Porn is all about instant gratification. A business reliant on bringing its customers the goods fast, this industry has always had a history of being on the forefront of new technologies as they emerge for better products and faster distribution. Revolutionizing porn and how its enjoyed with the adoption of the VHS home video, the porn industry grew from a seedy underground sex scene into a $10 billion dollar a year business. Nowadays, the very same industry that once helped mainstream VHS win the battle against Betamax in the 70s and 80s, is facing the problem of staying relevant in today’s “I need it NOW” society. Porn, one of the earliest adopters of e-commerce and Internet broadcasting, is being threatened by the very instant gratification that has made it so profitable. Torrents and free video sites have seriously threatened the porn industry’s business model. Now anyone with a web cam and computer can be a porn star on the Internet. Are people willing to pay for porn anymore? What is the porn industry doing to set themselves apart from all the amateur porn makers out there? Looking towards future tech like mobile streaming, smart phone apps, and instant downloads to VOD systems, porn leaders are changing their business model in an attempt to stay relevant and profitable.
Sony’s Betamax video format was introduced in 1975, to be followed by JVC’s VHS a year later. Arguably a better video format, Betamax never took off much in part thanks to the porn industry’s involvement with the distribution and sale of VHS videotapes. It was said that porn was scarcely available on Betamax, possibly because of Sony’s stance against its production. On the other hand, porn was readily available on VHS because it was a cheaper medium for distribution, ultimately helping VHS win the battle over betamax in late 1980s. Offering consumers affordable movies to rent and movies to own, VHS helped build porn into a $10 billion dollar industry, and it made porn an at-home experience rather than forcing the consumer to visit a strip club, peep show, or adult movie theater. Enter the Internet and e-commerce in 1995, and the low-cost DVD in 2001, porn was becoming cheaper, more available, and easier to duplicate. File sharing became common place and the very technology that had made porn available to the masses both online and for rent threatened to take down the entire industry. Another threat that arose was the celebrity standard: the homemade sex tape. In a world where anyone can make a porno or be a porn star (re: Paris Hilton, Carrie Prejean, Pamela Anderson), how can porn as an industry compete? Porn producers have been forced to adopt higher production value and find new ways to reach their audience aside from the standard pay-per view or DVD model.
One new frontier in their quest for profitability is HD video. Consumers love seeing their favorite porn stars in HD because it makes them feel like they’re a part of the action more than ever before. Porn stars on the other hand? Not so much. Time to bust out the HD makeup. The same porn actresses that made seedy sexy, are being held to a higher Hollywood standard now that they’re in HD. Aside from new makeup, lighting, and post production techniques, porn directors like “Joone” are giving porn stars tips to stay HD ready, “I tell the girls to work out more, cut down on the carbs, hit the treadmill.” In an industry that made bleach blond, super tan, and “realistic” action from every angle the norm, could porn become more like a Hollywood film? Does this mean the end of hardcore as we know it with a movement towards over produced soft core style hardcore scenes in an attempt to set themselves apart from the amateur porn film makers? Aside from that – higher production costs also mean that porn is going to get pricey and no one wants to pay for pricey adult entertainment when you can get a fix for free online.
Aside from pursuing HD and better production value, porn makers are looking for new ways to monetize their product. One way they’re doing this is by jumping on the Video on Demand trend. Video on Demand is not new when it comes to porn, but it is becoming more athe norm when it comes to renting and viewing adult content movies online and on your TV. Creating online adult channels through VOD systems like Vudu, porn makers are breaking into VOD for instant distribution. Although, porn has not been fully integrated into the VOD scene. Companies like Sony aim to bar porn’s entry into VOD markets especially when it comes to Playstation 3. Aside from VOD, porn producers are looking to cash in on smartphones, iPhones, iPod Touch, and game consoles that can stream media or download media. Catering to the mobile phone industry are prepackaged micro SD cards that store porn to be viewed on any smart phone or computer. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook have also revolutionized the conversation around porn. Once a dirty secret, Twitter users such as @AdultNewsWire aggregate porn news and spit it out to their list of followers to create an actual conversation around porn and its lovers. There are also the hard-to-find adult video games that always aim to titillate an adult gamer like Bonetown for instance, which featured a cameo by larger than life porn legend Ron Jeremy. Once an industry that had enough power to sway an entire nation towards VHS technology, the porn industry is now struggling to stay in front of new technological trends. Some may argue that technology has grown too big for the porn industry. But is the produced porn industry relevant when there is so much porn available online for free? The majority of us don’t really pay for porn anymore. If I wanna watch porn, I am probably going to go to a free site like RedTube or YouPorn for my fix. But then again I’m not too picky. However, the less technologically savvy or more old school consumer who are more willing to pay for their porn, will play a big part in keeping the porn industry alive. But between the new way and old way of getting your fix, as long as porn production companies stay ahead of the curve (no pun intended) with new distribution and sharing trends that keep these companies relevant in how entertainment is enjoyed, then porn as an industry will be just fine.
Guest columnist Lydia Leavitt writes about sex and, oddly enough, social media. For more information on the latest intimate technology, check out 69adget.com.
I don’t think the porn industry is going to last at all.
The problem is when your getting your fix you are not concerned about a lot. If you put HD porn in front of somebody than sent them to a website with low res videos like Youporn they would probably be able to masturbate to either video successfully.
End of the day when you are just going in for your fix you are unlikely to be too fussed as you will reach the same goal either way.
Few people will be willing to pay for HD porn when Youporn just gets the job done just as well.
Some people might not care that they’re watching stretched videos in quality bellow that of VHS, but I certainly do. I’ve seen enough DVD quality porn to say I would only look at one of those porn tube sites out of total desperation.
Anyway who knows what’s the future for the porn industry. It will certainly never going away. The porn industry though has gotten away for a long time exploiting lonely horny men in making them pay so much for their product. The Chickens have come home to roost, and they’re going to have to offer better deals to lour people away from the likes of bittorrent.
“Consumers love seeing their favorite porn stars in HD because it makes them feel like they’re a part of the action more than ever before. Porn stars on the other hand? Not so much.”
I hear that. Seeing a porn star out in the wild is like being at a titty bar at closing time when they raise the lights.
There’s a reason why they’re dark.
Interesting article, but you left a lot out. If the professional porn industry is to survive, it has to not merely keep up with distribution methods, it has to change the entire model of what looking at porn is.
This is already happening in the field of teledildonics, with two ‘virtual sex devices’ already now on the market, allowing you to ‘experience’ porn, rather than simply watching it (the ‘RealTouch’ and the ‘Virtual Sex Machine’).
If such technologies become profitable for the adult industry, then porn’s impact on society will go way beyond the like of helping VHS win over betamax. Haptic technology (‘touching’ at a distance) could revolutionise many fields, from medicine to how we conduct interpersonal relationships. As long as law makers have the sense to leave well alone, porn could very much not only save itself but also help society.
interesting, except don’t forget that all sorts of people watch porn. can you see even non-techy people using this kind of thing like Real Touch? i see them more just buying porn on demand
The music industry should be taking notes here, but they’re too stubborn and would rather sue soccer moms for their daughter downloading britney spears.
When will we see 3D hologram interactive porn? Wake me up when that comes around
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I totally agree with Lydia here. The porn industry has always been at the forefront of technology. In fact, Pink Visual has a whole cadre of mobile porn sites that are amazing. Milfs, gay iporn, you name it. check out http://www.ipinkvisualpass.com to see what i mean ;-)