Just as Mike South is reporting the faults of the Free Speech Coalition, Ben English / Derek Hay from LA Direct Models is rambling on about creating a porn union. Of course first he was talking about teaming up all the major modeling agencies to edge out the small guys and make them comply with THEIR rules, THEIR prices and THEIR standards. Not sure if that ever got off the ground but now he wants to unionize the entire adult industry? Is he to retarded to know that a Union would hurt his bottom line even more? That performers would suddenly demand and get higher wages?
Imagine how high production costs would go when companies had to have clean sets, new, unopened dildos in their original packages, eatable food, better costumes and makeup artists and pay the girls AND GUYS more money? They would also eventually start demanding other things like health insurance, paid AIM tests, and so on. Or does he simply mean organize porn companies and fuck the workers so that he now has a say in how you run your porno business and if he and his buddies don’t like you they can fuck you up and get you out of the industry. Think of it as organized crime porn. Don Derek? Here is his actual post ……
2 Cents worth?
Now that we are fast approaching 2009, the adult entertainment industry is starting to show possible signs of faultier. We already know that the industry in general is shrinking and consumers are tightening the purse strings around their little money bags. Reports that various agencies have been slow maybe some what over exaggerated. Yes it is slower but no slower that it normally is this time of year.
The problem the industry is facing is a decline in production. Costs have gone up forcing many newer companies to shoot less. Of course many other factors are involved with the ever increasing number of girls into the business and other issues such as cancellations (which incidentally cost production companies money) or fees increasing to above $1000.
But the truth is, has the golden age of porn ended? Since the departure of Jenna Jamerson, many do not realize that she kept the industry in the lime light. But now with her back to the industry and the negativity felt towards the business in general, the public simply are not longer interested. You may sit and think that how can one person impact the industry and what has it got to do with anything? Well, look back at when she became the biggest thing in porn 2-3 years ago when every company was booming away.
The key now to success largely draws down to quality. No longer can random Joe and or Joesphine (have to be PC) just build a porno site and expect millions. We now have to work for our money. As history shows in any genre, the weak perish will the strong survive. Evident only in today’s stock market alone.
We need to start getting picky with what we are doing and who we are trying to impress. Remember, it’s not raving reviews or a popularity contest in the porn biz that makes you money. It’s the public’s perception that chooses what works and what doesn’t work. Just cause someone says it is the greatest movie ever made does not make it the best selling.
The adult industry needs to pull together to survive this. The industry, at its current point, is too disorganized and separated into too many pieces with everyone fighting for the same piece of pie. Mainstream films have never done so well this year celebrating some of the biggest box office takings world wide. Are they affected by the shrinkage or the economical down turn? The box office would certainly disagree. A lesson to some extent to be learnt here is that movie business is unified in some way. Could their ever be a Porn Union of some description one day? It’s not impossible.
So as we move into 2009, don’t just sit there are wait for the next big thing and ride off that wave. It may never come unless WE do something.
I was at the first attempted union meeting at Shane’s house and the laywers fucked it up before it even started, , scab labor is to easy to find, the big companies don’t care if you like it or not, nor do they give a shit about your health. A union will never happen.
I’ve been convinced for some time now that the Obama presidency is going to breath new life into unions across the country. Obama supports the card check legislation which will end the secret ballot. That means you can look for unions to explode across the country driving up costs for everyone in an already shaky economy.
I think unions are largely bullshit and don’t support them at all. However, I think porn stars would have more of a reason than almost anyone to unionize. But, I don’t see porn starlets taking the time and effort to pull something like that together. Derek is only interested in creating a kind of cartel for talent agencies so that new agencies can’t just start up overnight and undercut everyone else. Sounds like a big fucking fantasy to me — I don’t think it will happen. There’s a lot of complicated legal red tape to sort through on something like that.