Confessions of an e-book pirate

The Millions interviews an e-book pirate:

3) Just because someone downloads a file, it doesn’t mean they will read it. I realize that buying a book doesn’t mean someone is going to read it either, but clicking a link and paying $10-$30 is very different – many more people will download a book and not read it than buy a book and not read it.

In truth, I think it is clear that morally, the act of pirating a product is, in fact, the moral equivalent of stealing… although that nagging question of what the person who has been stolen from is missing still lingers. Realistically and financially, however, I feel the impact of e-piracy is overrated, at least in terms of ebooks.

I'd have to agree with him...one aspect of e-piracy often overlooked is the actual use of the "stolen" material. When you burn a CD--one that you really end up enjoying--you can listen to it thousands of times. You are constantly experiencing the value, artistic purposes, and personal creative reflection of the art. With books, it's more of a one-shot deal (seriously, how many times will I read Infinite Jest over the course of my life?). Now, certainly physical albums and books carry these same connotations--that's just how you engage with them--but I would argue, in a very subjective, experiential way, that stealing an e-book is overrated because we (potentially) invest less time in the stolen material.