LOS ANGELES — Adult industry luminaries, titans and talent gathered at the 2019 XBIZ Show, presented by ManyVids, in the chic West Hollywood Andaz hotel last week for an unrivaled events series of panels, parties and posh awards ceremonies.
With an ever-expanding focus on diving deep into every market sector equally, from video production to digital media distribution, adult stardom, pleasure products, camming, clips and beyond, the 2019 XBIZ Show attracted heavyweight players of every stripe to get down to business.
Among the numerous jampacked sections that day was Studio Heads: Looking Ahead, featuring a who’s who lineup of serious veterans and vigorous new forces. Moderated by Kelly Holland of Chick Media, the panel included Rachel Vigneaux of Adam & Eve Pictures, Charles Prast of Private Media, Steve of Bang!, Tony Cochi of Hustler, Alison Boden of Kink, Moose of Girlfriends Films and Steven Grooby of Grooby Productions.
Asking each panelists about their respective business, Holland put forth tough questions, ranging from the decline of traditional DVD sales to copyright issues and the #MeToo movement’s impact on shoots, not to mention the censorship crackdown on the internet from Silicon Valley elites.
Prast noted Private has continued to embrace a large number of distribution channels “and that’s what keeps us in business, because we’re a studio brand.” He said they do not generally buy traffic, having established their own direct consumer connections “though it doesn’t mean that traffic companies can’t talk to me,” and that they do not generally make acquisitions. This approach has yielded them “six years of single digit growth on our paysites, which is nice” and he views this success as “testament to the loyalty of consumers.”
When Holland pressed him on whether the U.S. administration is of concern to his more Euro-based operations, Prast said he was actually “more concerned with progressives” given their increasingly censor-happy stance on controlling the internet in the name of political correctness and accommodating social media crusaders.
As for Moose, he advised studios to make use of DMCA takedown requests for copyrighted products, before revealing that his DVD-leaning business is doing okay. “We have a huge warehouse,” he said. “We have big brands and we’re worldwide.” He put forth that Girlfriends Films is moving more than 2,000 DVDs per release, and about 1,000 for their partners’ releases. “You have to work with different countries, lower your prices, do incentives, catalogues and comps. That being said, you need to have VOD.”
Pivoting to “cord cutting,” Holland asked Cochi how Hustler is weathering the storm as consumers move away from broadcast television in era of Netflix, Hulu and other premium services. “Cord cutting has been discussed for many years, in theory we shouldn’t have televisions, there were predictions 10 years ago it’d be dead,” Cochi began. “It’s definitely taking a toll now, but to fight that off, we’ve developed our own Roku products. It’s a hard battle when you have a broadcast business because cable operators don’t want you to compete with them.”
Changing gears to the #MeToo movement, Holland checked in with Boden, who recently took on chief exec duties for Kink.com after serving as its CTO. “We have been dealing with consent issues for longer than most,” Boden said. “The BDSM content we do in general requires a lot more negotiation, a lot clearer consent, because you’re going a lot farther. So, though we have a lot more to think about, we’ve also been thinking about it for an awfully long time.”
Even as the cultural, economic and technological tides shift, some companies like Adam & Eve Pictures are doing fine with keeping their priorities in line with business as usual. “I will reiterate that we’re going to be doing more of the same, making compelling content, story-driven movies that people want to see, and we hope they continue to buy,” Vigneaux stated matter-of-factly. However, one area they are looking to grow in is their membership site AdamAndEveTV.com, reflecting the rise of paysites as the modern day incarnation of studios. “And we’re hoping that will grow, as DVDs decline. Our retail stores, we’re opening up more all over the world, I think we’re in the 70s as far as how many stores.”
And when it comes to paysites, Bang.com knows its way around the web. “We’re your standard paysite with a monthly subscription model,” Steve said. “I think our mantra is really just ‘content is king.’ We’re not necessarily focused on DVDs or broadcast and have no desire for brick and mortar. The way we see it, if we make great content, we’ll find the distribution outlets.”
