar amount to a VPN.