Cindi’s Naked Truth

FROM THE TRENCHES
By: Dave Cummings-Hall of Fame Porn Star

December, 2011

‘Tis the season to be jolly’, but for many in the Porn Industry it’s a
challenge this year, what with piracy chipping away in chucks, BIG chunks.
Yikes! With some notable exceptions, porn as I’ve experienced it over the 18
years that I’ve participated in it seems to have lost its year-over-year
growth, and instead appears to be withering on the vine. Yikes, again.

Some of you have seen the “How to Get Into Porn” piece that I wrote many
years ago. Approximately two years ago, I added some comments about the way
piracy was making it even more difficult for new want-to-be actors and
actresses to access the world of porn; what follows are some of those
updated comments, hopefully of interest to present wannabes and others not
familiar with the toll piracy is heaving upon the legal world of porn:

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“It’s been a very difficult couple of years for porn, one that can be blamed
in large part upon the continued copyright infringement and piracy of porn
videos and Adult Internet materials which often end up being illegally
uploaded onto some Internet sites where they are freely downloaded
illegally, and with no compensation to/for the company which footed the
expenses to make them. Consequently, many studios (and some web sites, too)
seem to have cut way back on productions, or number of releases, or
production budgets, or bookings for porn stars, or number of employees in
admin, shipping, and other jobs, or number of days they are open per week,
or the physical downsizing of their office and/or warehouse space, or in
some cases many or ALL of the aforementioned.

These unavoidable cut-backs mean loss of business income, which hurts
government due to the associated decrease in federal and state taxes paid,
along with a nosedive in sales tax revenues; also, porn-related jobs are
lost since there is a lessened need for people to do the catering, make-up,
set crewing, location rentals, marketing materials and post-production
needs, sales, etc. I imagine that even UPS and others like them are
suffering decreases in Porn Industry shipping fees. A healthy Adult Film
Industry is a plus to the economy, but the present situation is dire.
Besides the producers of legitimate porn, the economy suffers from the many
non-working Adult Industry folks whom, as consumers, cut back on spending,
thus affecting the viability of other businesses and jobs.

I imagine that the religious right-wing radicals are happy about our
situation, one that also carries over to adult internet operations which are
likewise hurt by the overall copyright infringement; bottom line is that
thievery of our products is what’s causing the religious folks to “win” —
I wonder if they feel good about the adult industry being brought to its
knees by what amounts to a sin, namely stealing! It seems like thievery is
accomplishing what the religious “do-gooders” hypocrites have failed at in
the past.

Some of the illegal tube web sites which allow/facilitate uploading for
subsequent downloading of copyrighted materials are outside the jurisdiction
of American courts. And, for those in the United States, courts sometimes
move slowly. And, technology to protect copyrights has not yet been
developed to effectively stop the copyright theft. Even if it is slowed or
shows signs of being almost to the point of being stopped, unlawful
down-loaders might go on a binge to accumulate as much porn as they can
before the spigot gets shut off. The thirst for new porn, especially
involving new fresh faces/bodies, will probably continue but might be filled
by sometimes harsher productions out of Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, etc.
I worry that some imported porn could be a significant negative for viewers
who might mistakenly think that fisting, sex after bondage, or making a
women compliant via alcohol, is normal and ok; with imported porn, I worry
that child porn from outside America might find a way to further infect our
population. How are religious radicals (or the copyright infringers and
lawbreakers) going to feel about what the imported harsher porn might
suggest to their children or grandchildren as they form their own sexual
standards, relationships, and marriages?

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I’m told that the piracy now even includes pirates “ripping” off entire
websites and illegally uploading them for UNLAWFUL downloading globally.
YIKES, yet again! In my opinion, porn might survive but not like it used to
be. Worse, it might not be American porn. I hope I’m wrong. There’s a
flicker of hope lately from some Federal Judges who are issuing favorable
judgments and opinions in copyright infringement cases involving porn; but
there are also some who seem to be dodging the matter. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I won’t personally be investing in porn productions.

Dave Cummings
www.davecummings.com
www.davecummings.tv
www.davecummingsinfo.com
www.davecummingsvod.com