You can easily record content off of television and radio broadcasts, or even just copy music and films borrowed from a friend. People were breaking the law recording VHS tapes on their home VCRs, I guess assuming that they weren't because it was quite easy to do, but quite honestly, there's no practical way to catch people doing that. It's the large scale distribution operations that are easier to locate and prosecute, that's why they discern that way, that's why it seems arbitrary. Imagine if you will how it is impossible to catch every jaywalker, but if there was a large crowd in a concerted effort that decided to do it, they can go after that much easier. It's a general rule that the larger and more lucrative your scheme becomes, the more the authorities will take interest and notice.
