Jonathan Silverstein of ContentBlowout, who has been retained by Content Pinup to market the 19,000 images of 20 Suicide Girls, had high praise for the coveted brand.
“Suicide Girls is a very popular site,” Silverstein told XBIZ. “It’s a great brand. To me, those girls are a modern kind of Betty Paige, with tattoos and piercings. They’re very hot.”
While the announcement has received a great response from buyers, according to Silverstein, there was some initial controversy.
“I think a lot people just didn’t believe that this was for real,” Silverstein said. “Suicide Girls is very close with its brand, so to have this content is very unique. But it is for real, and people know that now.”
In response to negative comments on GFY, Silverstein posted a letter from Paul Loving, attorney for Suicide Girls, addressed to Content Pinup.
“As we discussed,” the letter read. “While your access to Suicide Girls content was never intended or contemplated, Suicide Girls acknowledges that Content Pinup has demonstrated that it lawfully obtained the rights to license to third parties a collection of images of Suicide Girls for display on the Internet.”
According to Silverstein, the letter stopped the controversy, which he said might have stemmed from previous animosity between webmasters and Suicide Girls.
In 2005, Wired News reported that as many as 30 Suicide Girls models quit over allegations that the company, which has enjoyed a reputation as a female-friendly porn business, had exploited its models. Posts on GFY echoed those claims.
Despite either controversy, the content is selling well, according to Silverstein.