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The Movie Industry

Crisis: Focus on the

Online Pirate’s

Behavior SALVETTI LUC

14/11/2009

Master of Science in Marketing

Philippe Odoux

EDHEC Business School does not express approval or disapproval concerning the

opinions given in this paper which are the sole responsibility of the author.

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Abstract

Movie Piracy is considered by Dan Glickman as “the greatest threat to the economic

basis of movie-making in its 110 year-history". If the Motion Pictures Association of

America’s topper is so afraid by the phenomenon, it must be very important. It is

very weird to find out that there are very few researches made about it. Some

quantitative ones have been done to figure out the importance of this consumer

misbehavior. It is also very surprising that even if deviant behavior has been studied

for a long time by marketers, nobody has really focused on this particular deviant

behavior.

The purpose of this study is to explore the pirates’ mind, how and why they act. In

order to do so, we will first review the already made researches about the

phenomenon in a literature review. Then we will summarize the current knowledge

about the movie industry and the deviant behavior. The second part will focus on the

pirate and will try to draw a portrait of him in order to understand what drives his

behavior and how to tackle effectively the issue of movie piracy.

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Table of Contents

Abstract

Plan

Literature Review

First Part: Overview of the current Knowledge

A/ The Movie Industry and the Threat of Piracy

B/ Understanding and Theories concerning Deviant Behavior

Second Part: The Pirate’s Behavior and its

Consequences

A/ Presentation of the Questionnaires

B/ Observations on Internet

C/ Analysis

Limits and Conclusions of the Study

References

Annexes

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1 Financing System Scheme

2 Distribution Channels

3 Broadcasting life of a movie

4 Graphs concerning Demand Consumption (1/2)

5 Graphs concerning Demand Consumption (2/2)

6 MPAA Report (1/2)

7 MPAA Report (2/2)

8 Deviant Behavior Grid Analysis

9 Allostreaming Traffic

10 Allostreaming Screenshot Capture

11 Torrent Software Screenshot Capture

12 IFPI website Screenshot Capture

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LITERATURE REVIEW

The movie industry has to face crisis for more than 5 years now. When the

DVD standard was adopted, the players of the industry had found a great tool

to increase their profits. From the launching in Europe in 1998 to its adoption

by the households, the first 5 years were a great time for the Studios. They

enjoyed a 2 figures growth and the DVD sales used to stand for more than the

half of their revenues. Hollywood was clearly financed by the profits generated

by this part of the industry. But since 2005 the DVD sales growth rate has

fallen beyond 5 % and experts are predicting negative growth for the next

years.

A lot of parameters can explain and are used to explain this DVD crisis. One of

the first logical explanation is that DVD is not a new product anymore and that

nearly all the households are equipped. The positive effect associated with any

innovation is not available anymore. The ones who desired to create their own

private DVD collection, and used to buy a lot of products to fill their collection

have now what they want and their purchase rate has decreased.

One other explanation is that the financial crisis we are facing is also

responsible for the slowdown in the movie industry. Buyers are not willing to

spend money in entertainment and prefer to focus on primary goods. But this

hypothesis is not sufficient. First we have explained that the crisis is not a new

phenomenon for the movie industry whereas the financial crisis has exploded

only last year.

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The most common explanation for the dvd industry slump is PIRACY. In fact,

with the rising of the dvd standard, piracy has also grew up exponentially in the

shadow of the legal sales. What used to be only the video games and software

threat has become the first and biggest enemy of the Majors. Recent figures

show that approximately 130,000 movies are downloaded each day through

file-sharing networks in the United States alone (Motion Picture Association of

America [MPAA] 2004). The counterfeit DVDs have usually a less good

quality than the official ones. Generally they do not content any bonus features

or any languages choice but they can be found for free on the net or bought in

the street at uncompetitive prices in a lot of developing countries. What seems

to be a threat only for the DVD industry is in fact a menace for the whole

industry because the movies you can find are not only the ones in DVD but

also the ones that have not yet been released in stores or even in theaters. It is

not rare that a movie is available on internet before it is on screen. Dan

Glickman the big boss of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

has even declared that piracy was "the greatest threat to the economic basis of

movie-making in its 110 year-history”.

This declaration highlights how much the problem is taken seriously among the

industry’s experts. The majors (Warner Bros., Fox, Universal) are trying to

fight against piracy and laws are currently being voted to put a break on this

phenomenon.

Existing studies have already been made concerning the software and music

piracy but only a few ones have focus on the movie piracy and the

determinants of movie piracy. No study has explained the reasons that make

someone uploading on internet or sharing on internet a copy of a movie. No

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study has intended to find what could possibly convince this individual not to

use illegal download movies. Moreover these users are heavy consumers of

movies and could possibly represent highly profitable customers for the

industry if a way could be found to convert them to legal practices. On the

other hand, a better understanding of their behavior and the reasons that drive

such comportment could be a great tool to fight against piracy.

In fact some campaigns have already been launched to educate customers

about the dangers that piracy create for the movie industry. Reprehensive laws

have also been voted.

Our objective will be to define why an internet user can turn into a virtual

pirate. If their behavior toward other products related to the movie industry has

evolved since they have started downloading or buying counterfeited movies.

Learning from their experience and behavior we will try to provide way to

change their habits. The purpose of the study is to explore and analyze deeply

and thoroughly a virtual pirate behavior.

The current knowledge about piracy is much more limited to the use of piracy

in music or concerning software.

The article written in 2004 by Joseph C. Nunes, Christopher K. Hsee, and Elke

U. Weber and published in The Journal of Public Policy & Marketing help

us to understand Why are people so Prone to steal software and underlines

the weight of the product cost structure on the consumer’s decision to use

pirated software. One of the conclusions of the study is that perceived cost

structure is determining for users in their payment intentions. They feel less

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culprit if a product, here software, is compound of high Fixed Cost and little or

nearly no Variable Costs.

Eric Kin Wai Lau explains in his article An empirical study of software

piracy published in 2003 in Business Ethics: A European Review, that social

acceptance and pricing are the 2 majors components in the decision making of

using pirated software.

The limitation of these studies for our subject is that they do not focus on

motion pictures piracy but on software piracy. Even if we can use their

conclusions we cannot apply them directly to another industry which

components, user’s behaviors and usage are far from the software’s ones.

Chih-Chien Wang, Ph.D., from the National Taipei University in Taiwan has

studied the factors that influence the piracy of DVD/VCD motion pictures. Its

study published in The Journal of American Academy of Business,

Cambridge in March 2005 helps us understanding the drivers of piracy in

Taiwan where the counterfeit market is one of the most developed in the world.

He underlines that the major reason to explain piracy in his country is the

willing to save money for the users. Cost benefit is an important factor, but he

also highlights that social acceptance toward motion pictures piracy is also

responsible for the spreading of the usage of pirated products.

This study is helpful to tackle the movie counterfeiting problem in Taiwan but

it is really efficient only for the countries where movie piracy results mainly in

illegal dvd sold in the street. On the other hand, developed countries are

suffering another type of piracy: movie files sharing is the most spread illegal

practice that threatens the movie industry in developed countries.

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Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, Victor Henning, & Henrik Sattler have written an

article on Consumer File Sharing of Motion Pictures which has been

published in 2007 in The Journal of Marketing. They have used Rochelandet

Le Guel’s utility Theory approach what has led to the “first theory-based model

of file sharing determinants in a motion pictures context”. It helps us to identify

3 major reasons in movie:

- The collection utility of the copy (mainly the quality of the copy)

- The consumers’ file-sharing knowledge

- The transaction costs of the original.

It also explains that legal costs and prosecutions are useless to fight against

movie file sharing. In fact it appears that the users do not feel guilty enough

and are not afraid because the usage is common and widely spread.

