I don't care much about what is illegal and what is not, it's a poor argument and also a logical fallacy (
http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/appeal-to-authority). If you have to compare damages done, stealing a pair of jeans would do twice the damage that making a molecule-per-molecule copy would (given you could with 0 energy consumption. The jeans are just an example). Why? Because to steal a CD you must take it. That means that some poor guy in some store must pay for it, and also does not gain profit. Thus the damage to him is the price of the item + the item. If you make a copy, he still has the item, however that 1 copy hasn't sold, but can still sell later. Thus the damage to him is the price of the item, but the item still remains. That is why Piracy is not equal to Theft. There are many other reasons why the two aren't comparable, however this is one of the most quoted.
He actually buys clips, he actually does give something for what he takes. That should be applauded. Why? Because there are many who just take. And honestly I must say that many clip authors do not deserve the money. Fake reactions, bad camera angles, etc... There are many very, very poor clips out there and one could waste a lot of money on them. It's much better for the consumer that we get to grab a pirate copy and see the whole thing before we decide to commit our hard-earned cash to it. And besides, piracy in this form arguably doesn't even do real damage, because many of the people who watch that way wouldn't have bothered to buy anyway because they either can't or they won't. This way some people who would have bought still buy, but also get a chance to decide what they will buy and what they won't.
All this aside, I am a big supporter of piracy. Why? Because game companies sell shit games for more then they are worth. I don't want to give my money for that. They get enough money from the suckers who buy that shit for such inflated prices. I actually do buy the games I believe are worth the money, and so do many others. The music industry isn't suffering at all, and neither is the movies industry, because actors still get hundreds of thousands for roles, and their managers get even more because they take massive cuts. People like U2 members and 50cent got lots of money and really shouldn't have the right to bitch about piracy. Neither should Ubisoft, Sony, etc. because they are also swimming in cash. As for tickling video companies complaining about loss of revenue, that's because maybe there are too many of them. Less companies means the money is split in less parts. When there are too many, then nobody gets rich.