Smut, Smut and Smut

Say what you will about the ethics or morality of the porn industry. I'm not really interested in having that debate right now. However as this longish New York article reveals, the industry is pretty interesting to say the least! Granted, you have business lunches that go like this:

Marc Randazza, a San Diego–based First Amendment lawyer who represents porn companies and sued Manwin in November, citing pirated content on Spankwire, remains unconvinced by Manwin’s conversion to solid corporate citizen. “I guess they’re trying to come to the surface,” he says, “but I still think they have a toxic business model.” We are sitting at a cluster of slot machines in the Venetian and discussing the woes of Porn Valley, as the traditional bricks-and-mortar, L.A.-based industry is known. For all the work-from-home opportunities afforded by the new universe of micro-smut, professional porn continues to hold an allure. A few minutes into our conversation, a middle-aged guy in a plaid shirt walks hesitantly toward us, leering at our trade-show lanyards printed with the logo bang bros. Almost shyly, he asks, “How would I get into that?”

“You mean become a performer?” Randazza asks.

The man nods.

Randazza looks at him wearily, like he gets this all the time. “Honestly,” Randazza says, “the gay side’s where all the money is. There might be 30 straight guys who can make a living at it, but if you’re willing to get fucked in the ass, I can get you five grand right now.”

The man’s smile quavers, and he backs away.

But that's to be expected. I'm sure the same thing happens to bankers all the time.

What's really interesting is the nature of the people behind the scenes. They truly are the "Geek Kings of Smut". It's simply unfathomable to me that a huge amount of the filth available over the internet is there because of a Foosball league.

Beyond that, the issues facing the industry are emblematic of challenges being faced by all media in the internet age. How do you gather revenue for content that is available for free? I would suggest that firms like the New York Times take a long, hard (sorry I know it's a pun), look at the business models being utilized by successful internet porn companies. If they can figure out a way to offer free content while still gathering paying subscribers, then it's definitely something traditional media companies should investigate. The salvation of the Grey Lady may very well be a tarted up co-ed.