This article is a huge steps toward the understanding of the virtual pirates’

behavior but the fact that the study is limited to the German market and

concerns only a sample of 25 five movies can be seen as a limitation to its

conclusions. Moreover the study does not test any solutions or ways to improve

the current situation.

In their article published in The Journal of Marketing in 2007, Thorsten

Hennig-Thurau, Victor Henning, Henrik Sattler, Felix Eggers, & Mark B.

Houston explore a particular manner to increase the movie industry’s profits.

The Last Picture Show? Timing and Order of Movie Distribution

Channels relies on Yair Landau’s quote. In 2005, the Vice Chairman of Sony

Pictures has declared that “Ten years from now, we’ll release a film, and you’ll

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be able to consume it however you want.” It results in a 1770 consumers

survey which has lead to the conclusion that “that the studios that produce

motion pictures can increase their revenues by up to 16.2% through sequential

distribution chain timing “.

We have to underline the fact that the “sequential distribution chain timing” is

not the same in every country what makes the feasibility of the practice very

difficult. In fact it will be very difficult to prevent piracy when we can

sometimes currently find movies copies before their theater release, if dvds will

be sold in some countries when in other the same movie will only be available

in Theaters. Moreover another factor is an obstacle to the project: the

sequential distribution chain timing signifies that you change the sacrosanct

order in which a movie is available:

1/ Theatrical Release

2/ +3/4 months (6 for France) : retail market (DVD purchases and rentals)

3/ Display on Premium satellite or cable channel (12 months for France)

4/ Television (24 months in France)

Changing this order can maximize the Studios’ profits but will undermine the

Theaters Channels’ ones.

As already explained we will focus the study on the pirate’s behavior and

feelings. We will try to understand how he reacts and what drive his actions.

We propose to identify a sample of ten virtual pirates.

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What we consider as a virtual pirate is someone who used movie files sharing

system or watch movies in streaming on Internet without the legal rights to do

so. We will intend to explore deeply the feelings and beliefs they have toward

the industry. The study will try to develop new distribution channels and see

how the users could welcome them.

Some studies have already been done about the deviant behaviors, how to

analyze them, and how they can influence marketing strategies. In their article

called What is Consumer Misbehavior? and published in Advances in

Consumer Research in 1997, Ronald A. Fullerton from the University of the

South Pacific and Girish Putij from the University of Connecticut, shows that

consumer misbehavior is a much more larger phenomenon that what we

commonly assume. They explain that it has often been under reported and deny

because it can unhinge the overall system by challenging the norms and

conventions generally shared. The limit of the article concerning our issue is

that it just underlines the problem and highlights it without focusing on the

people who actually misbehave and the reasons that drive them.

On his side, Holt explores deeply the act of consuming, how important and

committing it is. In his article How Consumers Consume: A Typology of

Consumption Practices, published in The JOURNAL OF CONSUMER

RESEARCH in June 1995, Holt explains that 4 dimensions can be identified,

the experience, the play, the integration and classification. Each one implies

different links and different manners to communicate with other people. He

also highlighted the fact that the act of consuming is a strong way to

communicate. This study will help us to understand the meaning of

misbehaviors toward the motion industry.

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Aubrey R. Fowler tries to analyze the consumer misbehaviors and to classify

them in order to understand better the purpose of these actions. The article

Hooligan’s Holiday: Rethinking Deviant Consumer Behavior and

Marketing published in Advances in Consumer Research in 2007, visualize

the misbehaviors as actions that are in conflict either with the cultural norms

either with the institutional norms. Depending which one it violates, the

misbehavior will not be felt the same way from the rest of the population. On a

second level he notices that you can disagree with the commonly shared norms

either by engaging your behavior either without engaging you behavior. His

study allows us to analyze better the motives and the reasons that drive the

consumer. We can easily apply this reading grid to the movie pirates.

In his article called The Field Behind the Screen: Using Netnography for

Marketing Research in Online Communities published in February 2002 in

the Journal of Marketing, Robert V. Kozinets describes how to observe and

analyze the online communities that spread all over the web. The online

forums, comments are even file sharing platform offer lots of information for

marketers. We can analyze the meanings and beliefs of the consumers through

their online behavior. This instrument is similar to an ethnographic study but

cost a lot much better and is really easier to set up. Concerning the topic of

movie piracy, it can be really useful and accurate because the web is the natural

environment of these particular consumers.

Another manner to tackle the problem is also to find other innovations that

could attract consumers or retain the existing ones. New products are currently

available such as Blu-ray DVD which extend High-definition to mass market

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and enable users to enjoy a perfect image and sound at home. If the illegal

copies viewers are interested in that kind of products it could be a way to fight

piracy through quality. In fact the level of quality of the files you can find

online or download is often very poor and if it happens that one of the

important drivers of the illegal viewers is quality, the movie industry would be

able to use such a tool.

In the same type of innovation we will dig the reasons that make an individual

watch a movie in Theaters instead of downloading it on internet. By

discovering what they are looking for it could help studio to develop movies

and or theaters’ innovations to attract customers or getting back former users.

In fact 3d is one of the new trend in high tech theater, thanks to numeric

technology directors are able to create new kind of movies which use

effectively the 3d possibilities.

Performance capture, motion capture permit to create new kind of movies such

as Beowulf released in 2007 by Warner Bros. Robert Zemeckis has made this

movie using the performance capture which enables him to recreate the images

he recorded. Actors were redrawn on computer and given the desired physical

aspect. This technology also enabled equipped theater to broadcast it in 3d.

That kind of new products can attract back illegal viewers that care for new

experiences. The study will have to confirm that statement.

Another new technology we will try to present to our sample is the Video On

Demand or Legal Download. It consists in making movies available through

internet, it could be a purchase you can have how long you want on your

computer, or just a rental version you can watch only several times.

Discovering how much a users will agree to pay for a digital copy or if they are

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ready to pay monthly for a numbers of movies is a great tools for industry

players which could develop a whole new king of distribution. Warner Home

Video has already launched its website for video on demand but the usage

remains superficial and most customers continue to purchase their products in

stores. We will intend to find if the illegal viewers which are not the customers

that buy products in stores could change their habits and buy online.

REFERENCES

- CNC Info n°283 – Bilan 2001 Vidéo et internet

http://www.clubic.com/actualite-153672-cnc-gfk-ventes-dvd-baisse.html

- Le marché du DVD en Allemagne et la place du film état des lieux

trimestre 2005 – Ambassade de France Bureau de l’audiovisuel

- New York Time « Le DVD se fatigue »

http://technaute.cyberpresse.ca/nouvelles/200606/21/01-14601-le-dvd-se-

fatigue.php

- Variety Relic in pic pirates

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117913062.html?categoryid=1009&cs=

1

- An empirical study of Software Piracy by Eric Kin Wai. Lau Business

Ethic : A European Review

- Factors that Influence the Piracy of DVD/VCD Motion Pictures

Chih-Chien Wang, Ph.D., National Taipei University, Taiwan. The

Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge March 2005

14

- Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, Victor Henning, & Henrik Sattler Consumer

File Sharing of Motion Pictures. Journal of Marketing 2007

- Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, Victor Henning, Henrik Sattler, Felix

Eggers, & Mark B. Houston The Last Picture Show? Timing and Order of

Movie Distribution Channels. Journal of Marketing 2007

- Why Are People So Prone to Steal Software? The Effect of Cost

Structure on Consumer Purchase and Payment Intentions. Joseph C.

Nunes, Christopher K. Hsee, and Elke U. Weber. Journal of Public Policy

& Marketing 2004

- Social construct and the propensity for software piracy C. A.

DEPKEN* , I I and L. C. SIMMONSz. Applied Economics Letters 2004

- Entertainment Industry Market Statistics .MPAA 2007

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First Part: Overview of the current

Knowledge

The movie industry can be divided in 3 parts: the production, the distribution and the

running of theaters. These 3 aspects are badly affected by the spreading and

development of a common misbehavior called piracy. In order to understand how

important this danger for the whole industry is, we will summarize the situation in

France. In a first time we will define and explained working of the system. Secondly

the current knowledge about the pirates, their habits, motives and how they operate

to find illegally free copies of movies or series on internet.

