State of An Industry: Embracing Change To Make It
Earlier this year, The Advocate wrote an engaging but flawed piece on what the deficit has done to pornographers. I was honored to even be interviewed for the article and explained to the magazine that, in this reporter's opinion, we made a grave mistake around the time I was first getting into the business of adult entertainment back in 1998.It was an exciting time.
Our crowned princess of pulchritude, Jenna Jameson was becoming a household name and "porno" was suddenly out of the brown paper bags and onto the covers of magazines like TIME and Newsweek where we proudly proclaimed we were a multimillion dollar industry.
Little did we know that by mainstreaming our genre, we were in all actuality putting a gun to our feet. Everyone penniless with a camcorder picked theirs up and shot a sexvid for a chance at fortune. It's even chronicled most recently in the mainstream movie, "Zach and Miri Make A Porno," wherein a sweet, young couple desperate for money decide to try their hand at on camera romps.
The market became saturated and when you add to that the worst economy we've seen since The Great Depression, 11 years later, here we are.
So where are we?
A recent article on GaySexBlog.net about the status of certain companies has had me thinking how our industry has made a 90 degree turn.
- Collin O'Neal announced he's selling his company.
- Falcon Studios is releasing fewer movies and there is rumor they have been sold.
- Lucas Entertainment is releasing niche movies like "FARTS!"
- COLT is being sued for non-payment of a large debt.
- Smaller companies like PZP Productions and EON Films that made big wave a few years back are assumed to be shutting their doors, at least for the moment.
- Pacific Sun Entertainment has shut down it's offices to be operated out of one man's home.
- Jet Set Men postponed a comeback vehicle for a very big star until later this Summer.
- Channel 1 Releasing postponed their productions until August as well.
- Once retired legends come out of retirement for "one last go around."
- Hustler Video will no longer be signing exclusives and they are moving from the legendary building on La Cienega and Wilshire.
- Adult video actresses are turning to escorting sites for extra cash in the same way gay video stars have been for several years.
- Even popular web based studios like Corbin Fisher and SeanCody.com that once paid exclusive performers $3000.00 a scene are now cutting their rates in more than half.
- Popular web based studios like these often use the same bed, the same sets over and over again providing a "sterile" atmosphere and leaving any eroticism entirely up to the performers instead of creating a fantasy.
This isn't to say that all of the above companies are not doing some amazing work as well. Those web sites are infamous for discovering some of the best talent of the past decade. Pacific Sun recently brought directors Phil St. John and Paul Barresi back on board to begin shooting new productions for them. Channel 1's soon to be released "Taken: To The Lowest Level" is going to be a Summer blockbuster and another milestone in the career of Chi Chi LaRue. The teaming of Michael Lucas and Mr. Pam has proven a fruitful one, with such beauty blatantly on display in their new gorgeously shot, "Wall Street." Falcon has made a smart move by letting performers take over as talented directors like Steve Cruz and Jet Set Men has revolutionized their business by creating their own video on-demand channel and churning out incredible live shows at JetSetMen.com.
There's no denying the artistry of our industry is still firmly in tact; it's the practice of business that is being made to shift. .
Other studios refuse to accept the change though and continue keeping a tight hold on every new performer they see, still believing in the value of exclusives and outdoing their own biggest budgets, clinging to a sinking ship of a system that in a couple of years will be earmarked archaic. Others have made incredibly astute business moves merging with successful corporations, but in turn gain industry mutiny from fear of monopolies with less people willing to support them.
My goal in writing this op-ed is not to garner sympathy, but to spread knowledge; to let people, especially within our industry, know where we stand at this moment in our business's history.
The industry is no longer changing. It has changed.
Keeping in mind that pornography is a luxury, to continue being financially successful at making it we have to first be present enough to accept where we stand in this current economy.
Walking down Sunset Blvd. the other day, noticing the most expensive five-star restaurants in the city with signs in the window that read "50% OFF ALL SUNDAY!" I thought to myself, "And we're supposed to be doing business the same way we were four years ago?"
The first step to rising from the ashes has to be the elimination of shame associated with doing things differently. It's a different time. The system that worked for everyone several years ago can not be expected to work now. This is a time to come together and support one and other, not to point a finger where your rival studio lacks because eventually they will just as easily find a way to point one back at you. We can be a supportive family right now or we can go on the attack and that's a decision every individual is going to need to make for themselves.
This is something not just for the studios to remember, but performers as well. I can't tell you how many porn stars I've heard lie to each other about their scene rates, out of sheer embarassment. No one should be made to feel ashamed for working for less money than they have in the past in this current economy or for taking part time jobs or turning to RentBoy.com until studios figure out just what exactly it is they're going to do.
Performers right now need to embrace that in such a down economy, everyone needs money and therefore more people are willing to perform on camera.
