This is why I always either buy my shows/movies physically, or I pirate them. Ever since Amazon pulled 1984 from their shelves due to a copyright issue(they later put it back) I have avoided buying digital items ESPECIALLY from Amazon. Even games I try to not buy digitally anymore unless its from a DRM-free source like GOG or something.
I still buy my favorite movies on Blu-Ray, but to get the convenience of streaming I convert them myself to a digital format and add them to my Plex server, so I can watch them from anywhere I want.
I'm not going to feel bad about it, whoever own the rights got paid, and it's limited for my own personal use.
End users should also keep in mind that artists and studios will frequently republish media to change or edit things on streaming services. Famously Kanye West spent many months making changes to the "Life of Pablo" album after its release: https://www.xxlmag.com/kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-changes
Star Wars (the original trilogy) is also a classic example of this. The studio added drastic CGI changes for the 1997 release and still continues to make small fixes in subsequent releases. I believe the only way to watch it now in its original state is via old VHS tapes or bootleg scans of the original 35mm film.
And sometimes they just needlessly mess things up – for Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series, for a few years now online they've managed to lose the pre-gap material from the physical CDs, so instead of a seamless live album you now have some less-than-smooth track transitions and are also missing out on all the funny (Vol. 6) respectively infamous (Vol. 4) interaction with the audience.
I've started buying physical copies again of great movies. We still subscribe to streaming for the middling stuff, but if it's standout or niche (which is rare) then having a hard copy is worth it as the various platforms will often not have it available.
Exactly. My parents bought a movie, "Song of the South" physically forever ago, and now its almost impossible to get your hands on it because it depicts slavery. Now they can watch it whenever they want, regardless of the fact that that movie will never end up on Disney+
