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Downloading copyrighted materials without the legal right to do so is a violation of copyright, and therefore illegal.
Some number of such downloads are by people who would otherwise have bought a copy of said material and count as a "lost sale" and a loss of income to the rights holder.
Some number of such downloads are by people who would not otherwise have bought a copy of said material and should not count as a "lost sale" or loss of income to the rights holder.
Some number of such downloads are by people who later go on to purchase a copy of said material they would not otherwise have bought and should count as a "gained sale" and gain of income to the rights holder.
No one knows the exact proportions and the numbers undoubtedly vary both by time and by which specific material is being considered. I believe we'll never get exact numbers, and I don't trust anyone who says they have exact and generally applicable numbers.
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