A/ The Movie Industry and the Threat of Piracy

PRESENTATION OF THE OVERALL SYSTEM

The Production sector is at the roots of the industry. Its central mission and purpose

is really to join all the actors who will build a movie or another work. The producers

have to find or select potential projects. They also raise money to do the shooting.

They hire the technical and artistic workers. Their revenues come from the rental

contracts they have with the distributors. They can also use the old films they have

already produced in other countries or distribution channels such as the video sales

and the broadcasting for TV channels. In France, in 2006, the 2302 production

companies’ turnover reached over 1690 millions of Euros (source INSEE/Xerfi).

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The distribution is responsible to make the products available for the public. They

will choose in which theaters they will distribute the movies, they will set up the

promotion and advertising and how to reach as many consumers as possible. Their

revenues come from the tickets sales on which they own a percentage after an

agreement with the producer from whom they have received the movie. Some

distributors act either on the video market either on the theater market, some big

companies do both. In France, in 2006, the 338 distribution companies’ turnover was

over 1270 millions of Euros (source INSEE/Xerfi). Recently the distribution of

movies has suffered a decline. The number of movies distributed in France in 2007

was 2.7% lower than it was in 2006. Similarly, the numbers of copies dropped of

2.5%. The only increasing revenues in the sector were the advertising ones with a

8.6% growth the same year (source Xerfi).

The theaters owners make up the third part of the movie industry. They choose what

movies they will broadcast, their revenues comes from the tickets they sell and some

parallel sales such as advertisings before the movies, confectionery, beverages etc…

In France, in 2006, the 757 theaters’ owners have earned over 1202 millions of Euros

(source INSEE/Xerfi). The trend in this sector is the concentration. The complexes

are becoming more and more numerous. The average number of screen goes bigger

and there are fewer and fewer independent owners with less than 5 screens. In 2007

the number of theaters increases only by 0.3% in front of a 4.8% growth for the

multiplexes (source Xerfi).

All these companies working in either one the three movie industry sectors are

dependent of the results of the other actors. In fact the raw materials of these

businesses are the movies themselves. The average price of a movie in France was

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4.77 millions of Euros in 1997 (source

http://cinemanageria.ifrance.com/cine_structures/cine_industrie.htm). Each one joins

a lot of different investors. Each country has a particular way to promote his national

movie industry, but in every country the financial plan of a project is made by

numerous actors. Some so-called “soft money” which is given through institutions,

another part of the money comes from the distributors who prepaid their right to

distribute the movie in theaters and in video, lastly in some countries (including

France), the television channels have to give an annual amount to the movie

production through investment in projects. Below is a summary of the financial

cashflows involves in the movie production in France.

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1

The big number of actors implied in the financing of the sector highlights the fact

that piracy is a threat upon all the actors we presented before. It justifies the words of

the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) when he declared to Variety in

November 2004, that piracy was "the greatest threat to the economic basis of movie-

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making in its 110 year-history” (source

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117913062.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1).

THE VIDEO INDUSTRY: THE MOVIE INDUSTRY CASH COW

The revenues generated through the sales of video are one of the greatest sources of

revenues for the production and distribution actors. In fact the life time of the product

is much longer for a movie in video than it is on Theaters’ screen. Moreover, the

price of DVD or even a tape, is more important than the amount earned on a

Theater’s tickets, on average, the distributor earns 10€ on each video sold whereas on

a 6€ ticket he only keeps 2.42€ (source http://www.rue89.com/en-pleine-

culture/2009/04/12/ou-va-le-prix-du-billet-dentree-au-cinema) . The distributors are

the first and direct victim of the movie piracy because it decreases immediately their

revenues. For the first time in four years, in 2007, the video’s turnover dropped

below the billion Euros (source Xerfi 2007).

Like it is for the cinema industry, there are 3 parts for the video industry: the

Production whose members are often the same as in the Cinema Industry, the

Edition, and the Distribution. The video industry is much more concentrated than the

cinema industry. The distributors are really fewer than they are in the cinema

industry.

Contrary to the film industry, the distribution is more common, the sales are not done

in theaters but mainly in stores. The buyers have more bargaining power and the

product is regarded as a normal one. The artistic dimension is not as important as it is

in theaters. It becomes closer to a standard product, distributed via hypermarkets,

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specialized stores, wholesalers etc… Below is an overview of the distribution circuits

for video in France.

2

Another particularity of this product is that there is a particular chronology

concerning the sales of video since the theater release date of a movie. This

chronology can differ from one country to another.

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The diagram below summarizes the French media chronology in 2007.

3

The French regulation concerning the first video release date has been recently

changed to 4 months after the theatrical release instead of the former 6 months

window.

Recently new products have appeared on the video markets. Firstly, in 2008, Warner

Bros one of the biggest actor on the edition and distribution market, adopted the Blu-

ray format ending the conflict between the HD DVD format and the Blu-ray one.

This new generation of DVD offers a better quality and allows storing more data on a

single disc. In the first three months after the death of the HD DVD format, the sales

have increased by 351% (source http://www.presence-pc.com/actualite/blu-ray-

ventes-28962/).

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Another form of video delivering has rise during the past years, the VOD (Video On

Demand) permits to watch online or purchase an online version of a video.

THE THREAT OF THE MOVIE PIRACY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ON THE

MARKET

Since the launch of video tapes in the eighties, piracy has become one of the

concerns of the industry’s actors. The spreading of the DVD format and personal

DVD players in 1998 has been a great opportunity to increase the video revenues,

particularly thanks to a better sound and image quality compared to the previous

VHS format; but also because the lifetime of a DVD is much longer than a tape

recorded one’s. Nevertheless, this goldmine has also been the starting point of a

never seen before wave of pirated products. In France after a tremendous growth

during its first years and the rising of the households’ DVD equipment, the sales of

DVD started to decrease in 2004 in values and in 2005 in volumes. In the same time,

since 2000, the average DVD price has decreased. Below are diagrams representing

the evolution of the demand in France and the evolution of the average DVD price in

France from 2000 to 2007.

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4

24

5

These figures are a shining exemplar of how intensively the movie industry has

suffered from the spreading of consumers’ misbehaviors toward cinematic products.

Piracy has turned into a common attitude for consumers. The DVD format allows a

new type of piracy. Piracy used to be composed only by bootlegging and illegal

copying. It was only organized network or even organized crime that stole revenues

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to the industry. But the development of internet and such light formats as Divx or

Mpg4 allowed the final customers to download and store on their own, pirated

version of a movie or series. Moreover, organized piracy is now able to offer nearly

the same products the legal supplier are.

In 2004, the MPAA has ordered a study to get a better overall picture of the real

damages caused by pirates on their industry. The results presented showed that the

global loss for the MPAA members was above six billion dollars internationally, 2.3

billion directly from downloading (source Worldwide Study of Losses to the Film

Industry & International Economies Due to Piracy; Pirate Profiles). These figures

represent only the losses for the MPAA members, the chart below present both

results for the members and the non-members.

6

26

Source Worldwide Study of Losses to the Film Industry & International Economies

Due to Piracy; Pirate Profiles.

Moreover, the study highlighted the fact that piracy decreases not only the

companies’ revenues but also the States’ one through tax losses. France is one of the

biggest losers on that point. Below is a chart summarizing these figures.

7

(Source Worldwide Study of Losses to the Film Industry & International Economies

Due to Piracy; Pirate Profiles.)

Thanks to this study we can also describes the demographical profile of a pirate. It

shows that mainly the pirates obtain their illegal copies thanks to the downloading or

the file sharing. Bootlegging represents only 29% of the illegal products. They are

mainly between 16 and 24 years old and male. Moreover they are educated and go to

College. (Source Worldwide Study of Losses to the Film Industry & International

Economies Due to Piracy; Pirate Profiles).

