It also gives zero money to scum-sucking studios and labels and worthless bureaucrats that only give the author a 2% cut.
Not always, it has generated cult classics that have built a valuable fan base of support for many cases. Downstream it can increase in person popularity that wouldn’t otherwise exist.
Ah, this is like the "trickle down" theory of piracy.
It was the explicit policy of Bill Gates and others in regards to Asia.