Reply #67: Fact is, the INDUSTRY is hurting these days. Why? Amateur videos.

[MattSh]

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The online availability of free or low-cost photos and videos has begun to take a fierce toll on sales of X-rated DVDs. Inexpensive digital technology has paved the way for aspiring amateur pornographers, who are flooding the market, while everyone in the industry is giving away more material to lure paying customers.

And unlike consumers looking for music and other media, viewers of pornography do not seem to mind giving up brand-name producers and performers for anonymous ones, or a well-lighted movie set for a ratty couch at an amateur videographer’s house.

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“The barrier to get into the industry is so low: you need a video camera and a couple of people who will have sex,” Mr. Fishbein said.

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But this is a far cry from the price and the volume of free X-rated content available on some sites. One site operated by Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network has 200,000 videos, many of them submitted by amateur videographers, said Scott Coffman, the company’s president.

“We get input from all over the world — Japan, Germany, Brazil,” Mr. Coffman said, noting that even he was surprised by the number of contributors. “It’s the same thing as YouTube, where you’re wondering, How many people out there have cameras and are filming this stuff?”

From here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/technology/02porn.html?ex=1338436800&en=be6f728bf4c9ccbd&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

People have always used isolated incidents to demonize a whole class of people or whole industries, and the porn industry is more likely to draw such demonizations because of the "passion" revolving around the issues and people's hang-ups regarding sex. Has there been some exploitation? Yes. Has some people used isolated incidents of exploitation to paint the whole industry as a cesspool? You bet. And is there some exploitation in amatuer productions too? You bet. But I have no doubt that there are so many willing performers, male and female, that no one HAS to be exploited.