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Is internet piracy unethical?

Can a case be made representing internet piracy as an ethical activity?

piracy

technology

advice

tynamite

It's wrong because people are using their own money, to buy tangible goods and invest their own time, to make virtual goods, which are then illegally copied, even though the creator invested their time and money to create the product. When a farmer grows seeds, he knows he will get paid because he has tangible seeds. When an copyright holder creates music or software, there is no guarantee that person will get paid because he sells virtual goods.

Some people think that file sharing isn't stealing, because the author or retailer still has their copy. Nobody broke into someone's store and 100 copies out of it. The author has their copy, so does the retailer, and so does the author. People who support warez then recite that the publisher and author are rich enough already, so that money doesn't mean anything, so it doesn't matter.

There is something else you take away besides money by stealing the intellectual property. And that is the impact to society and cultivation that the artist or author would have gained, if their work wasn't pirated. It's not a case of success and no success. It's a case of loyalty and thankfulness.

I'll give you an example for the people who don't understand what I'm talking about

Right now I've written two novels, and they're really good. People say I'm a very talented writer. I'm not making them into an ebook because I feel that would ruin the reading experience. Paper format only. I refuse to give anyone a free copy, and would rather sell 10 copies for £1 than 1000 copies for free. If people aren't willing enough to part a small amount of their money for it, they don't deserve to read it. I'm independent, no not published. I'm not at the level of stardom to be able to withstand pirated copies of my work, so any money not going to me, is me suffering, and hard work that I spent promoting the book wasted.

Impact to society

Right now I'm getting a book club for teenagers to feature my book, and I will come in to answer questions about the book, and give them comprehension and advice to help them become a better writer. The youth worker says I'm a role model. Some people from a youth club will also act some scenes out. If you take away the front-facing nature out of my promotion, those two things would never be able to happen. Imagine if I had it free floating about in the Kindle Store? My novels would be to more avail. None of which could of happened with piracy and free Kindle copies circulating around. Publishers are a business, and it costs money and time. But most importantly, piracy chips away at the promotion that a publisher would be able to do for free.

I have a friend who is writing a poetry book and will give it for free as an ebook. If that's what you want to do, I'm happy for you. I'm here to make my mark on the world, thank you very much. Don't we all?

Cultivation

Cultivation is the ability for an author to be able to become a public figure, and be able to influence their fans. This is good for obvious reasons like on Twitter who say what they like, and columnists on The Guardian who influence what they like. However cultivation can only get you so far, and it's empty and thankless in a way.

Impacting society and cultivation goes hand in hand, and if there is too much of one, the other one is declared void, and the whole creative process is deprecated.

What piracy does

When you illegally download music, you're not taking away from the people you see on the tv. They already have their record deals. You're instead taking away from the future people who would of been given record deals, but can't. What most people don't know, is that most musicians signed to record labels, do not give the record label a profit. By purchasing the software and entertainment you like, instead of pirating it, you are making a real difference to the culture you are immersed with, and the people who cast a light onto your world.

I am sick of all this commercial homogenised* music that's in the charts. R&B and hip hop is dead, and they're combining loads of music genres into one. When I go into HMV to buy music, I buy music from independent acts, because I want them to get in the charts again.

(Homogenised is a process in which the fat droplets are emulsified and the cream does not separate. This describes pop music today, especially urban music. They combine r&b, hip hop, house and pop, into one thing. They're doing the same with movies and books too after the release of Harry Potter. I am against this. I hate fanservice.)