Digital Piracy in the Age of Streaming: Representing the Choice to Pirate or Purchase by the Corresponding Utilities

Abstract

Many studies on streaming services and online piracy have found streaming services to be considered too expensive and lacking of content, while piracy is free, content is seemingly unlimited, and it is often not even considered to be a crime. Even consumers who use movie streaming services may from time to time resort to piracy to avoid paying for multiple streaming services at the same time.

This literature review aims to analyze the reasoning behind the decision of how to acquire and watch movies: by using legal streaming services or by illegal online piracy. I will examine this choice by looking at the utility a consumer using these services gains through evaluation of both economic theory and empirical studies.

I will present the two most relevant economic models of crime for my topic and argue how these can be used in the context of online movie piracy. Furthermore, I will go through issues in existing literature, and present possible answers on how to make streaming services more attractive to pirates.