One of the biggest and most respected players in the live cam market, Streamate.com drives the brands of its partners and performers forward with verve into the fast lane.
This journey of mutual profit and respect is perfect for an industry built on personal appeal and interaction; where performers and the public connect for casual fun and build virtual relationships. Streamate taps into this ecosystem masterfully, while offering a much more intimate experience than is available on social media, and with new revenue opportunities for models and marketers alike.
We have a non-aggressive approach when it comes to building relationships with our partners. We don’t sell our technology — we hope that our technology sells itself.
And a key executive in its continued growth path is Christophe Peyras, who has helped Streamate earn its strong reputation among professional models and business owners alike. The company has also shown its cares for creators by aligning with Pineapple Support as a sponsor, where it commits funds and resources to help the organization provide mental health resources to performers.
To get a closer look at Streamate, its focus and its evolution, XBIZ turned to Peyras, whose decade with the brand underscores his passion and committment.
XBIZ: Tell us your professional background and what led you to a career in the adult industry.
Peyras: I started my professional career as a C++ developer about 25 years ago. Back then, I was living in a small town in the south of France. When I moved to Paris, I realized very fast that it was too geeky even for me. Long story short, I started to build websites when everybody wanted one back then.
I worked with big clients and integrated a small advertising agency, but France was a bit behind technology-wise, so I was mainly working on print campaigns that were fading away. So, I made my biggest leap and decided to move to a different country. I randomly met friends from Seattle outside a metro station, and the rest is history.
In 2009, I packed my suitcase and moved to Seattle. I submitted my resume to about every single agency in Seattle, and I managed to get an interview with a small company. When they mentioned “adult,” in my head I understood, “Oh yes, I’m an adult…” and then quickly realized what it meant. In France, we just call it porn.
I called the agency right away and told them to find me something else, but after some thought I realized that selling luxury cars, bank products, or anything else is pretty much the same. That small company was Streamate.
So, my career in adult was pretty much an accident.
XBIZ: What defines Streamate as a company and makes it stand out?
Peyras: I see Streamate as a network more than as a company. A lot of users don’t even know what Streamate is. As far as they are concerned, they are members of Pornhub or Redtube or Mr. Skin — and it’s often the same for performers as well, since we are a technology company first and foremost, so what we do is build the best tools possible.
I believe that what makes us stand out is our approach. We have a non-aggressive approach when it comes to building relationships with our partners. We don’t sell our technology — we hope that our technology sells itself. To summarize this in one word, I’d say Streamate is a Stoic when most of the industry, I believe, is more Epicurean.
XBIZ: What is your view on the adult market, and what factors may prove a challenge in the coming years?
Peyras: I believe that cams are still a huge part of the industry, of course. The current situation might be a factor in that growth simply because with people being isolated and video production being shut down, etc., cams are growing even more.
There’s also been a trend for a few years now in independent content creation, whether it’s for clip sites or now fan club sites. I believe this is for two reasons. First, adult performers are wanting to take more control of their careers and no longer rely on studios or agents. And now with COVID, a lot of performers don’t have a way to shoot new content, so they are capitalizing on their camming.
It’s unclear what new challenges will arise in the near future. Whether production resumes as usual or if companies realize that they can be profitable with the content they already have and therefore cut down on production costs, or if performers recognize that they can produce their own content and be even more successful.
I don’t think there are immediate challenges for the cam industry. Of course, the curve will flatten as far as the number of models interested in camming or users resuming their life and not spending as much time online as we are seeing today.
XBIZ: How has the market for live cams changed over the years, and how do you see its current trajectory?
Peyras: When I started, camming was a big trend. Traffic was huge, and the pool of models was not nearly as big as it is today. It was more of a side career for a lot of models getting into it. It was an amateur job, in the sense that it was really “the girl next door” in her bedroom and evolved into what we see today.
Models are now more professional in the way they approach camming. With the evolution of technology, everybody has a full HD stream, fantastic audio, even better lighting and the interactive toys are limitless. There are many sites about camming and even industry events dedicated to it. It’s no longer a side hustle and there are professional webcam models that are well informed about all the aspects of their job.
Of course, one of the significant changes is the freemium business model, which brought a new perspective in camming. Over the years, there’s been a few attempts at bringing something new, such as 3D a while ago, or more recently, VR, but I don’t believe these are the future. Camming is all about having an up-close and personal sexual experience while building virtual relationships with users.
I think people are more interested in what a model does in her “real life” vs. how big of a toy she can use in her ass … excuse my French. I can see that as the trajectory, going back to the roots of camming. Connected pleasure products, VR and whatever other “gadgets” are available, are just that to me. Especially when there are millions of hours of free porn all over the internet. What makes the difference on cam? It’s the experience that you have with a model and how the model interacts with you —and that makes the user feel special.
