Illegal tube sites, along with anyone who distributes material they did not produce are indeed an enemy to us all — period. However, there would not be the number of legal tube sites operating if indeed they were not profitable for both the operators — and the producers who work with them and submit their own content. All too often all tube sites are painted with the same, disparaging brush. The legal tube sites offer money that you are either leaving on the table, or will be pulled out of your pockets unless you learn to play the rules of a game that is always changing.
Having taken over the slot once occupied by TGP/MGP’s (and they were supposed to be Achilles heels of the adult web in their day), tube sites can be invaluable for branding and gaining exposure for your site if you control the content supply. Taking the time to edit a tube version of your updates, usually a little longer then a regular trailer this allows you to pick and choose just enough to get the surfer hot, but not enough to get them off which not only optimizes the sale of your content, it also returns the control to your hands of what is going to be seen — and where.
Admittedly a contrarian opinion in some circles, I believe the customer who is content to get their grove on with an overly compressed, pixilated 360x240 version of anything in the new world of high quality flash and HD ready downloads was never going to take his credit card out for any site, any time.
While that does not mean they are entitled to a free lunch, I also know its folly to hold bake sale outside of a soup kitchen: I would rather try my luck in front of a restaurant, where you know not only are the people hungry, they also have money to spend on a meal. If surfers are checking out tube sites to get the lay of the increasingly crowded adult playing field, straight and gay, if you are not figuring out how to play game, you will never make the final four! See you next time!
Harlan Yaffe is Co-Owner of PRIDEBUCKS.COM AND GAYADPROS.COM
