Is porn recession-proof ?

[bunker]

Technically we are not in recession but will porn follow the rest of the economy and go down?
Some guys say it is already going down.
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/07/turns-out-por-1.html
IMHO That could be the case for big production houses that do (more) expensive movies.
The sales of DVD are down and renting videos in video clubs is down too (because *******, RS, Warez, VOD in internet, etc... These sales don't cash in to producers as much money as actual DVD sales and rentals).

But the cheap so-called amateur stuff is still growing. It costs virtually nothing to produce. But are we going to be stuck with only that ?

The whole Internet-is-for-porn years made porn the fastest growing business.... could there be a backlash now?

 

[senob44]

I think the amateur type stuff will stay steady or continue to increase because it is less expensive for buyers than the high quality stuff. But in this economy, I can easily see porn as being one of the things that conoisseurs cut down on, as most don't feel it is quite a "necessity". Like you said as well, less and less people are buying "hard copies" of their movies anymore. This might have caused a loss of profits even in a healthy economy.

 

[shayd]

I think most of the entertainment industry available on demand can pretty fairly be deemed recession proof. Look at the video game industry, they're booming and although they may be the exception to the rule, I wouldn't be surprised if porn wasn't heavily effected either.

 

[BlueBalls]

"Only two things have been recession proof since time of mamorial, tell em Silvio"

"Err....certain elements of show business and our thing"


There you go, explains everything:hatsoff:

 

[Bigoldowls]

In a word; NO.

 

[No_Man]

Theoretically, any luxury industry is susceptible during a recession. However, among luxuries, "vice" industries (alcohol, tobacco, sex, etc) typically fare the best. And internet porn should be especially resistant. As they noted in the article, online VOD is booming, since there's no transportation costs, something that alcohol and tobacco both face. And while there may be an initial bump in the road related to amateur porn, I think it will be a temporary market adjustment. High demand pornstars will see a drop in their earnings as the supply meets demand, but porn viewers will soon get sick of watching nothing but shitty amateur video. In the end, I think the only semi-long term effect will be shift away from DVD and toward online content, which isn't a bad thing, IMO.

 

[StopgapThe Dude]

Thing is, there is still a huge percentage of the population that doesn't have cable or if they do, don't have the extra money to pony up for the porn pay-per-view and an ever larger number who either don't have any internet access or only have limited access and then only through a slow speed modem.

Frankly most if not all of the amateur porn turns me off 'cause the quality is so utterly shitty, especially the lighting and choice of camera angles.

 

[georges]

I prefer high quality hardcore porn over low quality amateurish porn.

 

[StopgapThe Dude]

I prefer high quality hardcore porn over low quality amateurish porn.

A-fucking-men.

 

[bunker]

An other thing that does not help producers is that (and this is in IMHO) a lot of people are pretty happy at looking at thumbnails only.

Membres are running after galleries of girls but I wonder how many ever bought one. I know guys that are surfing from one thumbnail site to another and never watch a whole scene or registered to a site, even those at $9.99 a month.

I think at short term, the big productions will slowly fade out and amateurs stuff will keep on going... but there will have to be some adjustment because real porn fans, those who watch porn on a steady basis, may get bored. But to the occasional viewers, it does not really matter and thumbsites may be enough.

 

[D-rock]

Porn has been backtracking economically for years now. It's not recession proof at all. The best that can be said about porn is because of it's very nature it's almost assured of never going away.

In any case most people don't like the real amateurish stuff (that's not the fake amateurish stuff made to look amateurish), and while it's cheaper to make the profit margins are razor thin for a great amount of it so it's not like you can just roll in the dough with it. The higher end stuff is in a downturn now, but with them it will be survival of the fittest. There won't be as many of them still around, but I think a good portion of the more well known and biggest of them will survive.

 

[Legzman]

We are in a recession and god damn I hope porn is recession proof!

 

[WoodedWisdom]

A-fucking-men.

Totally agree, but it's a sign of the times.

 

[whatshisname]

I'm not sure if porn is recession-proof in general, but the current economic weakness is due in part to rising oil prices, which have specifically different effects depending on how goods and services are delivered. Internet porn probably benefits from rising oil prices, because it's a form of entertainment that doesn't involve transportation costs, either for the producer or for the viewer. (Contrast, for example, night clubs, which most patrons have to drive to get to.) As always, I have a reference to Isobel Wren on this point: see this YouTube video.

 

[spiderprint]

Well....it proves that porn with plots and scripts suck.

 

[Violator79]

As long as there's horny people there will be porn.

 

[jewelcity]

Yes. I would argue that sales increase during a recession as people turn to their vices more in hard times. For a large percentage of people, porn is a fun escape and way to get off but for many others it is an addiction that is used to deal with stress and to remove themselves from responsibility and reality. Pornographers and Porn companies know this the same way that drug dealers, alcohol manufacturers and cigarette makers know it. They use this knowledge to increase their sales. And honestly, that's America and I have no issue with it. But all of these things remain steady and I would even say increase during hard times. Because the reality is, is that if your house is being foreclosed on, you've lost your job and everything you've been "promised" has turned to crap because you've overextended yourself with credit, there is a personality type that goes the other way during tough times. They need to whack their monkey.

 

[Rey C.]

Technically we are not in recession but will porn follow the rest of the economy and go down?
Some guys say it is already going down.
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/07/turns-out-por-1.html
IMHO That could be the case for big production houses that do (more) expensive movies.
The sales of DVD are down and renting videos in video clubs is down too (because *******, RS, Warez, VOD in internet, etc... These sales don't cash in to producers as much money as actual DVD sales and rentals).

But the cheap so-called amateur stuff is still growing. It costs virtually nothing to produce. But are we going to be stuck with only that ?

The whole Internet-is-for-porn years made porn the fastest growing business.... could there be a backlash now?

Nah! I think people will see that this whole "worried about a recession" thing will blow over before the end of 2008. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? The banking system freezes up, unemployment jumps to 10% +/-, Lehman Brothers collapses, GM and Chrysler declare bankruptcy next year?

And take my word for it... porn will be just fine. The sky is the limit for porn. I bet in a couple of years, it'll be even bigger than it is now... and the average star will be making twice the rate they are now. :hatsoff:

 

[rizwano]

it depend on the fans.
sex is important in any economic condition though.

 

[Thomas O'Malley]

Oh come on, you guys, it's well known porn is one of the biggest industries in the world, together with oil. There will always be porn because the demand stays high, and therefore it's recession-proof. High of low quality, amateur or high quality, it doesn't matter, there's always a market for every facet in porn.