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B/ Understanding and Theories concerning Deviant Behavior

DEFINITION OF DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

Deviant behavior is a complex notion hard to define. It is commonly accepted as the

fact to not follow the cultural norms and rules dictated by institutions in a located

area. Most of the deviant behaviors have consequences at the business level. Among

the deviant behavior is the consumer misbehavior which can be defined as the fact

for a consumer not to follow the rules and the cultural attitudes expected by other

consumers and by the institutions.

Lots of authors have tried to set up a clear definition on this phenomenon; the shared

conception of deviant behavior is given by Aubrey R. Fowler in its article

HOOLIGAN’S HOLIDAY: Rethinking Deviant Consumer Behavior and

Marketing, published in Advance in Consumer Research in 2007 : “deviant

behavior is that which is considered to be different from “normal” behavior by the

society at large.” The legal businesses suffer from these misbehavior because it can

lead to the destruction of property, the victimization of other consumers or marketers

and even material loss (source Fullerton and Punj – 1993). Thus, it can have a lot of

different forms and sources. Moreover deviant behaviors can be apprehended

differently because of the form they take, some ones can even be accepted by

society.

Thanks to the already mentioned article written by A.R. Fowler, we can create an

analytic framework to understand more deeply the deviant behaviors. They can come

either from an opposition toward the cultural norms either from an opposition toward

28

the institutional norms, or even both. The fact that a behavior meets or violates one

or another will influence the way

the rest of the society will tolerate it.

8

(Source HOOLIGAN’S HOLIDAY: Rethinking Deviant Consumer Behavior and

Marketing).

An aberrant behavior can be the fact to hurt on purpose a consumer in order to steal

his wallet. It goes beyond the commonly accepted cultural norms but it is also in

opposition with the institutional rules that prevent the stealing. Aberrant behavior is

mainly rejected by the consumers and is hardly tolerated.

On the contrary, an abiding behavior meets both the cultural norms and the

institutional ones. It is what marketers and consumers regard as a “normal” behavior.

For example an adult who will withdraw money at the counter of a bank will have an

abiding behavior.

The Carnivalesque behavior is the one which does not violate the institutional norms

but does not match with the common attitude consumers expects from another

person. Such behaviors are not regarded as dangerous but can create conflicts among

the consumers. An example of carnivalesque behavior could a drag queen gathering.

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This notion is complex because even though such attitudes are commonly rejected,

sometimes people could appreciate it. It is not rare to see advertisings using

carnivalesque behaviors to seduce consumers.

Lastly, a behavior is qualified as an anomic behavior when it doesn’t follow the

institutional rules but is accepted by the cultural norms shared in a society. It is really

difficult to fight against that type of behavior because consumers are mainly in favor

or do not blame these one. A great example of anomic behavior is the fact to

download a movie in order to make a gift. The law has been broken but the means

used to acquire it is culturally accepted.

DEVIANT BEHAVIOR AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Misbehaviors are deeply linked to culture, they are defined by culture and culture can

correct them. The fact that cultures change across countries should create some

differences between countries concerning deviant behaviors. In their article

Measuring Unethical Consumer Behavior Across Four Countries, published in

the Journal of Business Ethics in 2009, Vince W. Mitchell, George Balabanis Bodo

B. Schlegelmilch and T. Bettina Cornwell, analyze the concept of deviant behavior

across several different countries. Moreover, to avoid the cultural gap, they have

decided to focus their survey on the fact of engaging in misbehaviors and not on their

opinion. They finally found that across the four different countries, we can identify

comparisons between the deviant behaviors. Two major levels of deviant consumers

can be defined in all the countries analyzed: one part qualified as “light offenders”

and other one of “heavy offenders”. They also figured out that deviant behavior is

omnipresent in every culture and explained that 75% of the consumers across the

four different countries have committed at least once consumer misbehavior. Their

30

study has also shown that deviant behaviors based upon an opposition with

institutional norms or laws, are much more numerous than the one which violate

cultural expectations. The different samples proves that there is a common

demographical similarity across the different culture, boys are more inclined to

misbehave that girls

Thanks to this article we have understood that beside the cultural differences across

the world, deviant behavior and particularly consumer misbehavior is spread

similarly and on engages a high percentage of the population.

CONSUMER MISBEHAVIOR CAUSES

In order to fight against this kind of practices, marketers have tried to define the

motivations and causes that create deviant behaviors in consumer places. The article

Consumer misbehavior: why people buy illicit goods, published in The Emerald

Study in 1999 by Nancy D. Albers-Miller; analyze the drivers of such comportments

and have isolated three different causes that can persuade a consumer to acquire an

illicit product: “the selling price – the situation under which the purchase takes place

– the risk that is associated with the purchase.” Different hypothesis have been

validated concerning these three different notions

H1: Willingness to buy is negatively associated with selling price.

H1a: Price will provide a higher degree of influence in the decision to purchase

counterfeit goods, compared to stolen goods.

H2: A buyer is most willing to buy an illicit good when others present are buying

illicit goods.

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H2a: A buyer is less willing to buy an illicit good when they are alone, than when

others are present and buying the illicit product.

H2b: A buyer is least willing to buy an illicit good when others are present and not

buying the illicit product.

H3: Willingness to buy illicit goods is negatively associated with the level of

perceived criminal risk.

H3a: Perceived criminal risk will provide a higher degree of influence in the

decision to purchase stolen goods, compared to counterfeit goods.

(Source Consumer misbehavior: why people buy illicit goods)

Consumers implied in misbehaviors will take into account the type of product they

are purchasing and the criminal risk associated with it. The study has also shown that

being alone or in a group influences the consumer behavior. Moreover the

implication of other peers is decisive in the decision making of the deviant consumer.

Plus, the article explains that stolen goods and counterfeited goods are not regarded

the same way by the consumers. The price and the criminal risk are appreciated

differently according to the nature of the product.

The misbehavior can be also predicted or avoided by analyzing the beliefs and the

ethics that consumers believe in. In Consumer ethics: an application and

empirical testing of the Hunt-Vitell theory of ethics, the three authors Scott J.

Vitell, Anusorn Singhapakdi, and James Thomas, explore how consumers make their

decisions when they imply an ethical dimension. It appears that two important issues

are taken into account, the ethical norms and also the perception of the consequences

for themselves and for others. But the study highlights the fact that between the two

dimensions that have been identified, consumers worry much more about the ethical

32

norms and the principles society relies on. It strengthens the theory that cultural

environment is a key point in the understanding of deviant behavior and the decision

of involving himself in misbehaviors.

We can isolate three main causes that will influence consumers in their willingness to

involve in a deviant behavior. Firstly, the cultural norms and how strong they are

compared to the individual norms in a given society. (source Social construct and

the propensity for software piracy). Secondly, the influence of the group is

decisive, not the social pressure from the society but the direct implication of a group

behavior in a particular situation. Close entourage influence is really important.

Lastly the associated risk with the deviant behavior or the consumer misbehavior is

also taken into account. It can be the criminal risk associated or the financial risk, if

the product will be reliable or not, if the consumer can be caught or punished for

what he committed.

THE IMPORTANCE OF POSSESSION IN IDENTITY DEFINITION AND ITS

CONSEQUENCES ON DEVIANT BEHAVIORS

In modern society consumption has turned into a highly symbolic act. Individuals are

indentified in a lot of situation firstly as consumers, what they possess or purchase is

a direct part of their identity. In his article Possession and the Extended Self,

published in The Journal of Consumer Research, in 1988, Russell W. Belk explains

how decisive it is to understand “the meanings that consumers attach to possession.”

