We've always found the annual Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas a charming mix of perverts and penis-shaped lollipops. Where else can you see Jenna Jameson on a pedestal signing autographs, detachable penises on headless torsos and bald men fingering silicone vaginas with bad merkins? It's always been a straight-heavy show, but in recent years the gay section has gone from ghetto to, well, practically gone. And Factory Videos owner Scott Morris fired back at AVN this week in an open letter to the industry, claiming that
"the show seemed to have poor performance overall, but the gay section was a ghost town."
While last year, studios like Hot House, Titan, COLT and Channel 1 all
had booths, this year Factory found itself one of the lone survivors.
Morris suggested that many of the larger companies had decided amongst
themselves that it wasn't worth going and had more or less decided to
abandon the show en masse without telling him. We don't know about that—Jet Set showed, Channel 1 held court and web-based outfits seemed to
find it valuable—but we do know that with declining DVD sales
industry-wide, selling hard product direct to the consumer isn't as
lucrative as it once was. Most companies—like Falcon, Titan and
Raging Stallion—pared down costs by partnering with sites like
NakedSword for model signings and promotional events.
Morris, however, thinks the show may be indicative of a sea change for smaller producers.
Homophobia, anti-porn
conservatives, recession, and the technological upheaval in the way our product
is delivered, puts every single adult video producer in exactly the same peril.
We can lose our business, our customers, our freedom. The recent 2257 crisis
indicates how far people outside will go to try and close our whole industry
down.
Adding insult to industry, the Factory Videos booth was robbed at
the show and the stolen merchandise turned up, natch, online.
Don't look at us, though. Our finger was in the vagina the whole time.
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