For example, early 2000 you couldn't (even if you wanted to pay) get access to Japanese Anime. And even if you did pay to get access (satellite TV) they didn't have subtitles so you couldn't really watch it. So fan-made subtitle and fan-supported illegal sites was your only option outside Japan. (except for a handful of shows)
It would've all been solved if the close-minded Japanese publisher cared to put some effort to make it available globally but they didn't.
And hence there wasn't really ANY money lost in the process, because they didn't even sell it to the people outside Japan downloading it.
One can even argue (but publisher will fanatically oppose you) that illegal downloading did lead to profit; anime was a subculture outside Japan that is now a global money making industry. It didn't just randomly out of nowhere spur because "industry finally acted" but because it already had a strong following that amplified it as soon as it got available on major platforms.
Putting all illegal download under one umbrella and judging it in a moral white/black, is a narrow view.