Stephen Fry Admits He’s a BitTorrent Pirate
Written by enigmax on July 13, 2009Stephen Fry, a highly respected actor, comedian, writer, presenter and author yesterday admitted to downloading TV shows for free using BitTorrent. Speaking at the iTunes Festival in London last night, Fry told the audience that he’s grabbed episodes of 24 and the series finale of House, starring his former comedy partner Hugh Laurie.
In Britain – and increasingly around the world – Stephen Fry is a much loved man. His contribution to the entertainment industry over many years has been colossal, with many of his fans in awe of his amazing mind and outstanding wit.
A self-proclaimed Internet and digital addict, Fry claims to have owned the second ever Mac sold in the UK and has joked that he has owned every smart phone available today. Indeed, he recently wowed Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson by showing him a pretty unusual use for his iPhone. Fry even has more than 500,000 Twitter followers.
So, unlike many who speak about Internet issues, there is a good chance that Stephen Fry actually knows what he’s talking about. Yesterday, to an audience gathered for the iTunes Festival in London’s Camden Town, he was a little more honest than most would’ve expected on the issue of illicit downloading, even if just hours before he revealed that he was finding his appearance unnerving, admitting, “I haven’t the least idea what I’m going to say.”
But it came good in the end. In a speech about copyright and the future of music introduced by Stuff’s editor-in-chief Tom Dunmore, Fry poured scorn on the music industry for attacking the public in file-sharing cases. “Making an example of ordinary people is the stupidest thing the record industry can do,” he said.
Noting a problem that was earlier outlined here on TorrentFreak, Fry said the Digital Britain report did not represent the views of the public, but those of “industry insiders” instead.
While Fry is pragmatic about the piracy situation, he’s not a supporter of large-scale infringers, described by him as those who download on an “industrial scale”. When asked how he felt about his own media output being pirated, Fry said: “I’m against cynical bootlegging but I work in a very molly coddled, overpaid business.”
But unsurprisingly for a clued-up digital native in 2009, there are some kinds of piracy that Fry isn’t completely against. He told the audience at London’s Roundhouse that he is a BitTorrent user himself and has grabbed episodes of 24 using the protocol.
Interestingly, he went on to reveal that he had also downloaded the season finale of House, the hit US show which stars the comedian most known for partnering Fry, Hugh Laurie.
However – and drawing a somewhat interesting analogy – Fry said that in the end, illegal downloaders may well feel a little guilty over grabbing something without paying for it. “Most of us feel guilt when we masturbate,” he said, “even though we live in 2009.”
Appearing a little concerned that his slightly pro-piracy stance might be misinterpreted, Fry then appeared on his beloved Twitter. “Well, finished my bit. Hope I’m not misunderstood. Such a pity if I get misrepresented as a ‘help yourself and be a pirate’ advocate.”
Not at all Stephen. The fact is there could be as many as 6 million people in the UK doing exactly as you are doing, largely because there still isn’t an attractive, workable, widespread and convenient legal alternative. You set the example. You buy lots of media and download too, which proves that participating in one doesn’t exclude you from the other.
Pirates are customers too. Even famous ones.
Previously: PublicBT Tracker Set To Patch BitTorrent’s Achilles’ Heel
Next: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent
78 Responses
At last one of million celebs revealed.
Does Fry really feel guilty when he masturbates? I know he struggles with some inner demons, but that’s kind of heavy.
So… if one rubs one out WHILE one is pirating TV shows… does that double the guilt?
fry’s a cool guy we all know that
I don’t know much about Stephen Fry but I did knew he starred in V for Vendetta and I loved that movie
Stephen Fry is one of the most respected entertainers in the uk so hopefully the bigwigs will start to listen as most of these artists come out and tell them what they are doing is wrong
I have as much as admitted to Stephen Fry via his Twitter feed that I have availed myself of some of HIS programs via bittorrent; and I refuse to feel any guilt whatsoever about downloading some one-off BBC documentary special of his which will almost certainly never be shown in America, and which will equally certainly not be available on a DVD which can be played in America.
In that, I suspect that I am like him in my use of bittorrent: not as a replacement for the purchase of legitimate product, but as a way of grabbing an episode here or there which the DVR forgot to record; or some material to which I would otherwise have no access whatsoever.
