Is the porn industry up next for a bailout? Yes, ladies and gentleman, the titans of pornography are begging for a bailout. Joe Francis, creator of the "Girl's Gone Wild" video series, and Larry Flynt, founder of Hustler, will ask Congress for a $5 billion bailout.
Why does the porn industry need a bailout? Because apparently even porn is getting smacked by the recession.
XXX DVD sales have taken a hit - about a 22% hit.
"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind," Flynt is quoted as saying . "It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America."
Francis thinks that the porn industry deserves a bailout just like the auto and financial industries got, and he said he'll go to DC to get it.
"Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses; we feel we deserve the same consideration," said Francis.
Is the porn industry really experiencing a severe downturn? It depends on who you ask.
Francis Koenig's fund AdultVest, which invests in porn-related assets, was up 50% in 2008, according to Tom Johansmeyer's article in next month's Atlantic (as reported by The Huffington Post). But video sales are down.
"The industry's not going anywhere," Koenig says. "You've got 6 billion people on the planet," he laughs, "and they're all horny."
The porn industry generated about $12 billion in 2007, according to the Atlantic article.
3 comments:
If congress bail them out, they will be wasting taxpayers money. The porn industry is doing badly because of YouPorn, PornoTube and other sites where a person can watch or download as much porn as they want FOR FREE.
Besides, why would any self respecting person want Francis Koenig to get a bailout? Taxpayers will be paying for his commercials of barely legal girls acting stupid? Isn't his taking advantage of drunk 18 year olds bad enough?
At least, Flynt has girls sign contracts when they are sober. Plus he calls people out on their bullshit.
Instead of Flynt and Francis going to DC, I think they should be sent to Gaza.
Probably because the damned DVD's cost $30 a pop, even the cheapest made ones, and all it is is video of two people doing it. And movies with a $100 million dollars in Special effects (The excellent Dark Knight) cost about half of that.) And like Anon said, there's plenty of free sources out there now for the same stuff. (though I expect an inevitable cracking down on that now, much like the RIAA had been doing.)
Aside from the purported mob influence in porn i've heard about, i've yet to see a tangible reason why the movies cost so damn much.
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