Reporter Andy Medici parallels the struggles between adult and journalism industries: the recent recession and rapid advances in technology has given way to free, custom-made online content and the rise of amateur-produced content.
Adult director Jeff Mullen vocalized the frustration shared by both industries during this year’s XBIZ LA Conference.
"We have one product to sell, yet we collectively give it away," Mullen said.
Nevertheless, the article quotes industry veteran Stephen Yagielowicz, an XBIZ staffer, as remaining optimistic. He suggests a coexistence of free and paid content that can be attained by lowering price points and focusing on marketing and offering new products in a variety of formats.
Adult studio Pink Visual is noted in the article as a studio that took its dropping DVD sales as a chance to reorient its business to focus on the Internet and mobile markets.
Q Boyer, Pink Visual’s director of public relations, told the reporter that the company is constantly on the lookout for the latest mobile platform or tablet.
"People are not so much paying for content as they are paying for convenience and ease of use," Boyer said.
By adapting to the latest technology, Boyer said that in the last few years Pink Visual has almost rebounded to its pre-2004 levels.
PoynterOnline’s article concludes: “The journalism industry should take a lesson from this playbook and be a part of cutting-edge technology, not racing to catch up.”
