Tolerant Fanboy said:
It's yet another industry threatened by the Internet.
Threatened by the internet??? Maybe if you're talking specifically about old standby's like Playboy or Hustler or other big publisher/producers, but otherwise...
IMO, the internet is the best thing to happen to the Porn business, period. It allows independent studios to rise to cult success, while allowing the consumer to access, with incredible specification, what they want to see without having to go through any seedy human face-to-face interaction to do so, or tangible products to hide.
Just like the music industry, the movie industry, the videogame industry, etc: the internet has inverted the business model and the only people businesses 'harmed' are the ones that have failed to adapt to the times.
To be more specific in what I mean: while certain blockbuster products still fly, the internet has changed everything (with regard to who's on the ball) to a long-tail model, where the buying audience is no longer all buying the same thing through the same venue, but rather buying tiny works here and there in a mosaic of micro transactions. Basically:
[small]
How things were (Blockbuster):
20% of products made were bough/viewed by 80% of the consumer base
What things are changing to, at differing rates (Long Tail):
80-90% of products made are bought/viewed by 20-10% of the consumer base
[/small]
The missing percentages in each case belonging to the other co-existing category. These numbers aren't absolutes, but functional rules of thumb.
As a bizarre, giant shadow-business, Porn is still netting more revenue than music, film or videogames (respectively) - and not simply because of inflation. (As I understand it)