Holland then turned to Grooby and surmised that trans content is doing better than ever. “People think that way, they see transgender is in mainstream media and in the news, so everybody thinks it’s a growing niche,” Grooby said. “If all of the genres in porn form an upside down pyramid, trans content is the tiny tip at the very bottom. We’re lucky that we’ve built, over 22 years, a brand that commands so much of that microcosm.” He said that despite more awareness and acceptance of the niche, it remains a niche.
The next day, yours truly moderated Taking the Reins: Sitting in the Director’s Chair, a mega panel of XBIZ Award-winning directors like Kayden Kross, Brad Armstrong, Jacky St. James, Missa X, Joanna Angel, Axel Braun, Kay Brandt, Will Ryder, Ricky Greenwood, Dee Severe and MimeFreak. Topics covered the importance of crafting compelling content, bringing out the best in performers and maximizing tighter budgets, amidst often hilarious banter between the larger-than-life personalities on stage.
“If you’re not going to be proud of what you make, then nobody else is going to be,” Angel said, to applause from the audience, before getting gritty about budget. “I try to look at each release and decide what’s most important. If the stills are most important, hire the best photographer and spend four hours on stills, while making everything else second to that. If the hardcore scene is most important, hire the best performers and set up the best environment where that’s going to happen, etc.”
Noting the freedom that a solid budget buys in producing a movie, Ryder said, “Budget buys you time. And to be able to make a really good movie, you need time to get the right performances from your actors. There were days where we’d go through each sequence and line and do 10 takes. Now, if I hear the lines back in a way that resembles what I wrote, move on!”
As for Kross, she is all about telling a top-notch tale. “Story, it’s all you can do. Story is everything.” She went on to win Feature Director of the Year at the 2019 XBIZ Awards the following night among numerous other accolades centering on her Tushy.com showcase “Abigail,” about 2019 XBIZ Female Performer of the Year Abigail Mac, which made history as the first-ever Performer Showcase of the Year to also win Feature Release of the Year.
In regards to story, erotica author and acclaimed filmmaker Brandt added, “Creativity is also essential, especially if you’re doing story-based content in a very short amount of time. The longest shoot I’ve done is four days, so you have to learn how to make miracles happen in unlikely places.”
Chiming in, Armstrong said, “Along those lines, one of the things I’ve learned in porn is to put as much on the screen as possible, for as cheap as possible, with good art direction." The famed Wicked Pictures director won the 2019 XBIZ Award for Best Art Direction the following evening, for his "Fallen II" feature movie. "And now, I’ve been in the business so long, that I have an entire warehouse full of props that I recycle and use in several movies.”
As for Braun, he commented, “I shoot like one big movie a year, maybe two. I’ve always wanted to make movies and I try to tell compelling stories. Like Joanna said, if you can navigate budgetary restrictions, you’ll be fine.”
Not everything is about budget and storylines, though, as Severe underscored the power of “understanding the fetish audience and having our performers be enthusiastic.” She said, “Different fetishes have very specific hot buttons that get them off, and you have to get those hot buttons right in your movie. If someone tries to come from the outside non-BDSM world to make our kind of content without knowing the lifestyle, the audience can tell the difference.”
Moving back to story, St. James said, “I would definitely say story is vital. Also, hiring the most capable crew possible, because they really do make what you’ve created happen. For me, because you are under such a time constraint, the more talented people you have alongside you the better.”
Greenwood, who has made his mark with cinematic movies that regularly land XBIZ Awards nominations and trophies, especially his Sweetheart Video productions, said, “For me, it’s about preparing yourself before the shoot, to save yourself time. If you’re not prepared and finding your angles ahead of time, you’ll start losing out on time.”
As for 2019 XBIZ Web Director of the Year Missa X, she said, “My customers call it [storytelling] the ‘process’ and they expect a certain amount of process before anything explicit happens. Speaking of budgets, we try to multitask and shoot everything as efficiently as possible. Hiring the same actors and gaining their trust is also important.”
MimeFreak lamented, “Going dead last, damn!” before grinning and stating, “It’s a combination of all things. I’m a jack of all trades. I do the photography, the videography, the script, I am the PA and I can be the PM. So, you want to hire the same individuals who can tackle several things if needed, that way you can delegate when needed. And then when it comes to locations, like Joanna said, story, story and story. You should be able to utilize this room right here and shoot an entire movie.”
