I do purchase my share of movies but not that many Music CD's. But I do share them. Not for profit though and others share with me. I see nothing wrong with that. Like mother always told me "Share with others".
Although back in those days, sharing was when you had "one of something", and if you shared or lent it to somebody, they then had it and you lost possession and use of it, until (if) it was returned.
Today on the internet - the concept of sharing or lending has been twisted. People do not share or lend in the traditional sense. Using a book as an example - instead of handing over your copy to a friend to read - people are setting up a printing press and publishing house and rolling out hundreds of thousands, if not millions of free copies to anyone interested (and theirs to keep, or duplicate again in the same fashion) - and the author wonders why all the bookshops are empty, and the royalties cheque doesn't even pay last months phone bill.
I'm talking way back when Napster was still legal and free. On this same external hard drive I also have GB's and GB's of ripped DVD movies and DivX movies. I do not, in any way, feel that I'm breaking any law. None of these people seemed to have a problem when I was a kid in the 80's(I'm now 33)recording radio songs and copying "borrowed" cassettes from friends or recording movies on VHS. Things are getting wayyyy too out of hand.
You may think that your behaviour is revolutionary, and you are leading the charge towards free movies, music, software, literature or whatever - but there is no such thing as a free lunch. Sure in the short term, while you are pushing the creators out into another career field that actually pays the bills and puts food on the table.
In the long term, you will suffer when the choice and variety isn't there. When the truly creative, fringe artist who define new boundaries are starved out, because they are too busy working in jobs that actually pay money - to spend all their time writing and performing.
Remember the protest isn't to scream that you have a right to rip off everybody because you hate capitalism (you like to get paid for your work, right?). The complaint is that the prices are too high - and considering the high prices, artists are receiving far too small a slice for their contribution.
Similar concept to why the "Hollywood writers" are striking. They aren't being fairly compensated for all of the ways their work is used.
