Most posts from what I see are now ‘’meme’s’’, ‘‘I justify pirate because…’’ and ‘’This is my collection!’’. Pretty much just hurr-durr look and upvote me kind of content.
/r/piracy wasn't much different in that regard when I unsubbed from it, long before leaving reddit last summer. It happens anytime there's a large enough userbase, as that sort of content is easier to create and consume, the latter making it more likely to get voted up.
It's almost always going to be easier to obtain them through other means.
In the past, I've had good luck with StreamFab. It's expensive and Mac/Windows only, I believe. I had a smallisj use case and was able to automate mac address changes on a VM so could get by with the free trial. Been a while, so I can only vouch that it used to work well, not sure if anything's changed since then.
There was a pretty widespread crackdown on widevine decryption keys last year, iirc. That's the sort of thing you'd be looking for if you wanted to continue searching out other tools or possibly roll your own.
"Piracy isn't stealing" doesn't require a qualifier. It's objectively a separate, lesser crime. That correlation is just the result of effective, aggressive marketing that conflates the two. It was so effective that everyone misremembers the "you wouldn't steal a car" ad.
I've done it on my first two characters, both by starting from saves just before entering the area with that fight. I saved at the "are you ready to face the netherbrain?" prompt at the High Hall on both and was able to play the epilogue after the victory conversations/credits.
I get .flac files that are generally tagged with everything except genre. Bandcamp (where I legally obtain files when I can) doesn't tag genre either, so it's at least consistent across my library.
Why not? Because ISP don’t snitch on you in case of illegal streaming?
Correct. ISPs aren't monitoring for this stuff. They're responding to complaints they get from copyright owners. With torrents, anyone in downloading the file can see IPs for everyone they're downloading from. That's how companies get IPs to follow up on, and why VPNs protect you (they'd just the IP of a VPN server). They then compile lists of these IPs, send to ISPs, who are then compelled by the courts to send letters and eventually disconnect you if you get caught again.
With streaming sites, the only one seeing your IP is the host of the site. Of course they're not going to snitch, since you're just watching the illegal stream they've made available. They're the ones breaking the law in that case, you're just watching a public stream. Obviously, you're not expected to know whether every video on youtube was uploaded by the copyright owner. Instead, the onus for that falls on the uploader and host.
And what about usenet, I’ve read about it but I didn’t get it? Can you brief it out? How it similar to torrents and how it’s different?
Super high level: there's two external parts, an indexer and a usenet provider. The indexer indexes .nzb files that serve as references to file locations on the usernet provider. Practically speaking, it maps pretty closely to .torrent files and the actual content you're grabbing from peers, respectively. The important difference here is that the usenet providers host the content, rather than a bunch of random people (which can include corporate attorneys looking to contact your ISP).
Locally, you still use a client piece of software to download. You can send it a .nzb, and assuming it's configured correctly with your usenet provider(s), will download the content.
Other important differences: 1. usenet indexers and providers are going to cost money, unlike torrenting. They tend to be pretty reasonable if you're downloading a lot though. 2. Because the providers are more centralized than torrents, there's some quirks. Retention is a factor, and generally the older something is, the harder it'll be to find (or more expensive plan you'll need with your provider), and not all providers have everything (so heavier users may need multiple providers to cover all their needs). A single good provider covers like 99% of what I need though.
Just downloading/consuming isn't the illegal part. It's why you hear about torrent users getting ISP notices, but not people who download from usenet or watch pirate sports streams.
I use a similar approach with Tidal and Tidal-Media-Downloader. I use a paid Tidal account to integrate into my Plex library, then scripted downloads to ensure that stuff stays in my Plex library.
That type I think blurs the line on what actually is piracy versus the guy handing out demo tapes on the corner. It’s a sort of a ‘I absolutely don’t want you to go download my stuff, particularly from this link or this link…’
Not at all. I don't mean artists distributing their own tapes; this was primarily fans copying the tape they bought, recording off the radio, or recording bootlegs of concerts. (see also) There was even the ad campaign driving home that making your own cassettes in such a manner is illegal and "killing the music industry," which is obviously didn't.
As for the rest of what you said, I think it's important to keep that not everyone obtains music the same way. Plenty of people use ripping software, modified client software, etc. to pirate via streaming services too. It's not just filling a niche, but a reliable source of mainstream music too (assuming you do it before they pull it down because of the licensing BS). And as a frequent Bandcamp patron, albums can still be expensive and most songs still cost $1 (though, without the shit DRM).
How many people really discover new music through piracy?
Everyone I've ever known. I mostly listen to metal, which undeniably became what it is because of people mailing pirated cassettes in the early 80s. 8 of my 10 favorite bands, I discovered by finding someone with good taste on Soulseek and grabbing the stuff I'd never heard of before. Piracy is key in the spread of underground music.
Artists that sell out stadiums wouldn't be affected much, but the ones that actually need the concert income absolutely would.