Later that afternoon, a star-studded panel of XBIZ Award-winning performers gathered, for a panel also moderated by yours truly. It included 2018 XBIZ Female Performer of the Year Romi Rain, 2019 XBIZ Girl/Girl Performer of the Year Charlotte Stokely, 2018 XBIZ Girl/Girl Performer of the Year Darcie Dolce, 2019 XBIZ Male Performer of the Year Isiah Maxwell, 2018 XBIZ Male Performer of the Year Small Hands and multi XBIZ Award-nominated performer Whitney Wright. They discussed everything from social media use, to consent and self-marketing best practices.
Amidst the crackdown on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, Rain said, “I love Instagram still, it has made me a lot of money, but it’s gotten hard. I still recommend that everyone be on as many platforms as possible.”
One of Rain’s besties, Stokely, concurred, “I still have a Facebook and I pay my sister to run it, which has been great for me, haha. I love Twitter, but I don’t post nudity at all. I believe in making people pay for it! And when Twitter started shadowbanning, I lost about 80,000 followers, so it’s been hard getting them back. I do love Instagram, I love it a lot. Oh, and one of the things I do, is if a post doesn’t get a lot of likes in 24 hours, I delete it, because you want to look as popular over time as possible. It’s important!”
Wright touched on the value of observing data trends, stating, “Make sure to make your Instagram a business profile to get access to analytics, so it shows you what time your followers are most active,” whereas Hands downplayed data-driven social media strategies for his own brand, noting, “I don’t bother with stats, and I only have Twitter and Instagram. I take the approach that … this is a reality show about me, and if it’s interesting, then people will want to watch and follow. So I don’t even care usually what I’m doing, I just go with the flow. Also, I’ve had to do a lot less shirtless selfies! Haha.”
Parting ways from Hands, Dolce aims to be on as many platforms as she can. “I use Twitter, Snapchat, OnlyFans and lots of platforms. As long as you follow the rules, I think it’s okay. My username is ‘DJ’ Darcie Dolce often, since I DJ on the side as you all know, which maybe helps me, since the censors see ‘DJ’ and assume it’s more harmless.”
As for Maxwell, he has a very particular approach to social media that is as much about lifting up his co-stars as it is about growing his web presence. “I use social media to spotlight the girls,” he said humbly. “I always like to leave their picture up for a day, before I post another day, to give them as much attention as possible. I also make sure trolls aren’t leaving bad comments. Generally, I use social media to help drive traffic to my work.”
When it came to the issue of consent, which was a theme interwoven throughout many of the panels at the 2019 XBIZ Show, from studio execs to behind-the-scenes talent, each performer had wisdom to share.
Rain said, “You should be talking dos and don’ts long before clothes come off, because everybody has preferences. Don’t believe anyone who says they’re okay with everything, because that literally means anything. Everybody wants to do a good job and most people in this industry really do like sex, but sometimes you have to have a convo of more than a few sentences.”
Nodding, Stokely observed, “Dos and don’ts are important. I don’t like to be choked, I don’t like my hair pulled and don’t put anything in my butt! Haha. Also, I always keep clear communication with my agent, I try to avoid getting things booked I don’t want to do in the first place, so I’m not like ‘oh my god, the shoot’s tomorrow and I don’t wanrt to do this, I don’t want to cancel or hurt my reputation!’ You want to avoid that.”
Wright likes to get the discussion out of the way as soon as possible on set, to make things clear, adding, “For me, I don’t like my hair pulled, so I give them a heads up right away. With the guy performers, even if I’ve worked with them before, I make sure I clarify, since we all change over time.”
For Hands, it’s basically “about knowing every individual is different and respecting the person opposite you,” and for Dolce, she believes “if you’re not comfortable with something, open your mouth and tell somebody.” Dolce related a story about a time she arrived on set, only to discover the director had cast someone on her “no” list, and she stood her ground. They ended up canceling the shoot “when I refused to do it, and it was like ‘oh well,’ because you have to make sure they respect your boundaries.”
Concluding the topic, Maxwell offered, “I believe it’s all about reading the person on set. Ask them how the day’s going, is the producer or the girl on their phone, be aware of the surroundings to make sure everyone’s being listened to. Make sure you communicate, especially with the new girls.”
