How does content piracy affect creators and businesses?

Content piracy affects both individual creators and large businesses by directly cutting into their revenue streams. For independent artists, every illegal download or stream means a loss of income they could use to support future projects. For large studios or streaming platforms, piracy reduces subscription growth and discourages investments in new productions. Piracy also diminishes brand value, as pirated copies often circulate in poor quality, leading audiences to associate substandard experiences with the original brand. Beyond the financial impact, piracy disrupts job markets—fewer sales lead to fewer opportunities for writers, technicians, and producers across the creative economy.