Porn industry in major decline

[Octoman]

Difficult times out there for those in the porn industry

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ente...porn-star.html

For years, Hollywood has looked to a neighbor in the north to lead the way in new technology.

Not too far north, just up in the San Fernando Valley, where the porn business has been an early adopter of new technologies such as DVD and Internet video, leading the way in markets where "traditional" entertainment eventually followed.



Today, instead of leading the way up, porn appears to be leading the way down.

As an article in today's Times explains, the adult entertainment industry is in the midst of a major funk and it's not just about the recession. DVDs, which for years fueled its growth, is in steep decline. And massive amounts of free content on the Internet via dozens of YouTube clones dedicated to porn have sprung up.

Hollywood is familiar with those problems, of course. But not to the extent that those in the porn business are. Though there are is no reliable data or analyses of the industry, insiders estimate that revenue at most adult entertainment production and distribution companies has fallen 30% to 50% over the past few years.

That's having a real impact on the bottom line for many of the industry's performers and crew. Savannah Stern (pictured), a veteran actress, has seen her income fall by about two-thirds since last year as work opportunities have dried up and those remaining pay less. Angie Babooian, a make-up artist, has had to cut her hourly rate by one-third and finds that many performers are offering to do make-up themselves just to get a job.

There are some differences, of course. Hollywood might not be quite as susceptible to free Internet content since consumers typically want to see movies in high quality. That's not always true in porn, where "good enough" is often, well, good enough.

"Unfortunately for adult," observed Bill Asher, co-chairman of industry giant Vivid Entertainment, "people will generally accept a bad substitute if it's free."

As broadband connections and video encoding continue to improve, however, those substitutes keep getting better and better. And there's no reason to believe that the decline in DVD sales will halt anytime soon.

Porn may once again be leading the entertainment industry, but this time it's not anywhere that Hollywood wants to go.

08:49 AM PT, Aug 10 2009
For years, Hollywood has looked to a neighbor in the north to lead the way in new technology.

Not too far north, just up in the San Fernando Valley, where the porn business has been an early adopter of new technologies such as DVD and Internet video, leading the way in markets where "traditional" entertainment eventually followed.

Today, instead of leading the way up, porn appears to be leading the way down.

As an article in today's Times explains, the adult entertainment industry is in the midst of a major funk and it's not just about the recession. DVDs, which for years fueled its growth, is in steep decline. And massive amounts of free content on the Internet via dozens of YouTube clones dedicated to porn have sprung up.

Hollywood is familiar with those problems, of course. But not to the extent that those in the porn business are. Though there are is no reliable data or analyses of the industry, insiders estimate that revenue at most adult entertainment production and distribution companies has fallen 30% to 50% over the past few years.

That's having a real impact on the bottom line for many of the industry's performers and crew. Savannah Stern (pictured), a veteran actress, has seen her income fall by about two-thirds since last year as work opportunities have dried up and those remaining pay less. Angie Babooian, a make-up artist, has had to cut her hourly rate by one-third and finds that many performers are offering to do make-up themselves just to get a job.

There are some differences, of course. Hollywood might not be quite as susceptible to free Internet content since consumers typically want to see movies in high quality. That's not always true in porn, where "good enough" is often, well, good enough.

"Unfortunately for adult," observed Bill Asher, co-chairman of industry giant Vivid Entertainment, "people will generally accept a bad substitute if it's free."

As broadband connections and video encoding continue to improve, however, those substitutes keep getting better and better. And there's no reason to believe that the decline in DVD sales will halt anytime soon.

Porn may once again be leading the entertainment industry, but this time it's not anywhere that Hollywood wants to go.

[hella good]

if one thing is certain i think that the porn industry will never really have a problem. and if it does it will have no trouble coming back

[eddyk]

Like the man who buys a sofa at full price from DFS....only a fool pays for porn.

[Caiman]

Why is there not a NO option?

[Octoman]

I cocked up the poll
Not sure how many no votes there would be anyway. Porn is pretty popular.

[Zim Flyer]

Originally Posted by Octoman

I cocked up the poll
Not sure how many no votes there would be anyway. Porn is pretty popular.

Don't lie Octoman, you are as clearly as passionate about this subject as Lostboy is about Scotland and his restricted poll options

[wjfox]

Originally Posted by Caiman

Why is there not a NO option?

Fixed.

[Medo]

If the porn industry was to collapse entirely there would still be enough material on the Internet to keep people happy for the next 500 years. As for the people who work in the industry, they can go do regular jobs.

[eddyk]

I tend to think that those in the porn industry are up their own arseholes so I couldn't give a damn if they all go bust.

[Octoman]

Originally Posted by Zim Flyer

Don't lie Octoman, you are as clearly as passionate about this subject as Lostboy is about Scotland and his restricted poll options

Damn, the secret is out! I'm really the king pin of Milton Keynes porn industry.

Actually in my pre married days when I would have had more er 'use' for porn it wasnt free on the web like it is now. I always worked on the basis that the money would be better spent in some seedy bar trying to get birds pissed on pints of Snakebite. Still a form of porn really but its 3D and you can touch it.

Originally Posted by wjfox

Fixed.

Thanks.

[gothicform]

there i changed one of the options. octo clearly added "no" by mistake.

[Erebus555]

Where is the Katherine Jenkins option?

[Butterfield]

She'd never do porn.

[Erebus555]

Those lips are telling me that she already has...

[JackSwan]

blimey.

[Paws]

Originally Posted by eddyk

I tend to think that those in the porn industry are up their own arseholes so I couldn't give a damn if they all go bust.

Yeah I saw that one as well. Nasty stuff

[Noostairz]

i shall do my best to reverse this worrying trend.

[Rumors]

I think amateur porn is killing the industry myself.

[Telfordboy]

American porn is pretty shoddy anyway. Too fake

[Rumors]

There are so many sites that entice you to upload your photos, and personal naughty videos ......you can have your own fan club in a mater of minutes.