Since our bail-out money (as in taxpayer money) has already been shelled out and ended up paying for phat bonuses for bank execs....why not bail out porn? Why stop with the insurance, financial and auto industry....I doubt Larry Flynt of the Hustler empire and Joe Francis of the Girls Gone Wild reality porn fiefdom are expecting a dime of bail-out money.
Still, even though Larry and Joe are complaining that porn revenues are down 20%, a good portion of that diminished revenue percentage has nothing to do with the economy, and is rather is attributable to a switch in consumer buying and viewing preferences.
1. DVD sales are down because more porn consumers are watching videos and clips online in lieu of buying or renting DVDs. This is also a trend that is slowly taking over the mainstream DVD movie business. Many rental stores are closing as consumers are solely using mailing house DVD rental companies such as Netflix (this accelerated when gas prices skyrocketed) or are streaming movies live onto their computer or are using TV-VOD or PPV services.
2. DVD sales are down and porn site memberships and dialer money is down because so many of the "tube" sites (porntube, eskimotube etc) are offering free pirated jerk-off clip material.
3. Buying trends overall are down in areas where the goods can be 'virtually' obtained. Why buy DVDs, CDs, books and other goods that can be viewed or listened to or read for free or for a lower price than owning the actual item. Especially with porn, many consumers would rather not have the actual item in possession, due to discretion issues.
But while revenue might be down, profits in porn overall, are much higher than in other industries. Porn will survive, and doesn't need to be bailed out. By throwing their hat in the bail-out ring, Larry and Joe bring attention to the hypocrisy of our current government in a semi-Shakespearean way.
photo credit: Getty Images
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