> What you’re arguing is more along the lines that it’s okay to sneak into a concert because you don’t like the guy selling tickets. Not at all. I'm arguing t

> What you’re arguing is more along the lines that it’s okay to sneak into a concert because you don’t like the guy selling tickets. Not at all. I'm arguing that you could listen to an unofficial bootleg if you don't like the guy selling tickets. If you want to help the band, you can buy their merch from the stand. If people working for large media companies had a merchandise stand, I would buy it, if I liked what they do. Most of my friends are artists, writers, comic writers, painters, musicians, director, actors etc. I've worked in the music business for a long time myself What my friends say is that people working for streaming services today have lost the status of artists, they are employee of those companies and are doing a job, it's the company's responsibility to pay their salaries, they are not interacting with the audience anymore, they are not gifting the World with their creations, they are making products. Just like coders who work at Adobe. Do they mind if someone installs a cracked copy of Photoshop? No, they do not. Why should they?