For me, it's a simple ordeal. I don't mind paying so long as the product on offer is worth the cost of payment.

Adobe's pricing model is abusive, so I went with Affinity which is much cheaper and not a subscription. Zynamptic's Morph sounds sweet and is reasonably price, but it comes bundled with a driver based DRM. So I got it for free without the DRM bollocks.

With games I used to pirate, but games nowadays are dime a dozen. If it looks interesting, I might try out a demo. If the game is shite, refund which is the loudest review you have. Piracy generally isn't worth the risk for software entertainment in my eyes, yours may differ.

The only thing I still consistently pirate is movies, and that's because they all have DRM up to where the sun doesn't shine. I want to support creators, to help fund what they create. But if I have to pay to have what I bought held for ransom. I'd rather have it for free and forever mine.

To my memory the only movies I have bought were DVDs, the movie "Ink" (check it out on GOG, it's DRM free and its a pretty cool indie movie) and helped fund a S.T.A.L.K.E.R short film on kickstarter.

To wrap it up, Gaben was right. It's all about the product/service, its cost (not just price, but ease of access, DRM if any, risks, etc) and what it offers the consumers.

If I pay for a license which can be taken away at any time, that is one cost. If I can get the same thing for free and forever, but with the minor risk that it can be bundled with malware, that is another. With how bloated pricing models are and the constant DRM abomination that are forced into everything, it's no surprise Piracy is still alive and well today.