educational

So Hot Right Now

The adult world is a lot like the fashion business. There are the Chanels and the Guccis of the industry — the visionaries — who brainstorm, research and spark trends that, once proven popular, are snatched up by smaller companies. Before long, the market's been saturated with the product and consumers are bored and ready for the next big thing. It's up to the visionaries to start the process all over again.

It's a process that combines market research, customer comments and good old-fashioned risk-taking, a task taken on by the high rollers of the adult industry. And once the trend takes off, it's then their responsibility to have the next big thing ready to offer once their current content goes out of style.

But who starts the trend?

Is it the producer who determines what's hot and what's not, or is it his customer base that clues them in? Often it's a combination of both.

"When we started less than two years ago, sites such as MeatHoles and other extreme hardcore sites were doing really well," IncredibleDollars' Glenn said. "The business model to provide extreme hardcore entertainment was simply going towards this specific trend that wasn't available for many big-tit lovers, a niche we felt we could fulfill."

However, Glenn soon found that hardcore degradation and his customer base mixed like oil and water. Big-tit lovers, he said, wanted to see girls happy and sexually satisfied, and what IncredibleDollars was giving them was the exact opposite.

"What we have learned is that big-tit lovers want to see the girl treated well and fulfilled, not being thrown around like a rag doll," Glenn said, a prime example of a company's attempt to spark a trend, only to find the consumer didn't want to buy it.

Dave at PlatinumBucks also has tried creating content themes that seemed to be a good sell at the time. Content featuring couples getting it on with people met at bars or parties is a theme he said is selling well, so he decided to test out some variations to see if customers would catch on.

"PlatinumBucks created a theme of two [single] girls picking up one guy, calling it 'Guys Lucky Day,'" Dave said. "This theme didn't involve couples, therefore it was not as much of a success as if it were a husband and wife picking up a single guy at a coffee shop."

While Dave sees couples as a hot content trend, Glenn said the MILF market has remained a premiere niche in the industry, capitalizing on the fact that older women turn younger men on. He said that when he was in college, he remembers fantasizing about being with older women.

"Many new niches have been fads, but mature triple-X content has sustained itself as a great niche," Glenn said. "Channel 69 and Homegrown were the first two companies that really broke into the market and still do a great job with this genre."

Dave said the industry is approaching the tail end of the solo-girl craze, a trend launched by companies such as LightspeedCash, that slowly started to die after a slew of smaller companies followed suit.

"It was extremely popular until every single company on the net felt they needed some solo-girl sites in their portfolio," Dave said.

He said that the sudden onslaught of solo-girl sites not only saturated the market, but saturated it with low-quality content. This, he said, is killing the niche.

Albert of SilverCash also has noticed the solo-girl explosion. Naming Steve Lightspeed as the niche's forefather, he's noted a slew of other companies following soon after, devoting their entire programs to solo girls. "That didn't exist five years ago," Albert said.

Another content trend that many adult companies are capitalizing on is reality-style porn, and it appears it's a trend that's here to stay. Companies have realized a demand for this style of content and its popularity coincidentally has followed the success of reality- TV in mainstream pop culture.

Albert said that reality content's popularity grew with Bang Bros.' hugely successful BangBus.com, which happened to explode on the scene at the same time as the first season of "Survivor" on CBS.

"When you see something is hot in pop culture," Albert said, "it follows in adult. As long as pop culture continues to embrace numerous reality-show types, like 'The Apprentice,' it will translate over to the content you see in adult."

Kink.com owner Peter Acworth is bringing BDSM onto the reality bandwagon with sites like TheTrainingofO.com, in which viewers follow a model's week-long course in submission training. Rather than creating another site similar to the fetish sites already out there, Acworth said he wanted to offer the viewer a reality site that gives incentive to come back for more.

Shot over a week, each model's training session is later edited into four separate webisodes ending with a cliffhanger much like "The Bachelor" or "American Idol." The only way for the viewer to find out what happens to the slave-in-training is to tune in again to see the next installment.

Though it's true that consumers ultimately demand the product, it's important for companies to realize that they can't do so without the inspiration of viewing original content.

"We as entertainment companies have to put them out there for the consumers and let them decide," Dave said.

There's a reason why clothing designers stopped acid-washing their jeans — nobody wants them anymore. As soon as they realize that the consumer has determined their product is out of style, they must immediately act to create something new or risk losing their customer base.

