Recession-proof business
By Jessica Ireland
jirelan3@uwo.ca
“It’s a good way to make a quick buck. You can get about $400 to $500 for a boy-girl scene.”
Co-owner of Velvetgate Entertainment Group, Mark S. is talking about how his Kitchener-based studio has recently become a hub for people seeking employment during this economic downturn. His studio specializes in adult entertainment films, a few in which Mark S., as he asked to be called, has performed.
Even amid news of massive layoffs and crumbling industries, the adult entertainment industry has managed to survive where others failed.
But the industry hasn’t been completely unscathed, said Mark.
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| Courtesy of RedVelvetDungeon.com |
| Dominatrix Lady Paris says her services have grown in popularity since the recession. |
Adult entertainment is done by professional studios, but a lot of it also involves amateur groups that have been unable to sustain their business with the recession.
“It’s such a black market type thing, it’s difficult to say what the number is,” said Mark, regarding how many groups have gone under.
Mark’s studio, which has been around for five years, not only distributes porn but provides specialized products such as educational sex videos. The studio’s product diversity has helped it stay successful during these times, said Mark.
Yet even though Velvetgate produces a variety of videos, DVD sales have dropped. Sales of Internet video subscriptions, however, continue to rise.
“We’re standing our ground,” Mark said.
The dominatrix service also provided by the Red Velvet Dungeon at Velvetgate’s Kitchener studio has become increasingly popular. The dominatrix’s dungeon has machines that look like they’re meant for torture, but they’re actually used to indulge clients’ fantasies. During trying times, people often turn to such escapism, Mark said.
“So much pressure is going on in the recession, this brings out another side of (people),” he said.
“Having a dominatrix is like having a therapist.” Such trips to the dominatrix are like people’s “little treat in life.”
Lady Paris, who said she has been a dominatrix for as long as she can remember, believes her service is doing so well because sex always sells.
Her particular field of sex work is still popular because it taps into individuals’ secret desires. Stresses such as work and money affect people’s ability to have fun with their partner at home, Lady Paris said.
“No boyfriends or husbands want to tell their girlfriend or wife they want strap-ons,” she said in an interview during a break between clients. “We can take you out of reality and put you into your fantasy.”
Engaging in these activities allows clients to leave their troubles behind. Couples will even pay to use the dungeon equipment by the hour as a way to spice up their lives, Mark said.
But a little excitement in the bedroom might be just what people need in trying times.
While men are more likely to seek out adult entertainment products such as pornography, both genders enjoy and are sexually aroused by it, said William Fisher, a professor of psychology at the University of Western Ontario.
He said sex is a “primary reinforcer,” a basic human need that “drives pleasure.” When people are stressed, they do use sexuality as a “mood improver,” he said.
Yet individuals are not just improving their moods in the dungeon.
It’s been business as usual at the Stag Shop in Cambridge, said Sheri Snyder, who works there. If anything, business has been better in the last year, she said. People are also looking at the sales part of the adult entertainment industry and seeing potential jobs. Rather than getting one resume a week, Snyder now receives five to six a day, she said.
Ian Dunlop, who has worked in the business for 11 years and currently works at the Sin City Adult Superstore in London, has also found that people are increasingly looking for employment in the adult entertainment field – but he said he’s not sure if it’s out of open-mindedness or desperation. Either way, he also receives a few resumes a day, whereas last year he would receive only a small number a week.
On the business side, the rate of customers visiting the store is fairly stable because it offers such affordable entertainment, Dunlop said.
“We’re a cheap escape,” he said. “A $5 rental is not the end of the world.”
Like Lady Paris, Dunlop says sex is an enterprise that will always survive.
“People will always be having sex,” he said. “It’s not something people need to budget for. A toy purchase is a once-in-a-while thing and movies are fairly cost-friendly.”
The only area in the store the recession has affected is in which products Sin City buys from distributors. These days the store is ordering more affordable and fewer high-end products.
So what keeps the adult entertainment industry thriving in bad economic times? It could be because people are looking to spice up their lives. On the employment side it could be people desperate to make money. But it could also be that sex and its related paraphernalia are the cheapest form of entertainment out there, said Lady Paris.
“I personally believe out of everything, when it comes to the sex business – how could it go down? Everyone likes it.”