Where we were once saturated with content, we're now saturated with talent! The 90 degree turn.
There's no shortage of hot people willing to do the dirty on camera these days and because of that, performers are being paid less. They should be informed of this before being made to think they're going to make a fortune getting naked on camera.
At this moment in the history of adult entertainment, every performer, every studio, every web site... is entirely replaceable.
It's a humbling time for us.
The minute we accept it for what it is will be the beginning of figuring out how to stay afloat while continuing to make quality erotica. The upside is it will likely weed out those who were in it for the greed while those who are in it for the love of what they consider to be an "art" will be left standing.
posted by Jason Sechrest at 6:50 PM
13 Comments:
Surely "mainstreaming" didn't cause the change.
Internet technology caused the change.
Jenna Jameson, TIME Magazine and ZACH & MIRI didn't convince amateurs to get into the business.
Easy digital cameras and internet distribution convinced them to.
The internet eliminated the costly problem of having to manufacture and distribute films or cassette tapes worldwide.
Anybody can do it all from home now with a computer, digital cameras that offer higher quality at cheaper costs than ever before and Hollywood-style digital editing software.
And porn models don't even have to travel to each other or the producers anymore — one site can link together cameras from anywhere in the world, eliminating other huge costs and logistical problems.
Then there's how easy the internet makes piracy.
These realities are all converging with the recession to create a perfect storm.
Well that's not really the point of the article.
But I do agree with you that the Internet certainly made it easier for people to pick up a camera and turn a profit -- until so many were doing it that it became saturated, pirated.
Still, without the mainstreaming and shouting from the roof tops how much money our industry was making per year and how much money porn stars were making per scene, the idea that porn was "cheap" and "dirty" and something to hide in the brown paper bag wasn't exactly putting dollar signs in people's heads. The glamorization of porn did that and the Internet made it easy for a time.
Good post Jason and I agree the shouting from all media in the late 90's that Porn was HUGE, a Multi-billion dollar business was detrimental.
The weeding out of the weaker players has not taken place as yet.
All the 5 or 6 major Gay Porn DVD studios are still in business (at a reduced rate) we haven't had the porn equivalent of GM and Chrysler collapsing (Yet)
But its coming and I dont think it will be a bad thing.
I watch a lot of porn and more often some hot little 5 min clip on Xtube will satisfy in a way the Pro/am clip will not.
Example I love Gage Preston over at Collegedudes but I think his hottest video yet is on Xtube!
Some sites and company's defy expectations even during this Great Recession.
Corbin and Sean Cody continue to turn out top quality video,gorgeous men and supply the heat in the videos.
Dink Flamingo is making his niches work both on the web and DVD.
And I agree Jet Set has reinvigorated itself.
You left out AEBN/Nakedsword making money hands over fist but will they come to dominate Gay Porn? And its production?
Have they already?
See raging Stallion and To The Last Man.
So exactly what has given rise to this surplus of talent over retail demand and consumer dollars? Granted, promises of porn riches and a decrease in public aversion to those involved in erotica has brought forward lots of additional willing participants, but there is more to it than that.
The ease of producing and distributing erotica cannot be discounted. Add to that the reality that amateurs can pursue niche markets unaddressed by the porn mainstream, and you have supply satisfying demand volume at a decreased price point, often devoid of studio overhead expenses.
And Jason is quite right: erotica is a financial luxury that can be easily foregone when the rent or mortgage is due.
Right. But remember the "surplus in talent" didn't come until our country's economy went to hell. We had a surplus of new porn MAKERS, but not talent. That didn't come until people were a little more desperate to make a buck and therefore a little more willing to get naked on camera.
I bought my first video camera at 24.
I have hours & hours of video footage from the late 80's and 90's, all my friends and a few BF's were doing it THEN. I think the fact so many were filming "private porn" in the 90's and so many gay guys come of age today in front of a webcam no one thinks twice about porn on camera paid or amateur.
So when the Economy tanked the appeal of making some cash off what you already do in your private life needs little consideration!
Look how much hot Argentine porn hit the Webs/DVD when their Economy collapsed a few years back.
I don't think porn is as much of a luxury as you guys think.
Sex is a human need and nearly every male turns to porn. That's why it has been so lucrative historically and producers call it "recession resistant."
I don't think porn is expendable to most men. They might stop paying for it, but they still find ways to get it — even the nasty, ugly amateur shit on Xtube.
To men, porn is probably one of the least expendable goods and services available. A lot of guys need it as a complete substitute for real, human interaction!
And people often turn to fantasy and escape in recessionary times.
Hollywood just had a record-setting winter, the summer is off to a huge start and Harlequin romance novels just announced a 32% increase in sales!
I would blame piracy and oversaturation the most for revenue downturns at any porn company.
One thing I wish PZPan, Sean Cody and other sites would do is offer á la carte, scene-by-scene downloads at cheaper costs like iTunes.
