Despite no Paul Markham, I see this content producer thread becomes book long, more than discussions about traffic.
This let me think, that there's more content producers than affiliates in GFY? Including former content producers, and wanna-be content producers, not just currently active ones.
My 2 historical cents: Before of cams, I was into prerecorded content, solo girls stuff, not photographer myself, just had partners in the east I tell who to shoot and how, and setup site and submit to tgp's and such. I remember that prior to 2005, but even better prior to 2003, whatever russian / ukrainian (or their western partner's) had took photos of naked blondes and setup a ccbill site (or ibill site lol), had easily got back the investment. There was several St.Petersburg based sites with list of 100+ models, everyone had the same local girls mostly. You would select what girls, tell what to do, then the site guy had found photographer on the fly (if he was not one), called the girls, rented a flat (or go in "free of charge nature" - or in "soviet ruins", I always liked girls in ruins), and delivered the content in ftp site.
Cost was quite affordable, was few $100's for several sets + videos per girl. I remember I dealt with Paul Markham too but never buy anything, thre was several Prague content providers but asked $400+ a set that was 3+ times the russians with no advantage (imho) except a little more "pro" looks, which not necessarily it is a selling point (see "amateur" niche). To make enough content for a site launch, with some luck, you could be within the $5k, or even $3k if you hired in Siberia or Ukraine too, where cheaper ones could be found, even backgrounds was even more a ruin or forest style. The fun fact it is, the time the guys hired the girl, they shoot more than what you asked, and re-sold those sets themselves to someone else. You would figure it when you seen same girl & makeup and nearby trees or ruins location, or changed background sheets if was a studio, or room if was a rented flat... but well, was no big deal, except you made this to met-art which was paying like 10 times anyone else for this stuff, and upset if indirectly funded the shoot of competitor's sets, but I can tell 99.9% of photographer made this to met-art too, that was funny times.
But sometime after 2005, it became no more easy to get back investment in the above way (I mean you order russian content, setup site, submit galls + wait affiliates, and make money). At that time however, the "older" and stable sites still continued to order content, the issue it was just with noobs willing to start. Of course became even more difficult after 2008 or 2010 etc., when even older sites had issues to order new photosets for updates, but I would set the timeline at 2005-2006, when the content sites started to close and those models had to find other jobs as not enough photosets per month to do this as stable job - unless in the lucky list of photographers and models working for those few big sites out there. Lots of these models moved into cams, even if, photo models and cam models are quite a different type of job and most would not adapt.
Of course the Usa/Canada content production may have followed a different path, especially consider I switched to cams in 2004 so I have no direct info since, and anyway never been in boy+girl content, only been in solo girl or g+g and eastern originated.
In full honesty I switched to cams as soon as I feared prerecorded content was saturated and pirated so not long term, I had no personal attachment to the specific activity so not persistent or motivated to produce content and sites at any cost. In fact, I would stop doing cams too, as soon as it would no more be profitable (before adult I was into video games devlopment, now it is a little harder to do $$ there too).
Eventually there's people who do content with passion and that may give the extra help to make it work, I'm sure some out there worked endless hours and been in loss at start, in order to finally reach good archievment, I am honest I do this just as a job, as soon as there no money I am gone
I can see an Octomom video made by wicked or else VIP tapes or current hollywood movies parodies may have a business, mine 2 cents story it is about unnamed eastern girls content. About East, going more east I seen in another thread a very nice 1:200 conversion ratio reported for filipinasexdiary.com , site is new and obvious success, so new site with "non vip's" content can do well, however the guys behind it are not new, I believe the thread was about new guys, not new sites from old guys.
I give a good luck to everyone, considering who's in adult it is not so supported by anyone really (not even by others in adult).