It's very simple. As a creative person, who produces creative work, I desire a world in which it is possible for me to make a living doing that.
To put it in terms HN might be more comfortable with - how would you feel, if you operated a subscription website, if someone came along, and swiped your code and content, and put it up for free. Would you support that?
Because nobles in the feudal system would patronize great artisans to produce work. All the great composers were basically salaried employees of various lords, majors, dukes, etc.
>how would you feel, if you operated a subscription website, if someone came along, and swiped your code and content, and put it up for free //
Well if it was 15-20 years after I created it and it had already paid out for me then I'd feel mighty fine about it.
For me this argument works at the short-term and for the artists but fails to speak at all to why the government of a country should get involved in protecting the assets of those who have already received their living wage many, many times over for something that may well have been created by their great-grandchild's employee 100 years ago.
I'm not sure about the rest here, but as I have said before and will say again; I PAY (a lot if need-be) for your creative work IFF (if and only if) you make it trivial for me to purchase it when I want it. I am not going to jump through hoops, wait for ages because I happen to live in EU etc. I buy nearly every nice indie game that comes out, I sponsor indie movies; both are always super easy to get, worldwide without delays.
To put it in terms HN might be more comfortable with - how would you feel, if you operated a subscription website, if someone came along, and swiped your code and content, and put it up for free. Would you support that?