‘moan the fry!
I _love_ Fry. QI is one of the best shows ever, and it’s ALL ON YOUTUBE! How awesome is that?
Sadly, I’m no movie fanatic so I haven’t followed his career much (I do own the Jeeves and Wooster DVDs).
And in this part he’s absolutely correct. Making examples of ordinary people is indeed the most stupid thing the record industries have ever done. It will bite them back some day, when the masses have had enough.
Stephen Fry’s awesome in all ways imaginable.
this just confirms it yet again.
hmm I feel sorry for him that he’ll never enjoy the guilt free pleasures of masturbating to pirated pr0nz
true, he likes boaby but we forgive him. :p
Thanks Fry, some good words.
Oh no, Stephen,
now they’re gonna black bag and disapear you.
You’ll be missed.
I’ll download for free even if there were an “alternative”, down with capitalism! down with being cash-cow for worse than nazi enslaving billionaires who never ever worked a sigle nanosecond and who are the real parasits
Of course, this is nothing new really, other than the revealing of particular downloads he has partaken in. He has said before that everybody pirates, especially those who have been here from the beginnings. “You are neither a pirate nor a good citizen.”
cool now Steven please save the uk from the extremist church of imaginary property.
This fella is also a supporter of the gnu project
@14 I don;t feel particularly enslaved and neither do a lot of other people who’s works get pirated. AS for not working you should perhaps see the hours some top people put in and then get over yourself.
You are giving anti – copyright infringement people exactly what they need an excuse to point out that you are freeloading scum who would steel candy from a baby
If it wasn’t for us “freeloading scum” there wouldn’t be any paid downloadable content sites in the first place.
And what do you call radio listeners ?
In other words, “freeloding scum” is paramount to technological progress, weather you like it or not.
And regarding anti copyright infringement scum, it was never about right or wrong, it was always about keeping the control over distribution.
Btw, i’d never steal candy from a baby.
I’d copy the candy and leave the baby with its version,
because baby = cute.
what can i say…..sometimes i feel guilty….sometimes i dont… and somehow at the end of the day it all feels good
Hahaha, that crazy Stephen Fry! ;) However, he seems to lack proper understanding on the subject. The example trials set up by the copyright owners representatives have actually been extremely efficient, drawing up enormous sums of money from settlement agreements, which were then sent to compensate the heavy losses the artists suffered from illicit downloading.
And those are just from small parcel of people who engage in this behavior; had governments not placed so many roadblocks on the path of copyright enforcement, the legal campaigns would had been much more successful than they already are.
Ok well done, but my..he’s an ugly bugger.
@Paladin: Do you really think that settlement money has gone to the artists? If you have any proof i’d love to see it but somehow I think not
Keep it up stephen ;)
@Reventon: Of course it didn’t went to ay specific artist’s bank account. There are just too many artists hurt by illicit downloading that each one would receive less than a penny! ;)
It does go, however to copyright owners representatives’ account, which are in turn used to continue the struggle against online piracy. In other words, the trials’ revenues go directly to the defense of the artists, so it goes indirectly to the very artists as well. After all, less pirates entails more revenue gained through legal sales!
I feel guily if I don’t masturbate.
@6 “In that, I suspect that I am like him in my use of bittorrent: not as a replacement for the purchase of legitimate product…”
And I am much like you. Some of the stuff that I like are just not available where I am. So, BitTorrent.
We are here to stay, I suggest you get used to the f*cking idea, or you may get left behind on the roadside to piety.
@Paladin
For each copyright infringement case that is resolved, a billion potential cases emerge. With each case costing the labels thousands of dollars in legal fees, even granting that losing parties will eventually reimburse such fees, do you honestly think the labels will have any more money left to give back to the artists?
This is even granting that the losing party has the money that the labels is awarded as compensation for the alleged infringements. There maybe cases wherein an accused infringer is commanded to pay $500K but all her assets only amount to $100K. The winning label will have to make do with just that.
On top of that, think that not all cases are ruled in favor of the labels since nothing is a sure win. Meaning, labels stand to lose money that they will never recoup. Imagine, just in the Sony-Tenenbaum case if the defendant won. How much money do you think Sony will lose in legal fees?
Fry has it spot on: “making an example of ordinary people is the stupidest thing the record industry can do.”
