Your view on media piracy. How strongly are you against it?

[joshcryer]

108. This is where bootlegs come in.

If you sell a copy of something you have taken away a potential monetary economic transaction from someone else. If you share something, however, for free, without monetary cost for the transaction between the two parties, the economics are a bit more weird.

There is an economic benefit from sharing media, as Iron Maiden shows. What Iron Maiden did was looked at the geographies that pirated their music the most, and then had sell out shows in those regions: http://www.theverge.com/web/2013/12/25/5244204/iron-maiden-responds-to-piracy-by-planning-tours

Of course, the media companies denied this is true, because they didn't want to give the impression that Iron Maiden supported the piracy, but it's clear that piracy has a net economic benefit as it allows a group or individuals to spread their media effectively and grow a fanbase.