I think Sean Cody and Randy Blue have some of the hottest guys, but I have to subscribe for over $30 just to see one scene. It's totally not worth it!
They force a lot of potential customers to pass on them completely because of their dickish "subscribe for a whole month or else" policies.
And even AEBN-style services, which are great, don't let you keep scenes as downloads at an affordable price.
You have to hack-record their streaming videos with bootleg applications, which most people don't know about so are probably more inclined to pass on paying altogether for temporary use.
What I like about Machofucker.com is that they allow complete downloads to own of their whole library for just the $30 or so month-access fee.
And I re-subscribe periodically to collect all of their newest stuff.
i-Tunes realized that if you don't match the technological efficiency of the times and come down to an affordable price, the producers of content risk not making any money at all.
It's the saturation of gay for pay amateur porn. It is just got so boring, I get it has a market but it's AMATURE, aka they are not good enough to be pros, there are no pros left in gay porn and there sure aren't any gay pros left. Where are the Blake Harpers, Logan Reeds, Matt Bradshaws, Wes Daniels, Sonny Mark hams, Steve Regis, Max Grands, Dominic Sinclairs, Dino DiMarocs, Chip Daniles, Michael Brawns and so many that populate 90s porn and made it such a hot sexy and enjoyable experience to watch.
When the studios began hiring straight amateur models, they lost it. These guys just are not good enough, the sex is boring and especially bad. Straight amateur guys just can't fake good gay sex, why would and gay man pay to watch straight tattooed guys like Leo Giamani or David Taylor and their ilk that fill 90% of gay porn puke their way through appalling bad gay sex, when they can get it free of the web?
It’s just all become so repetitive and boring the same pretty but utterly sexless guys going through the same motions minus any sense of sexuality, if you remove gay sexuality out of gay sex, you are left with nothing and that is what has happened. the studios need to use more exclusive professional guys, who are not over exposed and plastered over every free TGP 100 times over and models that are actually gay and or good at making gay porn if not they will never make it. And at this point, I doubt anyone cares anymore I mean …gay porn… whatever, so over.
The trick to not being easily replaceable is to develop and maintain a loyal and devoted fan base. If your fans are begging the studios to see more of your work then you aren't as easily replaced. A lot of it goes along with being a genuinely nice person that people actually care about. If the only reason people are watching your scenes is because you are hot then your days are truly numbered. The next hot boy that comes along will replace you. Also, the trend in porn has been to go more and more extreme; however, eventually you reach a top of the extreme level although people want more and more. Its not enough to simply do a bareback double penetration scene anymore, people want to see you in a bareback triple penetration scene with cum oozing from your hole and then cum swapping on top of that. So, in my opinion, the way to go is back to the roots where you have one boy everyone is actually into because of his presence (web blogs, interviews, personality) that SLOWLY takes it to the near extreme while managing to keep it new and fresh. If you can create a fantasy for your viewers then you will make money from it.
I am inclined to agree with Gavin that movie sales and romance novel sales numbers are up. What you are forgetting though is that those two things are fantasy entertainment. With the way the porn industry stands right now, porn is not about fantasy entertainment. Porn, currently, is about sexual entertainment. The human mind isn't sexual (even in males). It dwells on fantasy not sex. Its not enough to just watch some dude fuck another dude. What makes us orgasm like there is no tomorrow is knowing that dude we just shared an im session with is fucking that other hot dude. We really want to get to know our models on a more personal level, and that is why amateur porn will eventually surpass the big name stuff. That is why scenes from places like TommyDxxx.com with open minded and approachable amateur super stud Tommy D make us come harder than professional videos with two unapproachable muscle studs.
I commented on that article in The Advocate, and it was published in the print edition of their June issue, and I stand firmly behind with what I said there.
I must also stand behind one of the Anonymous comments stating what is also part of the problem, like hiring gay-for-pay models. I would have included that as well in my response but my reply there was long enough.
What has happened is that with this recession, people have come to economize, even about viewing porn. And while economizing, they're probably realizing that because of the ageism, racism, gay-for-pay sex, twink overload, etc., viewers are not getting their money's worth. Those are the changes porn companies need to embrace, and most have yet to do so. Until then, I believe those refusing to do so will continue to have a sinking ship on their hands.
Having owned a Gay Gift Store for 23 years that has sold and rented Gay erotica ,for the same period of time, I enjoyed reading your take on the State of The Industry.So many things happening at once all coming together to lead us to this place.You are right change has already come.The guys still come in the store wanting to buy the 49.99 porn but can't afford it like they use to.They opt for something cheaper.It's not quite what they want but it works.I'm selling more 19.99 porn than I ever have and less 49.99 porn than I ever have.People still want porn.It is their necessity.
This Tre Xavier attention whore is worse than me!
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