Always seemed like a really nice guy, Stephen. I believe he’s even a strong advocate for FOSS/Linux or something, too.
Pirates are customers too. Even famous ones.
Yep, absolutely. A thing that always makes me laugh is how close-minded industry folk like to marginalise file-sharers as as particularly narrow band of undesirables, when the truth couldn’t be further from it. From personal experience, file-sharers and/or ‘pirates’ as some wish to call them consist of every person you’re ever likely to come across in everyday life. I know of no exceptions to this. Sure, 16-24 might dominate the sector now, but only because there are so very few of them stuck in old thought that liked to consider the idea of ‘personal computers’ and ‘the Internet’ as a laughable thing that only ‘nerds’ did (think 1985-2000). People like Stephen represent a relative few that didn’t subscribe to that as I believe he’s always been heavily into PCing and so has long recognised their usefulness. Now how times have changed all that, but still there’s a way to go before the old sticks in the mud fall victim to their foolish beliefs and become extinct. Soon enough everyone will be a ‘Stephen Fry’.
How can you feel guily for downloading just because you didn’t pay for it. They can always use adverts.
It’s not our fault that there isn’t legal ways to get the content straight away.
For me it’s all about availability. And if there is such a huge delay for websites to get the content that we want. Then people will just use whats avaliable.
Well done, Jeeves.
Ironic i just pirated your season finale FRY. Great show called Kingdom ..
And i been burning through the first couple seasons of Spooks. Gotta love Hugh Laurie as the guy running MI6.
Awesome speech tho. Good on ya mate
Heh, good ol’ Fry!
I thought about writing a long P2P / copyright / Piracy comment…but instead all ill say is this….
Im completely straight…but id turn gay for Stephen Fry ;)
With this he got millions of fans…
To “Paladin of Truth” You say governments place “roadblocks” on the path of “copyright enforcement” (insert shivering emoticon). Now why is that? Perhaps governments of democratic nations don’t want a police state “enforcing” the internet. Perhaps these governments follow the will of their people, who think an aggressive Orwellian-style “enforcement” of file-sharing violates peoples’ privacy.
Ha I’m watching Bones now; the episode that he was in.
As a fellow English guy I must say I love teh Fry.
“Most of us feel guilt when we masturbate,” he said, “even though we live in 2009.”
WTF?!? I´m not feeling guilty when I masturbate, omg.
“Fry said the Digital Britain report did not represent the views of the public, but those of “industry insiders” instead.”
————-
That’s the problem, not only in Britain; also in France and other countries.
The governments don’t want to listen to the people, bad for them. The people won’t renounce to their legitimate right of sharing information with others by that. Pure and simple reality, We (the filesharers) are MAJORITY, and the parasites from media industry a MINORITY.
Who didn’t download anything from the internet please throw the first stone.
I will tell you this.
I don’t buy films and music and haven’t done so for more then a decade now, ever since I realized that what I bought as a young man was obsolete a decade later, so I do prefer to have a renting store that will have all the trouble managing stock and upgrading to the new stuff as for me I rent it and copy it and don’t feel bad about it why? Because I don’t understand how one can make 2 prices and say they are different things when the end result is the same, one cost $100 and the other cost $5 for the newest and greatest.
I ditched the rental after people start suing. No way I am giving money to people who will try to hurt me. Now is just bittorrent and it is crappy but I don’t care.
Apparently the talk is (legally :) ) available already – but where?
If anyone has a link to Stephen Fry’s iTunesFest talk, please post!
HATS OFF !!!
LONG LIVE PIRATES..
sad thing is, why did he use bittorrent? if he’d asked, I’d have been willing to give him a secure ftp connection.
Downloading stuff isn’t illegal. You’ve never agreed to anything with the copyright holder.
Making stuff available for *upload*, however, *can* be illegal, if the copyright holder hasn’t given you permission to redistribute their work.
@Greg K Nicholson but I believe to download content using bittorrent you must also upload it!
@Greg K Nicholson but inorder to download content using bittorrent I believe yu must also upload it.
I would say that this dude is cool when he pirates stuff, but when he’s working for a salary he’s not. Because then he’s just part of a money grubbing machine. Thank goodness he doesn’t get solid work or he wouldn’t have time to be cool like me.
