Ok let’s be honest, most of us have probably obtained an album, film, or TV episode illegally sometime in the last month. It has become a huge part of internet culture, everything is so easily accessible that a lot of people don’t see the point in paying to see or listen to something if they don’t have to. Now I know what you’re thinking, I really don’t want to sit through a whole article of someone telling me why I shouldn’t pirate something. People don’t like to be told what to do and I understand that, but please hear me out on this one.

The fact of the matter is that it’s become difficult for anyone to make any money creating music, film, or any form of art. Sure a select few make a ton of money, the Katy Perrys and Michael Bays of the world. But the vast majority of people are desperately trying just to make enough money to live off of, and if you’re a fan of the art they took a lot of time to make, the least you could do is give that person just a little extra cash to give them the means to keep creating what you enjoy. A lot of people work really hard to create for other people’s enjoyment and as someone who wants to make creating into a career I know that every little dollar matters.

So maybe think twice before you pirate that song by that little indie band you really like, maybe just give them one dollar and maybe that band will be able to gather the resources to record a whole album and go on tour. You never know how far your dollar could go! Besides, it’s a much better use of your cash than getting a little something off the dollar menu at McDonalds right?