However it's not just keeping up with content trends that will retain paysite members and attract newbies — a company's content can be full of the hottest girls and the hottest sex, but if it's not offered to customers in an attractive way they're not going to open their wallets.

Adult companies such as Kink.com, Digital Playground and SilverCash realize that technology is a natural evolution in the adult industry. From filming in high-definition to offering content by the minute, content providers know that each customer has a different need to cater to.

Digital Playground co-founder Joone said it's as important to provide a top-notch distribution channel as it is to have a high-quality creation channel. As new technology evolves, people are going to want to use it to watch their content, whether it's on a new iPhone, a PDA or a mobile phone.

"Now, what content? That's going to depend on the individual," Joone said. "But we definitely wanted to have content available for every medium. We saw the iPhone coming, so we prepared for it."

Joone said he sees mobile content, whether it's viewed on a cellphone or portable media player, as a major trend to keep an eye on. It has yet to catch on in the U.S., but when it does it will explode.

"You can get your porn wherever you are," Joone said. "To have your favorite movies or your favorite pictures on there, and to be able to access it at any time, any place — you can't do that with a computer."

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

profile

WIA Profile: Leah Koons

If you’ve been to an industry event lately, odds are you’ve heard Leah Koons even before you’ve seen her. As Fansly’s director of marketing, Koons helps steer one of the fastest-growing creator platforms on the web.

Women in Adult ·
opinion

What France's New Law Means for Age Verification Worldwide

When France implemented its Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law on April 11, it marked a pivotal moment in the ongoing global debate surrounding online safety and access to adult content.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

From Tariffs to Trends: Staying Resilient in a Shaky Online Adult Market

Whenever I check in with clients these days, I encounter the same concerns. For many, business has not quite bounced back after the typical post-holiday-season slowdown. Instead, consumers have been holding back due to the economic uncertainty around the Trump administration’s new tariffs and their impact on prices.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

Optimizing Payment Strategies for High Ticket Sales

Payment processing for more expensive items, such as those exceeding $1,000 per order, can create unique challenges. For adult businesses, those challenges are magnified. Increased fraud risk, elevated chargeback ratios and heavier scrutiny from banks and processors are only the beginning.

Jonathan Corona ·
profile

WIA Profile: Lexi Morin

Lexi Morin’s journey into the adult industry began with a Craigslist ad and a leap of faith. In 2011, fresh-faced and ambitious, she was scrolling through job ads on Craigslist when she stumbled upon a listing for an assistant makeup artist.

Women In Adult ·
profile

Still Rocking: The Hun Celebrates 30 Years in the Game

In the ever-changing landscape of adult entertainment, The Hun’s Yellow Pages stands out for its endurance. As one of the internet’s original fixtures, literally nearly as old as the web itself, The Hun has functioned as a living archive for online adult content, quietly maintaining its relevance with an interface that feels more nostalgic than flashy.

Jackie Backman ·
opinion

Digital Desires: AI's Emerging Role in Adult Entertainment

The adult industry has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to embracing new technology. From the early days of dial-up internet and grainy video clips to today’s polished social media platforms and streaming services, our industry has never been afraid to innovate. But now, artificial intelligence (AI) is shaking things up in ways that are exciting but also daunting.

Steve Lightspeed ·
opinion

More Than Money: Why Donating Time Matters for Nonprofits

The adult industry faces constant legal battles, societal stigma and workplace challenges. Fortunately, a number of nonprofit organizations work tirelessly to protect the rights and well-being of adult performers, producers and industry workers. When folks in the industry think about supporting these groups, donating money is naturally the first solution that comes to mind.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

Consent Guardrails: How to Protect Your Content Platform

The adult industry takes a strong and definite stance against the creation or publication of nonconsensual materials. Adult industry creators, producers, processors, banks and hosts all share a vested interest in ensuring that the recording and publication of sexually explicit content is supported by informed consent.

Lawrence G. Walters ·
opinion

Payment Systems: Facilitator vs. Gateway Explained

Understanding and selecting the right payment platform can be confusing for anyone. Recently, Segpay launched its payment gateway. Since then, we’ve received numerous questions about the difference between a payment facilitator and a payment gateway. Most merchants want to know which type of platform best meets their business needs.

Cathy Beardsley ·
Show More