This article unfortunately is quite inaccurate. As someone who was at the iTunes festival gig last night, I can say Stephen Fry did not advocate illegal downloading, and did not admit to downloading any episodes of 24. He did admit to downloading the series finale of House, but also importantly mentioned that he had already purchased a series pass on iTunes which he couldn’t use at the time due to his location. Instead he downloaded the episode over BitTorrent which took three days whilst he was filming in Indonesia. In effect, he had already purchased the episode. Be that right or wrong, it’s important to know the facts!
@Jimmy: That’s certainly an exaggeration, isn’t it? If you trigger the electronic alarm at an store, the security is allowed to search you, and nobody sees that as a violation of privacy. But why are the copyright owners not allowed to do exactly the same thing when the theft takes place in the internet? It’s hardly an Orwellian policy to ascertain that the artists and producers of content aren’t being impoverished by the continuous and unscrupulous illegal sharing of proprietary content. As long as you stay on the side of the Law, you have nothing to fear. Staying cyber-legal is really the best way to stay cyber-safe! ;)
Ah, but according to the MAFIAA, even downloading just the stuff that you’ve already bought is illegal, immoral and all kinds of evil. Therefore Stephen Fry is indeed a pirate. so am I. And millions of others. :hoists Jolly Roger:
Lots of good things shared here. To me, it seems like a lot of crap over money. The situation is: everything is changing. People who are intelligent can choose to embrace changes and grow up as people. Many prominent artists have, and now offer free downloads of their albums. Information longs to be free. lol
Long Live Pirate Bay!
Arrr, Arrgh, Yarr, Gar!!
I have never felt guilty about piracy
Fuck the RIAA. They had plenty of opportunity to play nice. I would have bought digital files from them had they been on the ball and come up with a reasonably priced DRM-free media outlet.. but now they’ve made such assholes and dirtbags out of themselves, I would not buy shit from them out of principle. I’ll support my favorite artists in other ways.
wonderful article, thanks
http://www.h33t.com
Now if only he’d be able to get all of those 500k twitter followers to establish a and vote for pirate party, then the UK may actually be set for a change of direction from “Punish, kill and destroy civil liberties and internet freedom” to, perhaps, a more realistic assessment of where the REAL damages to everyone’s lives are(cameras on every street, everyone under suspicion, retardation of technology, etc etc)
@Paladin of Truth
If you trigger the electronic alarm at an store, the security is allowed to search you
No, they’re not. They’re citizens, and nothing more.
I will download anything guilt free even if it has a convenient alternative (or at least until i’m caught… then im guilty)
But if I were he, or another persons whose material was illegally downloaded, i would say throw ‘em in jail, i want my money.
Put yourself in their situation and stop being hypocritical.
@Paladin of Truth
First of all, the name “Paladin of Truth.” That’s cute! Such a name must make you a heroic warrior fighting the nasty forces of evil in the name of true justice. I hope your “sword” is big enough for the Internet!
You have some pretty interesting vocabulary, too. Much more expansive than that of neostyles or RM.
Translation: “It’s hardly incorrect to state that filesharing does not hurt artists and publishers.” <- Is that what you’re saying? If so, I wholeheartedly agree; filesharing helps authors and artists. If not, I think you used too many big words and confused yourself.
Wrong. Staying cyber-anonymous is far better than cyber-legal.
Mister Paladin, sir, you truly are a righteous warrior of truth! For Capitalization is the True Way and is Clear Evidence that you are Right! Those who Capitalize the words of the Most Sacred Holy Copyright Law are forever Destined to bask in its Glory. “For the Word of the Industry shall be the Rule of Law, and all shall bow before their Corporate Rulers, and unto them shall each man surrender his Life, in the name of the Divine Profits. Glickman 13:2″
Oh, you are so done…
Congratulations on promoting the assumption that corporations are above the governments. Congratulations on implying that profits are above all, even human freedoms. Are these freedoms the “roadblocks” you speak of? Clearly they are just obstacles between the Rulers and the Divine Profits; we should forget about all those silly natural rights that people supposedly have. After all, they are infringing on the Rulers’ natural right to bleed humanity dry! WHAT? That man listened to someone else’s CD? Jail him, now. For life. After all, he would have otherwise bought the CD, so he’s stealing money from the rightsholders! Yes! Damn those governments for promoting freedom above all else, and potentially costing us a few more dollars!
