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I read threads like this and I'm reminded of the scene from Braveheart where Mel Gibson's character says to all the nobles - (paraphrased)..."You're so concerned with squabbling over Longshank's table scraps...that you can't stand together."
There was never any unity in the adult industry...never a collective assembled to stand up against those who helped put the smaller players out of business. We were fractured, without adequate financial resources or game plan to counteract the big money players. Middlemen and opportunists who fucked us over, card processors that fucked us over with exorbitant fees and unsubstantiated chargebacks.
In our attempt to stay afloat many of us created affiliate programs...all the while seeing affiliates flood the net with so much free promotional content that former subscribers no longer wanted to pay for it. Big players also contributed to the flood of free content, and users on image/video sharing forums redistributed free content.
Basically - we imploded.
At the height of our best years (2000-2003), I was working 60-80hrs a week producing original content, doing photoshoots, building props, scheduling models, photo-editing, uploading monthly updates...and the countless hours of promotion, marketing and advertising. Exchanging guest galleries, banner links...anything to expand our brand.
Twelve years of that...all the while watching revenue dwindle year-by-year...no matter what we tried. We went through 4 webhosting services and several payment processors...each time having to start from scratch to re-establish recur billing and repeat customer loyalty.
Would things have gone different if we'd formed some sort of industry collective?
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