By Dave Cummings
YNOT – “’Tis the season to be jolly,” but for many in the adult industry it’s a challenge to be jolly this year, what with piracy chipping away profits in big chunks. With some notable exceptions, porn as I’ve experienced it over the 18 years seems to have lost its year-over-year growth. Instead, it appears to be withering on the vine.
It’s been a very difficult couple of years for porn, one that can be blamed in large part upon the continued copyright infringement and piracy of porn videos and adult internet materials. It’s a vicious circle: Users illegally upload stolen content which is then freely downloaded illegally. There is no compensation to the company that footed the expenses to make the materials. Consequently, many studios — and some websites, too — seem to have cut way back on productions, number of releases, budgets, bookings for porn stars, number of employees in support jobs, number of days they are open per week, physical space devoted to offices and warehouses, or in some cases all of those things.
These unavoidable cutbacks mean loss of business income, which hurts government due to the associated decrease in federal and state taxes along with a nosedive in sales tax revenues. Also, porn-related jobs are lost since there is a decreased need for people to do the catering, makeup, set crewing, location rentals, marketing materials, post-production, sales, etc. I imagine that even UPS and other shipping companies are suffering decreases in porn shipping fees. A healthy adult film industry is a plus to the economy, but the present situation is dire. Besides the producers of legitimate porn, the economy suffers from the many non-working adult industry folks who, as consumers, cut back on spending, thus affecting the viability of other businesses and jobs.
I imagine the right-wing religious radicals are happy about our situation, but the bottom line is that thievery of our products is what’s causing the religious folks to “win.” I wonder if they feel good about the adult industry being brought to its knees by what amounts to a sin, namely stealing. It seems like thievery is accomplishing what the religious hypocrites have failed to accomplish.
Some of the tube sites that allow or facilitate illegal uploading are outside the jurisdiction of American courts. For those in the U.S., courts sometimes move slowly. Effective technology to protect copyrights has not yet been developed. I’m told pirates now even “rip” entire websites and share them online.
Even if piracy is slowed or stopped, the industry must deal with other issues. The thirst for new porn, especially involving fresh faces and bodies, will continue. The concern there is that the health and safety of performers be protected. I worry that some of the harsher porn imported from Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia could influence viewers to believe that fisting, sex during or after bondage, or making a women compliant via alcohol is normal and acceptable. How are religious radicals — and the lawbreaking copyright infringers — going to feel about what harsher, imported porn might suggest to their children and grandchildren as they form their own sexual standards, relationships and marriages?
In my opinion, porn may survive this rough spot, but what remains won’t resemble what used to be. I hope I’m wrong. There’s a flicker of hope lately from some federal judges who are issuing favorable rulings in copyright-infringement cases involving porn, but there are also some who seem to be dodging the matter. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I won’t be investing in porn productions.
Dave Cummings, “the world’s oldest porn star,” is a performer, producer and director. Visit him online at DaveCummings.com, DaveCummings.tv or DaveCummingsVOD.com or call and chat with him live at DaveCummingsInfo.com.