Because consumer behavior results directly from this relation between possession

and identity, it is of great importance to define it. His study explains that individual

express themselves in their purchases, what you owe tells what you are to other

people. Possession is a way to express oneself, “It seems an inescapable fact of

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modern life that we learn, define, and remind ourselves of who we are by our

possessions”. The authors also explains that what we owe engage ourselves but not

only, it can define a whole family or group of individuals. Some items are much

more important in identity building, the collections are more representative. People

want to show that they possess such and such things.

The key role of possession can lead to changes in the way people act. At one point

the object can turns more important than what you have to do to own it. This

prevalence of possession in the everyday life can explain some consumer

misbehaviors. It can become acceptable to break the expected norms in a market

place if it can help you to reach the social status you think the item will give to you.

You step out of the norm in order to be in the norm.

It can explain the rising and spreading of cross cultural misbehaviors all around the

world.

SOCIOLOGY AND CONSUMER MISBEHAVIOR

Deviant consumer behavior is commonly accepted has a lack of socialization. People

act against the norms and rules because they reject the norms and rules that Society

promotes. Thus, deviant behavior can be the direct consequence of a weak

socialization. Such misbehaviors are linked to a misunderstanding or a bad

communication of norms, or the “individual’s emotional or rational rejection of

norms” (Clausen 1968).

Robert K. Merton describes in Social Theory and Social Structure (Merton 1957)

another way to explain the development of deviancy in social groups. Each culture

dictates what is seen as “legitimate goals” and the “legitimate means” to reach these

34

goals. When consumers desire illegitimate goals or use illegitimate means to obtain

legitimate goals, deviant behaviors occur. The accepted ways to reach what society

judges as legitimate goals are called “Institutionalized means” by Deutsch and

Krauss. They also advance that when people cannot use these means, deviant

behavior appears, it can be rebellion or innovation (Merton 1957). The level of

norms rejection will drive the individual either on the innovation, if he rejects the

institutional norms but accept the cultural ones, either on rebellion which “consists of

both a rejection of the culture's values and institutions and the substitution of a new

set of values and institutions" (Deutsch and Krauss 1965, p. 201). Merton also

explains that social structure parameters can be part of deviant behavior, in that

matter, the belonging to one particular social class can influence misbehaviors. In

fact the accepted institutionalized means can be much more difficult to use for some

part of the population; thus they can reject the norms and chose a deviant behavior to

reach their goals.

In 1966 Brim focused his researches on means to correct the deviant behaviors. He

followed Merton’s opinion and thought that social parameters were the main reasons

for misbehaviors. Here is an extract of his recommendations to reeducate deviant

consumers or citizens.

“Where ignorance is the cause, education; where lack of ability is the difficulty,

improved training; where motivation is the problem, a planned and deliberately

executed program of manipulation of rewards and punishments to reorient the

individual to appropriate goals and behavior (Brim 1966, p.43)”.

In 1976, Kohlberg choose to study adolescence because it is supposed to be the age

when individual learns how to react with other people and develop “the ability to

engage in moral reasoning”. As a child he didn’t interact with the rest of society, he

35

used to be centered on himself. During his adolescence, he will be supposed to learn

the rules and norms dictated by society.

In 1987 Housson and Gassenheimer clarify what misbehavior signifies and more

particularly the links with the notion of trust. The word trust is used in the

sociological way: “impersonal trust”, it means what we are sure, people we do not

even know, will do in a given situation. We can say that people have faith in the fact

that other individuals will “behave themselves”. The article “What is consumer

misbehavior?”, published in Advances in Consumer Research in 1997, and written

by Ronald A. Fullerton and Girish Punj, defines the different expectations that

consumers have when they enter an exchange place. Here are the three types of

expectations that summarize all the comportments expected during exchanges: “the

expectations which the marketer has of consumer conduct, consumers’ expectations

about other consumers’ conduct and the expectations which consumers have of

marketer (and marketer employee) conduct”. Misbehaviors challenge what was

called in 1976 by Steiner, Hadden, Herkomer a “social contract” between marketers

and consumers and among consumers. Misbehavior happens when one of these

contracts is broken.

Labeling theory advances that people do not react to other people actions but

“interpret or define each other’s actions, instead of merely reacting to them.” (source

What is consumer misbehavior?).

Another problem to define misbehavior is relativism. People can be more tolerant

than other to some particular behaviors. Furthermore, sometimes what is considered

as misbehavior for some consumers could appear as a “normal” behavior to other one

that do not share the same culture.

36

Second Part: The Pirate’s Behavior and its

Consequences

Movie Piracy is definitively a deviant behavior, and more precisely consumer

misbehavior. It goes beyond the rules that are set up by society and particularly what

Institutions dictate. The first part of this study has displayed the importance of the

phenomenon all around the world and the threat that it can be to the movie industry.

We have also learned that despite the fact misbehavior are spread everywhere,

cultural differences are to be taken into account if we want to understand the

motivations and beliefs of the pirates.

A/ Presentation of the Questionnaires

In order to have a better understanding of these notions, questionnaires have been

conducted with consumers who agree that they use piracy to watch illegally movies

are TV programs. Quantitative research is the best way to discover the reasons that

drive someone’s behavior. Thus, we have decided to make conversations much more

than individual questionnaires, with the pirates that have accepted to share their

experiences. The discussions were about an hour and tackled different subject, or

areas concerning the movie piracy and the way these particular consumers feel about

the movie industry, their role, their influence, and their potential negative effect on it.

Given the fact that former quantitative researches have reached the conclusion that,

misbehaviors are strongly linked to social habits and culture, the interviews focused

37

on French pirates. Furthermore we have decided to choose deviant consumers

between 15 and 30 because it has also been defined that the biggest part of these

online pirates belongs to this group.

The three main topics that have been tacked through this research are:

NETWORK – BEHAVIOR - METHODOLOGY

- How pirates act? Do they have special networks? Do they follow a particular

and recurrent scheme?

SELF PERCEPTION – MORAL JUDGEMENT – BELIEFS

- Do they feel guilty? Do they think that movie piracy is similar to any other

theft? Do they think there is a moral part in the way they act?

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

- What are their expectations for the next coming years? Do they believe in

current solutions? Is repression something useful against piracy?

You can see below the overall pattern of the interview. The questions were not

always the same during the conversations because it was necessary to do it the most

casually it was possible to do. Relax tone allows the answerer to feel comfortable and

be as true as possible.

38

GUIDE D’ENTRETIEN SEMI-DIRECTIF

RESEAU-COMPORTEMENT-METHODOLOGIE

Vous arrive-t-il souvent d’utiliser des fichiers illégaux pour visionner des films ou

des séries ?

Quels moyens utilisez-vous pour cela ?avez-vous des sites particuliers, pourquoi ?

Y-a-t-il des raisons ou motivations particulières qui vous motivent dans ces choix ?

Quelle utilisation faîtes-vous de ces fichiers ?est-ce-que vous les conservez, les

effacez une fois visionnés ?les faîtes-vous partagez, à tout le monde, à vos proches,

lesquels, pourquoi ?

Est-ce-que vous ne faîtes que téléchargez ou uploadez-vous également des fichiers,

pourquoi ?

Pouvez-vous donner une approximation de votre consommation légale de produits

cinématographiques ?

Est-que le fait d’utiliser des fichiers illégaux à diminuer votre consommation légale

de produits cinématographiques ?

PERCEPTION DE SOI JUGEMENTS MORAUX ET CROYANCES

Avez-vous l’impression d’agir mal en utilisant ces fichiers illégaux, pourquoi ?

Pensez-vous que les pirates méritent des sanctions ?

Le téléchargement doit-il être considéré comme un vol ?

Mérite-il qu’on le sanctionne, pourquoi ?

39

Ressentez-vous un sentiment de fierté lorsque vous partagez des fichiers ?

Quels sentiments le fait de trouver des films ou séries vous procure-t-il ?

