The first known things pirated looks to have been software at some point in the 70’s.
Most music and video files were so large that actively sharing them back then wasn’t feasible for most people, though I’m sure many made it work even in those slow times. I remember the days of watching images load in one pixel layer at a time.
Napster was the first real breakout application specifically for getting pirated media, but people were definitely sharing movies, music, and anything else digital over IRC well before Napster popped into existence.
The first known things pirated looks to have been software at some point in the 70’s.
Most music and video files were so large that actively sharing them back then wasn’t feasible for most people, though I’m sure many made it work even in those slow times. I remember the days of watching images load in one pixel layer at a time.
Napster was the first real breakout application specifically for getting pirated media, but people were definitely sharing movies, music, and anything else digital over IRC well before Napster popped into existence.