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Hiding in Plain Sight: The YouTubers' Crowdfunding Piracy (engadget.com)

Some YouTube channels are publishing full-length episodes of TV shows, rights of which they obviously do not own, and on top of this, they are trying to crowdfund their piracy efforts by asking viewers to donate some cash. From a report: YouTube creators asking for money is nothing new, be it through the site's built-in membership features or third-party services such as Patreon. But trying to profit off someone else's intellectual property isn't the same as asking for support on an original video they've created. The person who runs the Kitchen Nightmares Hotel Hell and Hell's Kitchen channel did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Engadget, but their Patreon page (named YoIUploadShows) isn't coy.

"Hey! It's not as easy as you might think to make my content, I have to look for the best quality episodes I can find, download them, convert them, edit them, render them and upload them," YoIUploadShows' Patreon page reads. "This can sometimes take at least a few hours. Especially because the downloads are usually slow and the rendering itself can take a couple hours, because I started making all my uploads in HD instead of 480p to give them a little extra clarity." It's not easy, folks, so for that he or she "would really appreciate the extra support if you have any money to spare :)"

3 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. If I started my own channel... by magusxxx · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...where I take this yutz's content and ask you to hit the "Click to Give" link at...

    https://thehungersite.greaterg... ...would that be wrong?

    --
    Care killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
  2. Workload seems exagerated by Bobrick · · Score: 3, Informative

    Bullshit. What is there to edit? You download the episode off Bittorrent at about 5 minutes per episode on a decent connection, upload that file to YouTube. Be honest and just say you want us to pay your connection bills + as much extra cash as you can get out of this, but don't bullshit us or seriously rethink your workflow.

  3. Re:It's arguably a public service what they're doi by mi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You're not hurting the head makeup artist, the best boy or the gaffer.

    Of course, you do hurt them all. Their jobs depend on their employer's being able to sell the fruits of their labors — and profiting from it. Diminishing the profit diminishes the pay. For everyone.

    You are hurting the media megacorp

    So theft is Ok, if you really hate the victim? How about rape? Is it Ok to rape a CEO of a "megacorp who's [sic] trickle-down model is a ripoff for everyone"? How about murder? No? Why not?

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.