Y-a-t-il un genre de films particuliers que vous téléchargez, ou que vous ne

téléchargez pas, pourquoi ?

Pensez-vous que certains films méritent d’être téléchargés, pourquoi ?

Visionner un fichier illégal peut-il remplacer le fait de le voir au cinéma, pourquoi ?

SOLUTIONS POSSIBLES

La différence de qualité entre les fichiers trouvés sur internet et les copies légales

pourrait-elle vous convaincre d’utiliser ces derniers ?

La haute-définition pourrait-elle vous convaincre d’utiliser des fichiers légaux ?

La 3d au cinéma pourrait-elle vous convaincre de vous rendre plus souvent au

cinéma ?

Connaissez vous le téléchargement de fichiers légal, l’avez-vous déjà utilisé,

pourquoi ?

Comment considérez-vous le téléchargement de fichier légal, est-ce un sous-produit

selon vous ?

Seriez-vous prêt à payer un abonnement mensuel afin d’avoir accès au

téléchargement légale de fichiers, pourquoi ?

Pouvez-vous donner une approximation du montant que vous seriez prêt à payer pour

une telle offre ?

Connaissez-vous le contenu de la loi Hadopi ?

40

Pensez-vous que cette loi va être efficace ?

Etes-vous en faveur de cette loi, pourquoi ?

La répression peut-elle être une solution pour lutter contre le piratage ?

QUESTION PROJECTIVE

Pouvez-vous comparer votre consommation de produits cinématographiques au

régime d’un animal ?

B/ Observations on Internet

Robert Kozinets has defined a new kind of tools to dig in consumer behaviors. As

explained in his article, The Field Behind the Screen: Using Netnography for

Marketing Research in Online Communities, published in the Journal of

Marketing Research in February 2002, inquiring online can reveal deeper insights

concerning consumer behavior. Indeed, consumers, covered by anonymity on the

web, say and act differently. Furthermore, concerning a particular topic such as

downloading, it is really instructive to observe online activities on website that play

role in enabling movie file sharing, downloading or streaming. Moreover, using

online observation is a way to avoid reluctance from answerer concerning what is

considered as an illegal act.

OBSERVATIONS ON AN ONLINE STREAMING WEBSITE

A first and easy observation is the fact that a Google research using the word

“streaming”, will return 98,300,000 answers in 0.10 seconds, whereas the words

“téléchargement légal” turn only 1,360,000 answers in 0.38 seconds. It is a mere

41

observation but is highlights perfectly the importance of each concept on online

activities. Another interesting place to observe in order to learn more about online

piracy is the sites where they take place. A particularly relevant web place is the

platform called Allostreaming. This website is an online platform that host web links

to online movies, documentaries or series. Since its creation in 2008, the websites

has become one of the leaders on the French streaming market, you can watch over

5500 different movies on this website. Each day, over 550,000 visitors come on the

websites in the first months of 2009 (source http://www.1001actus.com/allostreaming-

19111.html). The importance of the activity of the platform is so high that it has

exceeded the traffic of such sites as TF1.fr, M6.fr, and France2.fr. The charts below

show the online traffic of this websites.

42

9

(source http://www.leblogdevirginie.com/allostreamingcom-fait-plus-de-traffic-que-tf1fr-

france2fr-m6fr/)

The website is hosted abroad. Consequently it is not subject to French law. The

appearance of the website design is very simple and functional: black background

with orange writings, the movies and series are ranged by types, or alphabetical

order. Everything is done to facilitate the customer navigation, there is no place such

as forum where people can chat or exchange their opinion, only links. There is

43

nothing to create or encourage anything like a community or to create bonds between

users. The purpose of the platform seems to be only usual.

Here is a screen capture of the main page of the site, dedicated to movies.

10

Since its creation Allostreaming has extended its activity and is now the main page of

a ten websites streaming platform. You can have access to every pages and links for

free, the revenues of the platform comes from advertisings. Before you can reach any

content you are subject to at least five advertisings or online banners.

As said before, there is nothing such as an online community on Allostreaming,

consumer are not able to communicate among themselves. Although you can register

on the website, it is only to be able to upload links on the platform. The only

community facilitator item is an online ranking of the members, considering the

number of file they have uploaded. The fact that there is no possibility to

communicate with members prevent us from knowing if there is any particular

reason that make them uploading these files. A 2,300 members Facebook group

called Allostreaming could sustain the idea that an online community exist between

44

the users. On the other hand, if you have a look on the posted comments of the

group, it looks much more like a recovery service webpage than to a forum.

The online observation of the French biggest streaming website has reveal that it

seems that there is no relevant proof that a streaming pirates online community exist.

Nonetheless it is true that the same people comes often on the website, that there are

also a limited number of “uploaders” who feed the platform with new links.

DOWNLOADING PLATFORMS

Another way to access to pirated content is the classic download website. There are a

lot of different websites that provide downloadable movies. The main difference with

streaming is that users need to download a particular program to start sharing files.

Moreover the consumer will have the file on his computer. He will possess a copy of

whatever he has downloaded and will be able to share it again after. Another big

difference with streaming is that you need to wait for your files to be downloaded,

what is particularly relevant concerning movies or series. In fact contrary to

streaming, you cannot watch immediately what you want with that type of websites.

Finally, you can find any type of file on downloading platform, from music and

movies to books or program. Consequently, customers are different from streaming

user.

As it is on Allostreaming, there is no place such as forums, where people could chat,

on downloading websites.

The Pirate Bay, Bit Torrent, Kazaa the oldest file sharing system on internet, all of

them show no direct interactions among the consumers of these websites. One

system offers a forum, Azureus, a torrent provider program, has an online exchange

45

system. Nevertheless, despite the so called “Community Forum”, the topics are

always about online tips or FAQ. Below is a snapshot of the Forum.

11

As it was said for the Allostreaming’s facebook group, the questions raised and other

topics are closer to the ones sent to a recovery service center than on online cinema

forums.

The online observations seem to deny the existence of a pirates community are

consciousness. Nevertheless the fact that in the middle of the trial against The Pirate

Bay, the IFPI, (International Federation of Phonographic Industry) has been attacked

by a pirate, would strengthen the theory that pirates share a common background.

46

Below is a screen picture of the home page of the institution’s website on the day of

the pirates’ attack.

12

C/ Analysis

The interview that has been presented previously helps us to understand better the

pirates’ behavior. The different subparts of the discussion reveal diverse aspects of

the pirates’ identity. That is the reason why the analysis tackles each different

category separately.

NETWORK – BEHAVIOR – METHODOLOGY

This first part shows us that pirates act and think differently considering the using

they have of the file they are looking for. Lots of them prefer the streaming process

because it is an easy way to find a particular product. One thing is obvious among the

different interviews, pirates have very different habits and preferences. There is no

prototype profile. Their consumption can go from three hours a week to ten or more

47

for other answerer. Their preferences vary from streaming to downloading or both

considering their needs.

They explain that they are used to go each week on streaming website to watch their

favorite series’ new episode, or they can also wander on streaming platform and

choose a movie randomly. The consumption they have when they use streaming is

mainly passive. They do not want something particular but watch what is available

and take it, except for the series addict. This mode of consumption is similar to a

customer who would go shopping in stores without any particular need. Once again it

is different for the series watchers. The first reason given to select streaming before

downloading is that the consumption is immediate. You do not have to wait for your

file to arrive on your computer. These pirates use streaming the same way they

would do in front of a TV set. It could be one of the things that decrease the feeling

of breaking rules or laws: the file is available and free, they assimilate it to TV

watching, which is free too. Some answerers also argue that streaming does not need

any particular knowledge or program utilization. Among these pirates some ones do

not have this knowledge or do not feel it is really useful for the consumption they

have. It illustrates one particular aspect of the movie pirates: all are not computer

experts or hackers, mainly are classical internet users with a limited technical

knowledge.

