Painting a gloomy forecast for the porn industry, former performer Aurora Snow and LA Direct chief Derek Hay along with Pennsylvania Patriot News’ Richard Abowitz voiced their opinions on how the Internet has changed the adult economy in an MSNBC report.
Although no new revelations surfaced, both Snow and Hey said that the industry is on the downturn thanks to less companies and less work for talent.
“It’s an industry in decline,” Hay said, when asked why consumers should care, pointing out that the drop in business has hurt local Los Angeles and Miami (porn production hubs) economies.
Interviewer Craig Melvin maintained that what was once a vibrant retail business now belongs to amateurs and online entrepreneurs.
Coming as no surprise to adult pros, Abowitz said the Internet has changed porn in every way imaginable including how users access content, and how films are produced, marketed and sold.
The evergreen problem of piracy was also on the table.
Abowitz said that although the plague hurt companies few years ago, the crisis has abated with agreements that allow tube sites to limit how they display clips.
When asked what performers do after their career in porn, Snow said they usually return to the business out of lack of opportunities in mainstream.
If there was a bright side to the discussion it brought to light how talent with recognizable brands can now sell their clips and customized videos directly to consumers.
I only wish I could disagree. The best I can do is remind us all that porn has had to deal with many different challenges since it became legal, including federal prosecutions, attempts to deny shooting permits in LA County, constant harassment from pro-censorship groups and on and on. Though I do think there are structural changes that can’t be reversed, I wouldn’t give up hope on adapting to them with new market platforms. The good news is that people do want porn – including quality products with well-known players – and the demand isn’t going away. We got pretty… Read more »