You obviously have no idea what the point of law is, much less copyright law. Laws that are in place to serve a privileged few at the expense of the public are draconian and totalitarian. Laws that serve the overall public are much more likely to be just laws. Can you guess which side copyright law is on? It started out as a public benefit by restricting publishers; today it has become a private benefit by restricting the public and pretending to ultimately be good for everyone. It needs to change, and once it does, your stupid little insistence that sharers are in the wrong will be baseless and do even more to make you seem a fool than they are now.
Mister Paladin, sir, thy blade is too blunt and thy armour is too frail to face this foe that you challenge.
Go Stephen!
For those of you unfamiliar with him, I have absolutely have NO problems with him saying and doing this just as long when he’s downloading he’s able to build in strengthening and toning movements:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZUU31kHrnw
sorry paladin of truth but digital information should be free and sorry im not letting some copyright-bum into my computer.
MPAA: FACE
when the Pirate Party gets established in the UK, they better get Stephen a membership card very very quickly.
stop masturbating or you’ll go blind
Nothing wrong with dling shows ur paying networks to see already….
Its call fair use something the MPAA/RIAA have done their best to decimate along with public domain…
@Jorge Tonto (+ anyone else that’s interested) you can hear a bit of what he was saying here:
http://audioboo.fm/boos/41661-stephen-fry-on-piracy
Watch “Peter’s Friends”!!!
“Most of us feel guilt when we masturbate,” he said, “even though we live in 2009.”
Not at all Stephen. The fact is there could be as many as 6 million people in the UK doing exactly as you are doing, largely because there still isn’t an attractive, workable, widespread and convenient legal alternative. You set the example.
i dont know who this genious is but when you read the article like this its funny.
im feeling kinda guilty right now…
I don’t feel guilty when I masturbate, and I don’t feel guilty when I download movies or shows. I own plenty of DVDs, and buy many of the things I already downloaded. They usually sit on my shelf, shrink-wrapped for months after I bought them, but I buy them anyway, because having downloaded and watched them, I believe it’s worth it to give them money for what they made.
Plenty of other shows and movies I don’t feel the same way on. They are horrible, awful pieces of garbage I’d be likely to ask my money back for, had I seen them in theaters. Or, a show that was so god awful I’d have written the network and told them how crappy it was. For me, torrenting is all about seeing what’s worth giving up my hard earned money, and what’s not.
Someone who leeches off the industry and has no concept of self sacrafice is not a customer. More like a parasite.
Who is he? some twitter wh0re??
In the UK Sky has a virtual monopoly on many good programs, in the US it’s Fox. I don’t want a penny of mine to get into Rupert Murdoch’s evil hands which leaves me with only one alternative – one that also means I can watch what I want, when I want.
“Pirates are customers too. Even famous ones.”
Well said. Many might be even better customers than others. Because pirates have access to much more content.
They should be fighting against those people that sell CDs on the streets with programs they downloaded. That is making money with intellectual property. And I’m strongly against such practice.
I don’t think anyone reads posts after they are old but here is a video blog with Kelly Clarkson and a new guy who admits to downloading movies and content….
http://inmusic.ca/Kelly+Clarkson/artists/the_hook/Articles/kelly_clarkson.htm?isfa=1
This guy is pretty cool
@2: No, it probably squares it.
@68:
Wait, so masturbation is illegal?
That’s why they made an example of The Pirate Bay. They’re not ordinary people, some people consider them as God. (Well, not anymore, considering they sold themselves out.)
Good going Fry, now the MPAA will try and fire you/remove you from your job some other way/imprison you for “advertising” piracy.
@2: No, it probably squares it.
@68:
Wait, so masturbation is illegal?
That’s why they made an example of The Pirate Bay. They’re not ordinary people, some people consider them as God. (Well, not anymore, considering they sold themselves out.)
Good going Fry, now the MPAA will try and fire you/remove you from your job some other way/imprison you for “advertising” piracy.
This is worse than Tom Cruise being a Scientologist.
I used to watch Fry and Laurie every week in the 1990s. With Hale and Pace, & Smith and Jones they formed the basis of sketch comedy in that era. They were much liked here in Finland!
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