> Steve Why posts on www.xxxporntalk.com: Wondering what everyone’s response and comments are to this long coke induced thought of mine:

It seems the industry is in a dive and everyone’s pointing to slumping DVD sales and the possible collapse of a number of companies this summer. I can only recall a single DVD released this year I’ve even considered tracking down; there were at least six movies I really wanted to buy during 2006 (and not counting the random gonzo DVD’s I bought in stores). I’d always enjoy picking up a College Invasion after seeing the aftermath of said volume’s filming at the school…or Eon McKai’s outings when they were garnering some positive mainstream publicity.

This year I haven’t purchased a single DVD; I discovered VideoBox.com. At $9.95 a month its the cheapest site around and has always been reliable. My ex-girlfriend even turned me on to it; she let me use her account a bit then I enjoyed it so much I signed up myself.

I base my DVD purchases on mainstream press and discussion. The only DVD this year that remotely sparked any interest for me was TightFit’s Assrealis. I figured the next time I was in a porn shop I’d pick it up (and likely pay some inflated sum like $39.95). Then one day I notice the entire DVD is available on VideoBox as a regular daily addition. It was seriously two months after it was released.

Is VideoBox killing the DVD market? Does anyone have numbers on their membership or what they’re pulling in a month?

And why would Tight Fit release the movie that’s received the most publicity in years basically for free just weeks after it first arrived in stores? An effort to get the Tight Fit brand name out there…and seemingly working? Some other sinister Jewish-cabal world plan?

(I did enjoy Assrealis…kind of grim reminder that there’s freedom fighters all over the world fucking on film…I can only imagine a hard-line Islamic response to knowing Jews are filming porn on “holy lands.” And I’ve always had a thing for Jewish girls who sorely lack appearances in porn.)

> Dan G writes: As Moxie usually points out, what’s killing the market is lacklustre business practices. He’s fond of saying that a proper management team would double or triple (or more) the earnings of most porn companies…and I think he’s 100% correct in his assertion.

Let’s take marketing, for example…how many porn studios do you know that run an opt-in email list with a regular monthly newsletter? How many have their own forum where they can interact with the fans and get valuable feedback on their products? How many post censored previews or behind-the-scenes interviews on YouTube? How many have an official studio MySpace page? How many run retailer incentive programmes? How many run proof-of-purchase or coupon incentives for loyal customers? Downloadable .pdf magazine/brochure? On-site trailers (either downloadable or Flash player)? Competitions and prize draws? Free desktop wallpapers and other such stuff? You don’t have to be able to get your contact girl on Howard Stern to be able to successfully market your brand.

Moxie has already covered the fundamental business failings, and I have also discussed the fact that the industry is doing nothing to combat online piracy (sometimes all it takes is a simple email with words like ‘DMCA’ and ‘Name Server’ to get your stuff removed and prevent further uploads of your material to piracy forums).

Most porn studios are feeling the pinch due to lazyitis, in my humble opinion. Time to either get good or get gone.

> Moxie writes: Stevie, you can start by doing a search on “porn economics” or “VOD”.

I don’t think Videobox has had any effect on the market whatsoever. Most adult customers rent rather than buy, so Netflix type set ups just change who they are renting from. The bigger force has been the failure of adult companies to embrace video on demand and other internet delivery technologies. I can personally tell you I have not bought or rented an adult movie from a store since 1999. Everything comes from a VOD distributer like Gamelink or Empire. If I can order something online, why would I go to a store? The product is mostly funglible anyway. When a movie I want to see is not available on VOD, I’m not motivated to go to the store or wait for a disk in the mail. I just get something else that is available on the net and the producer of the film I wanted to see loses out on a sale.

If VOD was truly embraced by adult companies they would be growing their business instead of shrinking. VOD opens foreign markets to american porn. So, you can reach at least a billion more customers, and probally more like two Billion. I could write on this for pages, but like Conky said, we’ve discussed it for the past six months.

> Willie D writes: VideoBox appeals to people who use porn to get off…the titles are always a few months old, sometimes even a few years. If you demand your porn to “fresh on the street,” then VB is not for you–and by the way, your desire to jack off to a whore before anyone else does makes you a complete , but I digress.

I think the real advantage of VB is that you choose which sections of the video or scene to download. If you don’t want to hear the interview with Keri Windsor before Mark Davis chokes her within inches of the E.R., you can edit that part out.

Still, I kind of miss the old days when you had to have the VCR remote, and time the fast forward just right…

> loopnose writes: I don’t think a website like VideoBox would hurt the industry. I think it’s more about the quality of porn today. People still want to jerk off but don’t consider most porn worth owning, especially when the market is flooded with so much crap. So why bother buying a dvd when you can just download the individual scenes and toss the thing afterwards without the regret of having purchased the dvd? Besides, if you really like the video you downloaded, you can always upgrade the quality and get the dvd.