CANOGA PARK, Calif. — Officials from Manwin and the Free Speech Coalition's APHSS program said today that they will start up next month a "Performer Subsidy Fund" to subsidize talent testing.
Manwin plans to donate $50,000 monthly to the fund through the rest of the year, according to the plan that will use the FSC's APHSS database.
The fund subsidizes any test submitted to the APHSS database from any clinic, including Cutting Edge Testing, Talent Testing Services and Advanced Medical Testing Center.
The FSC would be responsible for reimbursing performers who tested through the database.
The program, unprecedented for the adult entertainment industry, is scheduled to begin Aug. 1 and is available for all adult talent, even if they do not perform in a Manwin production.
The "FSC will set up a separate accounting database that will be used for payment , keeping performer addresses separate from the APHSS database," said the trade group, which noted that checks cut to performers will be mailed in the first week of each month.
Manwin's role for the Performer Subsidy Fund goes further than the $50,000-a-month donation; the Luxembourg-based adult entertainment conglomerate, which initiated the program, plans to contribute $35,000 for administrative costs through the end of year.
There also are hopes, FSC and Manwin officials said, that other adult content producers will come forward and contribute to the fund.
The FSC, Manwin and other participating producers could take the program into the next year after an evaluation of the first 90 days in mid December. The FSC plans to utilize Zoomerang to survey performers for analysis.
The fund will have its own bank account and associated accounting database and, according to the project plan, the stakeholders would create an emergency fund from returned checks for first- and second-generation identification and testing in the case of an HIV positive result.
Communications efforts, Manwin and FSC said, would be implemented through email and Twitter to performers, agents and providers on how to sign up for the program. And on Tuesday, the fund's stakeholders plan on actively seeking out other producers inviting them to contribute to the fund.
Manwin's latest move into the arena of performer testing is an unparalleled move for the business, and one that shows the muscle power of one of the largest operators of adult properties. It also represents Manwin's commitment to the adult industry trade group's efforts with APHSS, which was launched shortly after the former AIM Healthcare Clinic shut down.
Just last month, Manwin — whose portfolio includes Brazzers, Digital Playground, Twistys and a slew of adult tube sites as well as licensor of Playboy Premium — said that it would adopt APHSS' performer testing standards and announced it purchased the Gen Probe Aptima machine for Cutting Edge Testing. The piece of equipment performs the Aptima RNA Qualitive Assay for HIV detection.
Manwin Managing Partner Fabian Thylmann said: “This fund was conceptualized to alleviate some of the expenses, and financial burden, performers may be facing due to occupational testing. We’re grateful the FSC agreed to support this project, and hope others in the industry will back it as well.”
FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said that "when Manwin called and told me that they wanted to help all performers by subsidizing the cost of test, we were thrilled."
"They put up the funds and we will implement the program," she said. "The program is open for other producers to contribute as well — the more money that comes in, the more we will be able to send to performers."
