“What we’re doing with ‘Black Moon Risin’’ is putting a stranglehold on black-on-black product,” Steele told XBiz. “There are lots of new girl lines that feature white girls, but there are very few that feature new black girls, and there is a big audience for it. It’s an opportunity for us.”
“Black Moon Risin’” comes on the heels of the recently launched “Fresh Out of the Box,” Mercenary’s multiracial new girl line, and brings the company’s catalog to 17 titles in different genres. Both series are being directed by Tina Tyler.
Steele said he keeps most of the lines on a four-month rotation but will release new titles in the “Black Moon Risin’” and “Fresh Out of the Box” lines more frequently to ensure the girls featured in the movies are still fresh faces by the time the DVDs hit retail stores.
“We get a lot of reorders based on our release schedule,” Steele said. “With our best sellers like ‘Black Reign,’ we only release one new movie every four months because I don’t want to saturate the market. I want all of our movies to be the type that people purchase rather than rent, so that they are removed from store shelves before the next title in the line is released.”
Steele said this methodology keeps demand high for “sold-out” titles, and retailers often will reorder the last volume in a series at the same time they order the newest volume.
Presently, all of Mercenary’s various lines are gonzo, a choice Steele has made based on economics — and the teachings of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War.”
“I have the wherewithal to make great, high-quality gonzos and be highly competitive in this market, but I don’t have the wherewithal to be competitive in the feature market,” he told XBiz. “I have to play to my strengths. This company is independently financed, and I rely on my own abilities to turn water into wine.
“No other company spends what we spend and gives the attention to [the] ethnic market as we do,” he added.
The first volume of “Black Moon Risin’” stars Lisa, Ashley Licks, Somaya, Eve Mayfair, Yazmine Fine, Vixen and Ashley. Byron Long, Lucky Star, Marco Banderas, Brian Pumper, Deshaun Hayes and Steele also appear in the title.
To order, contact Hank at (818) 718-1462 or (866) 289-1414, or email him at MercenaryPictures@msn.com.