This user's comment really hit the mark.

QuotePiracy for me, a professional musician, is something that I do now out of spite, not due to the lack of money.

For example, a certain company has piss poor customer service in China, where you cannot access their website half of the time (yeah I know accessing foreign sites in China is jank, but they have a dedicated OFFICIAL Chinese site). One time I forgot my password (pretty common right) and tried to reset it, I didn't receive the supposedly "change password" email until TWO WEEKS later, and they still haven't replied to my complaint even though I emailed them a year ago. So yeah I pirate all their software now, even though I've already purchased all of them, and I'm not going to give them any money in the future.

The other type of corporate behavior I'm not going to endorse with my own money is somehow making music not about music. Most people in audio would remember that some companies pulled their support for Russian musicians when the Ukrainian war broke out. The thing that I don't understand is, like, the musicians didn't fucking start the war right? It's not like a bunch of musicians forced Putin to do it, most likely they are the ones that are against such atrocities, but these company are punishing these musicians, because of something they didn't do or likely support or something? Like what fuck man, it just boggles my fucking mind, it's like blaming Shostakovich for the crime of Stalin, wha the actual hell. Yeah again, call me petty, these companies are not getting a single penny from me in the future.

I will add that I spent all that money on multiple Windows XP and 7, and now the the disks are useless. It would be the equivalent if I bought a Ford Taurus and Ford decided that I should be forced to buy a new car when they decide. I will build a new computer soon, and it will not have Windows on it. There are free operating systems out there. Plus, let's discuss how Bill Gates is an evil man for his non-software actions.

On the entertainment side, why should I buy any celebrity's content (music, movie, or TV) when they are against my values? New music, movies, and TV sucks as it is, but I will give benefit of the doubt if something current is OK with me. But, should I subscribe to an entertainment service to watch one or two programs, if that service goes against my values? I wait until I can watch it for free.

I gotta consider piracy a necessary evil to stop evil.