Lots of streaming users have named Allostreaming as one of their favorite websites,

the first reason is because of the huge amount of files available either movies or

series. Another point is that it was one of the most famous and they do not want to

waste any time looking for a new one. This reason strengthens the theory that pirates

are not necessarily high technology friends. Some others argue that they prefer

foreign website; mainly English speaking ones, because they can find original

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versions and the first reason given it that the files are available a very long time

before on these websites. This search for original versions and ultra recent files

shows that pirates are mainly movie lovers or even experts.

On the other hand, the ones who used downloading explain that this tool is useful

when they are looking for something particular, or when they want to keep a copy of

the file. The copy can be shared but not automatically. When they chose

downloading, consumption is more proactive, they know what they want and even

look for special version. It seems that those who use this way to find file are really

movie lovers. They look for old movies they cannot find in stores or are hard to. The

fact that they need to use a specific program to obtain the file they want illustrates a

bigger technical knowledge. It is not rare that they also download subtitles and play

the files with them, what necessitates many more computer skills. Moreover,

answerers who declare that they download files also often confess that they use

streaming too. It shows that it exist a kind of hierarchy among pirates. Between

heavy ones that have high tech knowledge and a big consumption, and with light

pirates who mainly use streaming without any particular computer skills and spend

less time online.

All the answerers have declared that they had never uploaded an illegal file on

internet. On the other hand, lots of them confess they stay connected as seed once

they have downloaded a file. They explain that is seems normal for them to help

other people download faster the file they have just obtained. It highlights the

existence of the slight feeling of a community membership for pirates. They never

stay a long time as seed but at least one or two hours. All the files are not conserved

after the watching. Heavy pirates explain that they keep on their computer, or even

acquire a storage hard drive, only few movies. Very few ones declare that they share

49

the file they have acquired illegally with their entourage. But some ones agree that it

happens rarely that they download a special file on another person’s request. It shows

that the pirate consumption is mainly an individualistic one. The community

dimension is very limited.

Concerning the legal consumption they have, pirates are once again very different.

The monthly expenses vary from seven Euros (the average price of a theater ticket)

to sixty Euros. There is a similarity among the heavy pirates. They are the ones who

spend more money in their legal consumption. There is no particular model for light

consumers.

Similarly, the heavy pirates declare that they legal consumption has not decreased

since they use downloading or streaming. Some ones even say that actually it has

increased. On the other hand, the light pirates confess that maybe they have replaced

their legal consumption by illegal one. They continue to go to the Theaters or buy

DVD but perhaps less than before they knew how to find free available files.

SELF PERCEPTION – MORAL JUDGEMENT – BELIEFS

This part of the interview deals with the deep feelings pirates have. We try to figure

out what are the norms that replace the cultural ones, if they exist, and why

institutional rules are neglected. The results of the interview have shown this the

particular deviant behavior is mainly accepted. Moreover it doesn’t really goes

beyond the cultural values. If we used the conceptual framework given by Aubrey R.

Fowler in HOOLIGAN’S HOLIDAY: Rethinking Deviant Consumer Behavior

and Marketing movie piracy can be identified as an anomic behavior. It breaks the

50

institutional norms but does not violate the cultural ones. It is one of the reasons why

fighting movie piracy is very difficult.

Nearly all the answered declared that they do not really feel guilty when they use

these illegal files. The heavy pirates explain that their legal consumption

counterbalances the fact they also use movie piracy. They argue that they would not

pay money for the files they use illegally. They do not feel guilty because it seems

for them that they do not really steal anything given the fact that they would not buy

it anyway. On the other hand, light offenders raise different ideas: that the companies

they retain revenues from, are huge ones with very important assets. They think that

it will not be a big loss for these companies. They also declare that movie piracy

clearly cannibalizes their legal consumption and it happens that they replace one by

the other. Furthermore, some explains that they even have negative feelings about

these companies and can actually enjoy not paying them. Here is another difference

among pirates, they do not have the same feeling about the movie industry.

All the pirates agreed that movie piracy is a theft. But they also insist on the fact that

it is different from other kind of stealing and they do not consider themselves as

criminal. They underline that the availability of the illegal product and the tacit

agreement of other consumers put it on a different level from common burglary. The

interviews also show that their legal technological environment permits to acquire

and watch these files. They feel it is hypocritical to blame what they do, providing

they can have legally the technical supply they need to do so. Moreover the huge

number of pirates legitimates for them their behavior. They do not feel it is a deviant

one if the biggest part of the population does it.

All the answerers confess that they care about the artists that suffer from movie

piracy. They are much more concerned by the people behind the products. They try

51

not to download art house works. Here again the heavy pirates are more inclined to

this feeling, they explain they try as far as possible to watch these movies in theaters,

or even buy the DVD when released. The light offenders are mainly not big fans of

art house movies, they prefer bigger productions and when they go to the theater they

watch the same kind of movies.

One of the commonly shared feelings among pirates is that the expensive and rising

price of theater tickets justifies movie piracy. They argue they would not be able to

pay for all the products they watch and would go more often in legal distribution

channels if it was cheaper. One thing particular to series piracy is that pirates

consider that they TV revenues are the same if they use movie piracy or not. They all

agree on the fact that laws must evolve and change to adapt to the new technical

environment. They explain that internet provides good opportunity for these big

companies. They have earned money and continue to thanks to internet. On the other

hand it is counterbalanced by the spreading of movie piracy but it would be unfair to

punish it.

Pirates explain that they do not feel particularly proud when they obtain a specific

file. They are just happy to enjoy it but self esteem is not part of their behavior. On

the other hand even if it does not happen a lot that they share their files, they feel

nice when they do. But they also underline that this feeling does not come from the

nature of the product and feel the same way when they share a legal copy.

All the answers agreed that watching an illegal copy is very different from watching

it in theater. Going to theater is what they called “a complete experience”, they do

not just watch the movie, they are in a special mood. The place plays also a big part

in the pleasure they have, the atmosphere is not the same when they watch it on their

computer. Going to the movies is a social event. It is rare that they do it alone

52

whereas they can easily watch pirated copy on their own. All the answerers are

students and all of them declare that they will spend more money in movie industry

and perhaps even stop piracy when they will have more money. It could signify that

movie piracy is a temporary problem in the life time of a consumer. This fact,

combined with the idea that some of them actually spend more money since they use

piracy, raises the idea of a positive consequence of this misbehavior. Consumer learn

to like movies through piracy, it creates a bigger demand. Future researches should

focus on this in order to determine if these pirates really spend more money on long

term in legal distribution channels.

This second part of the interview has shown that once again, we cannot draw a

common profile of all the pirates. Even if there are similarities in their beliefs and

moral values, here again we can divide pirates between heavy ones and light ones.

Their beliefs, the feeling of guiltiness and the way they perceive themselves change

considering what pirates they are. There is an ambiguity in the way between the fact

that they are conscious of the immorality of piracy but in the same time they do it.

Last but not least, they all raise the necessity for institutional norms to evolve in

order to match with the new technical environment internet provides.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

In this third part of the interview we try to find out what solutions can be developed

to tackle the piracy issue. We want to know from the pirate’s side, what legal way to

53

solve the problem seems appropriate. If they would agree to pay for particular

products, if repression can be useful or even accepted.

Mainly all the answerers explain that the quality of the files they find on internet is

an issue for them. It is one of the reasons that can convince them to buy a DVD or to

go in theaters. It is a common feeling for both heavy and light offenders. Decreasing

the quality of the pirated version is nearly impossible to do. On the other hand

considering that the price level is an important matter for pirates, making available

cheaper good quality products could increase significantly legal sales. Furthermore

the importance of the image and sound quality opens new markets for companies:

Blu-ray DVD, high definition hardware etc… Moreover the heavy pirates, who are

the biggest consumers among these consumers, declare that they like to find enhance

contents and beautiful packages.

