I'm not arguing that other factors are not involved I'm arguing that piracy causes

, not 100% failure.

Exactly. If there were no variation then we would have all successes or all failures. [protip: Indie labels that I've worked for /tend/ to be harmed much more by using P2P, torrenting, etc to promote their artists and get themselves out there compared to those that don't.]

Piracy by definition is robbery, stealing, unauthorized use, or infringement.

When people engage in a willful practice that has a direct negative impact on those around you, you might find yourself with strong emotions on the subject.

The severity of ignorance contained in this question is astounding. The need for p2p users to justify their thief never seems to stop. First off the creative works that are: stolen, pirated, illegally reproduced, or however you choose to word it, doesn’t fail. The people, business, bands, and artists that make the creative work: go broke, terminate, or fail.

You want proof? Grab a shovel and start digging. If you’re familiar with Google it might be a good place to start. Look for some contact info for an independent music label and call them up. Ask them if they’ve had any problems with piracy. Ask them if there are any albums on their label that have sold less the 200 copies, but have been illegally downloaded more than 200,000 times on p2p sites.

Talk to some people that write code for a living. Ask them if they’ve ever had code stolen from them, or used without compensation. Talk to a photographer. Ask them if they’ve ever lost money from someone illegally using one of their images to promote something. Talk to a published author. Ask them if they know how many times their book has been downloaded and what that number equals in lost income.

Reading studies published by people hired by individuals or companies with a vested interest isn’t going to tell you anything. Talk to real people, ask them questions, and then actually listen to what they have to say. Done ranting, but 12 year old's need to know.