10 Reasons Free Porn Does Not Threaten the Adult Industry

Wired

1. Porn is more socially acceptable than ever, yet remains oddly expensive.
Most people under 30 seem to take for granted that they can look at porn whenever they feel like it -- and consequently aren't terribly worked up about it. It's just another item in a long list of entertainment options.

2. American consumers aren't limited to domestic porn.
AVN only tracks U.S. revenue, but Americans are as free to spend our porn money internationally as we are to keep it at home. In 2006, I subscribed to the Australia-based For the Girls (NSFW) for a couple of months; a dear friend and neighbor of mine joined Canada-based Seska4Lovers (NSFW). That's about $300 not included in AVN's totals, and I know we aren't the only ones sending our money across the border.

3. Sisters are doin' it for themselves.
As adult entertainment becomes more accepted in the mainstream, more women see it as an increasingly legitimate career path, one they don't have to hide from friends and possibly not even family. Gone are the big hats and sunglasses of the early '80s -- these days, a porn star's business partners may well be her parents.

4. Some consumers prefer porn with relationships. Shhhh.
Part of porn's appeal is the absence of a relationship. You have nothing invested, no work to do, no feelings to consider. You just start watching when you're ready and stop when you're done.

5. Porn works well in small doses.
Think about how we watch porn. It's a quick break in the day, an indulgence for an evening alone, a nudge in the right direction for a tired couple, a defense against loneliness, a dash of novelty and fantasy.

6. The internet makes small guys big and big guys small.
As we become more porn-savvy, we also become more particular about what we want to see. This is great for independent, niche content producers like Kink.com (NSFW) and Comstock Films (NSFW) who offer something special you can't get elsewhere.

7. Anonymity is so last century.
The Times notes that the internet gave porn an enormous boost because it made it possible to access pornography anonymously.

8. Porn can't always compete with sex.
Enabling people to connect sexually across all kinds of obstacles -- time, distance, marital status -- is not conducive to maintaining a passive, force-fed consumer base for adult content. When non-pros post sexy pictures of themselves and when baby boomers discover their inner ingénues, people find all kinds of ways to have sex (cyber and otherwise) in their spare time.

9. Free porn expanded the industry so fast, we forgot growth has to slow at some point.
Maybe this is a stretch. I know porn predates the internet by thousands of years. And yet, without the internet, the changes listed here would not have happened.

10. A 15 percent drop in revenue doesn't mean a 15 percent drop in profits.
No one is saying whether profits are up or by how much. But as technology continues to make porn production and distribution cheaper, it's possible for profits to grow even while revenue shrinks.