The use of 3D effects in theatrical releases does not seem to very convincing for

pirates. The limited number of equipped movie theater, the gadget dimension,

decreases the attraction effect of this innovation. Moreover they also highlight that

there is no great 3D movie yet consequently they are not convinced by it. They also

confess that they do not have enough information about it and do not really know

how it works, if they have to wear special glasses or not. Lastly the more expensive

price of the 3D tickets is a big obstacle for pirates. Increasing the numbers of seats

and providing a greater number of 3D movies seem financially dangerous for

companies. Improving 3D technology communication and increasing customer

knowledge is a very important issue for marketers.

Another innovation in the movie industry is the legal downloading and legal

streaming. Few websites offer the opportunity of watching or downloading legal

copies of movies or series. Even if they vaguely know the existence of such products,

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very few answerers have already tried it. Moreover all the pirates that have

experienced it have been disappointed. Either because they never succeeded to

acquire the file either because the process was very long and complicated. There is

no significant difference toward legal downloading between heavy and light pirates.

It seems commonly agreed by all the pirates that such products are not equivalent to

DVD. Consequently they do not want to pay the same price for them. On the other

hand, they all agree that they would be interested in a formula which would offer a

big amount of online legal movies for a monthly payment. Once again the price of

this offer would be decisive in their choice. The ideal price fluctuates from twenty

Euros to thirty Euros considering the answerer. Here is another possible solution

marketers should explore in order to convert pirates to legal behavior.

All the pirates knew at least the main points of the Hadopi law. It shows that they are

aware of the legal environment surrounding their practices. But in the same time no

one knows exactly what it is and how it would work in real life. The feelings are

largely negative toward this law. Once again they argue that the law is hypocritical, it

punishes just the final consumer without doing nothing against the companies that

provide the technical supply. They declare that the Internet Access Suppliers are the

first responsibles and winners of movie piracy. Furthermore even if they would be

afraid to know that friends of them have received big fees because of their

misbehavior, they are not persuaded that the law will be useful. They are sure that it

will be impossible to apply such law because pirates are too numerous and they will

always find new ways to escape from punishments.

Repression is a very complicated concept for pirates. Mainly they understand that

what they do has negative effects. They think that if it would be real and strong, it

would be effective. But on the other hand, they are against the principle of

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repression. It would seem immoral for them to be punished because of what they do.

They do not feel anymore that they have a deviant behavior. They are convinced that

institutional norms should be influenced and changed by cultural ones. When asked,

it appears that they are persuaded that the cultural norm is piracy. Not using piracy

seems a deviant behavior for them considering the cultural norms.

It is obvious that a lot of options are available for marketers in order to fight against

movie piracy. Another important lesson learn in this part of the interview is that there

is a lack of information concerning new products or distribution channels. Education

is fundamental to tackle the movie piracy issue.

PROJECTIVE QUESTION

This part permits to explore deeply how the pirate thinks and the way he perceives

himself and his consumption. The question asked was to compare their movie

consumption to an animal and its eating habits. The answers are very interesting

because they reveal a lot about the answerer hidden feelings.

One of the first given answer is a sparrow. The consumption is not big, it is punctual

and the most important thing, the life time is reduced. The pirate who gave this

example explained that he was sure he will soon change his consumption habits,

once he will have a job and more money to dedicate to these expenses. The image of

a sparrow, a very innocent and harmless animal, shows that pirate do not feel they

are threatening the movie industry.

Another interesting example is the one of the marmot. Once again, it is not a wild or

dangerous animal. It is even a nice one that people like. The example has been

chosen because when they hibernate, marmots take a big amount of foods in one

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time, and eat it alone on a long period. It is relevant to notice that other answerers

have chosen a similar example of hibernation but with another animal, a wilder and

bigger one: the bear. The principle was the same but on a different level. He also

takes a given amount of files in one time but it is much more important. Moreover

the bear is a stronger and more terrifying animal. The one who choose this animal

was aware of his power and influence on the movie business. A bear can be very

aggressive and cost a lot to society.

Another animal chosen was the raccoon, a tiny and inoffensive little animal that is

crazy about very rare food, sweets. He does not eat a lot but the quality is a very

important matter. Contrary to the previous example, the animal is a very inoffensive

one who is not dangerous for anybody and does not cause important damages to

anybody. Similarly the hedgehog has been quoted by answerers for the same reasons,

a little amount of food but very nutritive. Quality is the first component in their

decision making. This animal is interesting because whereas it is quite innocent and

vulnerable, it can sting with its spades.

The example of a chicken has also been given. The pirate explained that he use to

peck, there is no particular logical reason in the way he selects what he will consume.

Hazard is a huge components in his choices, he watch what is available. The

interesting thing with this animal is that it is very easily intimidated. You can change

its habits with fear. The pirate who chose this animal answered positively to

repression as an effective tool to fight against piracy.

The gorilla has been selected to illustrate the habits of a heavy offender. He said that

he takes a big amount of the best bananas and eat it with voracity. The gorilla is very

strong and even if it has a good reputation, it could be very dangerous for men. Last

but not least, the example of pork has been given. It eats in huge quantity and

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everything. It does not care about the quality, the quantity is more important. It can

ingurgitate very tasty thing and awful one. It is relevant to notice that differently

from the gorilla, the pork is not a wild animal. It lives only in the middle of human

beings, he needs them to be fed.

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LIMITS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE

STUDY

This research has allowed us to have a wider understanding of the pirates’ behavior.

We have seen that there are a lot of differences among them. We cannot draw a

perfect profile of the movie pirate. There are numerous different forms of pirate; but

it is obvious that there is a line which divides them into two categories. The Heavy

pirates, the ones Vince W. Mitchell, George Balabanis Bodo B. Schlegelmilch and T.

Bettina Cornwell called the “heavy offenders”, and the light ones. Their

consumptions habits are different, even in the legal environment, their beliefs and

feelings concerning the movie industry are not the same, and they do not agree on

what could be the possible solution to fight against movie piracy. Identifying this

duality among the pirates is very important in order to tackle the issue. Knowing

them is the best way to find how to offer new consumption models and how to

prevent the use of movie piracy.

One the first thing learned through the research is that movie pirates are very

particular and cannot be compared to other online pirates. Their number is greater

and they do not have same beliefs and behaviors. Even if some individuals are part of

both groups we cannot restrain movie pirates to the classical online hacker’s profile.

Another important point raised by the study is that a movie piracy is very particular

consumer misbehavior. The biggest reason is the huge number of offenders. Can we

consider it as a deviant behavior when it concerns the biggest part of a population?

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Here is a possible topic for future researches, defining clearly the number of pirate

and how they are accepted by the other consumers.

A very sensitive idea found in the study and mainly through the interviews, is that

maybe there is no real loss for the movie industry. Should we consider that all the

illegally watched files represent losses of revenues for the movie industry? Indeed it

seems that mainly, the pirates would not consume the file they use illegally if they

had to pay for it. Moreover the heavy pirates, the ones who cost the most to the

industry considering their illegal consumption, explain that actually their expenses

concerning movies have increased since they use piracy. The hypothesis raised here

is that in fact piracy could have a positive effect for the industry or at least that is

effect is not so negative. These answerers agreed on the idea that in fine piracy has

created a kind of addiction toward movie products. An interesting research could be

to define clearly the change in their legal consumption thanks to their illegal one.

One last interesting points provided by the study is the theory that piracy is just a

phase in the consumer lifetime. All the interviewed pirates were below 30 and

declared that they will decrease their illegal consumption when they have a job. It fits

with the quantitative research results ordered by the MPAA and quoted in the first

part of the study. Pirates are mainly between 16 and 24. It would be very relevant

and useful to determine clearly the consumption life cycle of a pirate.

Finally, the study shows a real lack of communication concerning piracy but

essentially about the new products available such as legal downloading, even 3d

movies, etc…

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