XBIZ: A decade ago, Streamate hosted one of the first “remote” live shows, with Angel Vain in a special New Year’s Eve dance club performance. In 2020, “mobile camming” is coming into its own as consumer and creator demand merge with new technology. How does the company stay ahead of the curve in delivering intimacy anytime, anywhere?
Peyras: Wow, I can’t believe you even remember that. Actually, Angel called me a few years ago and asked if it was OK to stream while she was feature dancing. I said, “Of course.” I think back then, it was relatively new, as the options for camming were from a bedroom or a studio. Being mobile came later on as mobile technology became increasingly better. Now, being able to stream anywhere anytime is a must. In fact, staying in your room might not be such a good idea.
Over the years, I’ve seen models broadcasting with cameras in their car, at a pool, exotic locations, and more. With mobile broadcasting abilities that pretty much every cam site has today, models can be on the go at all times. It’s good because you don’t need to be offline when you have something else to do — you can always find ways on a hike or trip to be able to log in on your phone and be there for all your fans.
As far as Streamate is concerned specifically, mobile was a big priority as soon as iPhones were the phone that everybody wanted. With its OS restrictions, we had to make it possible for mobile users to at least have the best experience possible and now we offer the same on-the-go experience for models to log in and stream with their phone and I think this is only the beginning, as with the evolution of mobile devices, everybody will eventually be able to offer the same experience.
Right now, no matter what you browse online, desktop viewing still provides the best experience because of the size of the screen and the amount of real estate you have compared to a smaller device.
XBIZ: Where is most of Streamate’s new business coming from, when comparing affiliates (including white labels) and performers themselves?
Peyras: I think that what makes the difference between our competitors and us is that Streamate has always been more of a technology than a brand itself. What I mean is that we built strong relationships with our affiliates and we still do. I stopped counting at about 2,000+, but I know we have so many more than that today. Those are the ones that drive the most significant part of our traffic.
As far as performers, it’s very U.S.-specific. The cam market outside of the U.S. is usually more studio oriented like in Eastern Europe or Latin America. The influencers are generally from North America. It’s rare to see a model from Romania or Colombia, for example, having a big online presence outside of cam. But North American models are well versed in branding and marketing these days. Those influencers definitely drive business. Again, the partnerships we have, not only from affiliates but also from studios, are our best word of mouth “strategy.”
XBIZ: How do you approach the complex task of marketing Streamate’s products and services, as far as ad buys, traffic deals, performer word-of-mouth, messaging across traditional and social media channels, etc.?
Peyras: Since I have a more traditional mainstream background, I’m always taking that approach. As far as ad buys, I think we’ve always kept the same strategy over the years; even though we grew significantly, we still operate almost like a startup. Of course, we can be a little more aggressive on ad buys, but on everything else we kind of function on the down-low.
Like I said earlier, we never sell Streamate or even have sales reps. I never have a problem telling someone that maybe our site is not a good fit for them, because we genuinely want people to succeed — and if it means telling them that they might be more successful on a different platform, then so be it. I think that approach makes a difference overall.
The downside of being a little more discreet than most is that we hear a lot of things about what we do, how we do it and why; but you must understand that the bottom line for us is that a performer or an affiliate becomes successful because our success depends on it.
As far as the channels we use to get our message across, it’s always been a challenge. For me coming from mainstream, being on TV was my personal challenge, which we successfully did eight years ago. Interestingly enough, it was way less challenging than it is to be on social media today. I can’t count the number of channels we have lost over the years from YouTube to Twitter. This is just what our industry has to deal with regularly.
I think our best messaging is what we do live at all the events we participate in across the world. Because I believe that the most crucial thing about Streamate is not just its technology but its people.
XBIZ: Give us a glimpse of what your "average" day looks like and what aspect of your work you find to be most gratifying?
Peyras: If you asked me last year, I would have said something totally different. Nowadays, it is a bit challenging being at home 24/7. Most of us are already married to the company, but at least we interact with each other regularly. For me, I work very closely with Liz Rekevics, who probably all the models on the planet know. We bounce ideas off each other all the time. The most rewarding thing is to chit chat randomly about some crazy idea, go for it and see how much of a difference it makes.
I think the ultimate reward has to be anything related directly to performers. They can be demanding, sometimes even harsh; but when we manage to do something that they are pleased with, it’s gratifying. I mean, of course, looking at specific numbers can be very rewarding too.
XBIZ: In what ways does Streamate empower its talent base to achieve success in both business and personal life?
