You've found quite the hornets nest, it seems.

I pay for premium because YouTube does video delivery better than anyone else in the world, and it's not free for them to provide. Lots of things to hate about YouTube/Alphabet, but theft is a corrupt way of expressing discontentment.

Also, if I pay for premium, then content creators get paid, and I don't have to shell out for merch to not feel like a terrible person.