Free porn on ‘tube sites’ puts dent in industry
by Jon Swartz – Mar. 2, 2010 08:45 AM
USA Today
SAN FRANCISCO — The adult-entertainment industry is in a tailspin, shattering the notion that it is one of the few recession-proof industries.
The slump is especially stinging because technology — which helped adult-entertainment enterprises reap riches through innovations such as video streaming, webcameras and online payments — is contributing to the misery.
DVDs and online pay sites, which make up the majority of porn-related sales, are in a free fall largely because of the rise of so-called tube sites.
Knockoffs of video-sharing site YouTube, the sites serve up snippets of free porn that is often pirated. (Google’s YouTube has done its best to bar explicit content.)