As Ethersync pointed out, talking directly with studios and models is the way to get the real inside info on what's going on. I have my own contacts in this area and hear many of the same things he shared (and some things I was totally unaware of).
As an affiliate I can say that several sites have clearly fallen off in terms of sales (with relatively stable traffic and promotion methods), while others seem to be doing better than ever. That leads me to believe a long overdue convergence is occurring in the webcam marketplace.
There were several big players and clearly that number is dwindling: The ones that have maintained their model and customer base as well as kept up with the increasing demands (technology, features) are doing well. Those that have been using the same chat software and business model for the past 5 years (among other mistakes) are falling behind.
It will be interesting to see what the rest of '08 and '09 brings ... Personally, I'd place my bets on, oh, about 5 sites/programs that I would expect will be as strong as now or stronger, while a few I expect may fade or die off entirely. In the former category, a site like Imlive is constantly adding new features and trying to build a real communication portal with their customers (any issues with studios/performers or software, I have not confirmed so I won't touch that). On the opposite side, yes, iFriends has fallen behind BADLY. For whatever reason they've done just about nothing to improve their site(s) or program while the competitors have raked their customer base.
And yes, I'd love to see some more programs weigh in on any of this
