One of the most contentious conversations among cam models today involves affiliate promotions that include unauthorized photos or videos of the models. This isn’t a matter of a model’s, network’s, studio's or other official content licensed for publication — but of affiliates using screen caps and other tools to capture a model’s appearance or performance without her knowledge or permission.
The argument from the affiliate side is easy: “We’re just using your photos to make you more money — so what’s the problem?” These affiliates will point to notions of fair-use and how they need their promo material to be unique in order to be profitable — something that isn’t possible by using oversaturated sponsor-provided content.
Everyone wants to enjoy a competitive advantage, but it doesn’t have to come at the expense of a model’s expectation of privacy (and payment) when their image is used for commerce. -Crystal Sunshine
From the model’s perspective, however, things get a little more complicated than that.
For example, Samantha 38g (@Sam38g) told XBIZ that she works with affiliates all the time, and even does fan signs for them.
“Although, I am an exception, because I’ve worked with some of them for years and have even recruited new affiliates, so I know the affiliate business from more than a decade of running my own solo site,” Samantha says, noting that most cam performers feel the opposite in this matter. “Some of them don’t want their pics and video feeds all over the web, and lots of them have geo-restrictions enabled on the cam sites they currently work on.”
That latter step is common for girls hoping to keep hometown boys from knowing their dirty secrets — secrets that might easily be revealed by unrestricted affiliate promotions.
For her part, Samantha says that cam sites don’t do enough to educate affiliates about this issue.
“Some affiliates have no conscience either, and record shows, put them up on tube sites and make money off of those videos — and some even put links to cam sites that the performer doesn’t work on,” Samantha explains. “I’ve seen my pics (screen caps or stolen off of Twitter), recorded cam shows used on tube sites, and social media used to promote cam sites that I’ve never worked on. This misleads my fans and steals traffic away from me and my endeavors.”
“This content, even if given permission,” she adds, “is being abused by some affiliates, which paints them all with a bad name.”
Samantha notes that some affiliates take photos from a model’s Twitter feed without using the model’s name or cam site and then post them over and over again without permission or sending traffic to the performer, just so the affiliate can build his own following and brand.
“When it comes to social media, performers can directly do all their own marketing and see affiliates as stealing money away from them,” Samantha explains. “As do affiliates who see us doing our own social marketing and taking sales away from them sometimes.”
This underscores some of the tension between affiliates and performers. Affiliates may look at models as nothing more than a source of inventory to be placed on the shelves of the store they are promoting; while models see many affiliates as ineffectual buffoons that not only do not understand the business of camming, but are costing models money by adding an extra layer of expense — money many models are after by becoming their own affiliates — a process that is not always supported by cam program owners.
Samantha says that while Flirt4Free is very proactive in its affiliate program and teaching its performers, the industry overall hasn’t done enough to involve models in opportunities outside of modeling.
“Lots of cam performers don’t see affiliates as partners but as middle men trying to take their money,” Samantha explains. “Especially when the girl might have triple the amount of followers on social media than most affiliates.”
“Affiliates have not made the case of how they can be a benefit to performers,” Samantha concludes. “They may talk with the cam site affiliate program’s people, but not with the performers.”
Model and owner of the Sin City Vixens cam studio in Las Vegas, Nikki Lotus (@SinCityVixens), says that on the subject of affiliates using screencaps of her shows for promotional purposes, she just “hates it.”
“They usually aren’t the most flattering photos, so you’re usually in an awkward position,” Lotus says. “Also if you don’t typically show your entire face in free chat, but a member tipped you and they happen to get a screen cap of that and then use that photo to promote, that’s a problem.”
For his part, FreeWebCams.com’s Eric Wexel says that it is all about not having his models feel like they are being taken advantage of.
“This has a lot to do with how you explain and package the issue and how you facilitate it using technology,” Wexel explains. “In FreeWebCams.com’s case I have the right to use all of our model’s photos for promotion without their permission, but I go the extra mile and still ask. I even pay them extra if I am planning on using certain ones for promotions that will be seen.”
Wexel told XBIZ that if an affiliate wants to use a model’s content, he makes sure that the affiliate link is pointing directly at that specific model’s room.
“This creates a mutually beneficial relationship between a model who receives more traffic to her room — users willing to spend on her that have also shown an interest in her photo or video — and affiliates who get superior conversions because the user is actually seeing the model they were interested in, live on cam,” Wexel says. “It’s a win-win.”
For a compromise solution, Crystal Sunshine (@SexySlotsxxx) says that when allowed by cam or other affiliate programs, creative marketers may be able to modify existing (and authorized) promotional tools — including ads, photos, feeds, text, and videos, to create more unique promos without running afoul of performers who are protective of their privacy.
“Everyone wants to enjoy a competitive advantage,” Sunshine says, “but it doesn’t have to come at the expense of a model’s expectation of privacy (and payment) when their image is used for commerce.”
“Technology provides many tools for modifying images and there are numerous tutorials available on how to ‘improve’ a model’s photo,” Sunshine explains. “Changing eye, hair, outfit, and even skin color, apparent height, shape and weight — all can be modified in Photoshop or with other tools. The same methods that magazines and other media use to make ‘perfect’ images can be used by savvy affiliates to create ‘different’ images — and without ‘stealing’ content from models. Everyone benefits.”
While Sunshine’s solution has its limits (lazier affiliates will find it easier to continue scraping content from cams), it shows that affiliates and models can find ways to work together for their mutual benefit.