Peyras: I don’t think there’s a difference here between us and every other platform out there. I think we are all trying to achieve the same thing. If a performer is successful, it means we are and vice versa.
We work hard to try to provide the best product we can at all times. Of course, it’s not as easy at that. Sometimes it means not succeeding, but we always strive to empower all of our partners, performers and affiliates. Honestly, the personal level is probably the harder part. We try to do whatever we can, but of course, we can’t know everybody’s life and what struggles they might have unless they tell us.
Between Liz and me, we have quite a big list of performers that can reach out to us whenever they want; and that includes in the middle of the night, which happens. That’s also why when Leya from Pineapple Support approached us, it was a no-brainer to help out. We understand that there’s a lot of isolation — this is the nature of the job and we are not therapists. Whatever we can do to help make the performer’s life a little easier on a personal level, we are 10,000 percent onboard.
XBIZ: Do you have any personal mottos or mantras that you live by, and if so, what are they?
Peyras: Lately we use “Serious Fucking Business,” which you can interpret however you want as that’s an idea we like; because yes, it’s all about “fucking,” but it’s a business, and we take it very seriously.
On a personal level, one of my mantras has always been that anybody can do it better than I ever could. So, I’m always dissatisfied, but that also pushes me to find new and better ways. I’m a constant work-in-progress type of person and I think I share that with a lot of people at Streamate; so, we always try to improve continuously and to do better and better and better.
XBIZ: How do you stay competitive on a technological level in today’s increasingly populated market?
Peyras: Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. Sky is our Director of Product and Engineering and he built a team of technical rock stars to keep us always ahead of the technology curve. Because first and foremost, we are a tech company; and between our sys admins maintaining our network and our dev team continuously working on the next best thing, I firmly believe we will always be a step ahead.
XBIZ: Describe how your role at Streamate has evolved.
Peyras: I started 11 years ago as a developer. I happened to have other skills such as design, UI and UX, so I quickly moved to a more design-focused position. Even then, “the dev team” was seven people, and we were about 30 people in total. When we started growing exponentially, we had to create a better structure, so, I moved to a director’s position then; I’m not even entirely sure when and how that happened.
One thing people don’t know is that titles are pretty much for external use only. Yes, there’s some kind of hierarchy, but from the owner to the accountant to the customer service rep, everybody can talk to anybody here and express their ideas; and as far as most people in the industry know, I’m just Christophe or “Frenchie.”
Now my role has evolved more in-line with what we talked about earlier, which is our message to the outside world — participating at events, organizing events and more.
I recently became a fan of the Latin American market, how the region operates their businesses and how big the market is; so lately, that’s been my personal project — and as we speak, I’m organizing a virtual workshop in Colombia for all of the models and studios in Latin America.
XBIZ: What adult companies and/or individuals inspire you the most in your role at Streamate?
Peyras: Oh, that’s a tough question. I’ve never asked myself that one before!
The first person that inspired me at Streamate would be Shawn, the owner of the company. Overall, I think Pornhub’s marketing is brilliant; ManyVids’ message and product are very well done; the LiveJasmin UX is very good, and to circle back to XBIZ, I think Leah does a phenomenal job.
I’m sure I am forgetting some people, but all those people help me stay focused, give me ideas, or inspire me to do better.
XBIZ: How do you balance your professional and personal life? Any favorite pastimes when you’re not on the job?
Peyras: Easy answer. I don’t! But that’s what I liked when I came in and the reason why I never left. I rarely take days off because I usually already travel so much and I’m typically reachable any day at any time.
But that’s also because most of the friendships I have built over the years are industry people so it always goes back to business anyway. The only days you won’t be able to reach me is if it’s beautiful and sunny out — then I’m usually either skateboarding or skydiving. Good luck reaching me as I’m falling from the sky!
XBIZ: What does the future hold for Streamate as a company and you personally, as far as your plans?
Peyras: Not just Streamate, but I’m pretty sure that every cam company is on the same path in trying to provide an all-in-one solution.
The main problem for performers today is that they need an app for their social media and then they have to log in to their computer to upload clips, and then they go back to their phone to log in to their fan club because the photos are their phone, then they might go back to their computer to cam, etc. The downtime is not being productive and battling with the multiple sites and logins and payouts and everything in-between is crazy. I think the future will have all of that combined into one solution that works seamlessly on every device and that has the best tools and best features.
This is still a few years out, I would say. I’m pretty sure some people are already saying they have that type of platform, but I don’t think we are there yet, so that’s the next short-term challenge.
As for my personal plans, I will reveal them once our very first event in Colombia happens at the end of August. So far, attendance is overwhelmingly good and my next move might be on a similar level in America.
