This topic really doesn’t need much of an introduction, and besides that I don’t really feel like writing one, so let’s get right to the point.

First of all, if you want to stop piracy, it helps to understand why people pirate media in the first place.

Reason #1: Rebellion. You’ve got people who just want to stick it to The Man, and they’re gonna pirate just because they can. These are the ones who are making the cracks and bypassing all your DRMs. You’re not going to prevent them from pirating anything, it’s a waste of time, money, and effort to even try. The more resources you put into making something un-pirateable, the more determined people are to make you look a fool. This also means that you can NEVER completely eliminate piracy, since you can’t eliminate these hardcore hackers. Thankfully, there are some strategies to deal with the other reasons.

Reason #2: Financial. This is probably the main reason why people pirate. I have no evidence to back this up other than my own convictions, but for the purposes of this post that’s more than enough. Comprised primarily of teenagers, college students, and other broke asses, they want to play games, watch movies, and listen to music, but not spend a dime. Either they can’t afford the latest releases or they just don’t think it’s worth the asking price.

Reason #3: Sampling. The so-called benevolent pirate only does so because he wants to know that he’s not spending his money on garbage. He’ll pirate a game or an album to check it out, and then make his purchase decision based on that. This group actually would actually prefer to NOT pirate anything, but the legal methods in place don’t always facilitate that wish.

Now with the three main reasons out of the way, the answer seems simple, doesn’t it?

Stop wasting money on convoluted DRM schemes that are going to be cracked in a week no matter how many resources you put into preventing that outcome. Instead, make it easier to get your content legally than it is from Pirate Bay. This DOES work. You could even try adding an incentive to purchasing a legal copy, those free DLC codes in a lot of Xbox games are a good example.

Provide a proper value for your content. A single song is worth 99 cents, an entire album is not always worth 20 dollars if you just want that one song. The flipside is that content provides will have to get used to making a little less money, but the success of iTunes and other MP3 stores, not to mention on-demand movies and TV, proves that the a-la-carte model works.

Give people easier ways to sample your content. There’s a reason why Netflix, Gamefly, and Spotify are so popular. For a nominal fee, you can sample a massive amount of content. And yes, people WILL be spurred to purchases based on what they like.

Most of you reading this won’t have learned anything. You’ll be like, “Duh, this is so obvious.” But if it’s almost common sense to me and you, why the hell have the major corporations not gotten a clue yet?

Stop spending money on lawyers and lobbyists and focus on creating more quality content. Duh.

These are the ramblings of me. If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes, or if you think my essay structure is horrible and hard to follow… I don’t really care.