Page 60 - AVN September 2016

“I believe companies that
undervalue or under pay
their talent are making a
huge mistake.”
—Tim Siner, live cam consultant
FEATURE
Online Voices Top, Livia Choice has been camming for six years for ImLive.
Bottom, Tim Siner says many North American markets are being “overlooked.”
60 | AVN.com | 9.16
And the biggest growth area for both
members and models is happening outside
North America, according to Steve Hamilton of
Cams.com.
“Models internationally are becoming more
and more sophisticated in how they manage
their business and manage their brand through
social media,” Hamilton reasoned. “Plus, there’s
a definite dynamic that makes particular regions
big growth sectors for talent. Romania has
always been a haven for amazing models, and
not far behind is Colombia.
“These are just two areas that have relatively
low median monthly incomes, higher levels of
education and a high propensity for some of the
most beautiful people in the world. When these
models can triple their income and work from
home, it’s a life changer. Just look where the top
cam shows are outside the U.S. The Romanian
AW Summit is one of the biggest cam industry
events in the world, and we just attended the
first South American industry awards show at
LALExpo in Cartagena. Asia is likely to be the
next big area of growth here. We’re not seeing it
slow down any time soon.”
Hamilton continued, “From a traffic and
membership perspective, it’s all about payment
processing and really understanding regional
processing and payment methods. Monetizing
international traffic is extremely complex,
but the tools and partners available now for
monetizing mobile traffic around the world,
setting up processors and all the other pieces
required has improved exponentially over the
last few years. Membership internationally is
growing, due in large part to having the tools
and partners in place to manage the complexity.
“I’ve heard camming now is about 10 percent
of its market potential. From what we’re seeing,
I think it’s an accurate estimate. The concept
of a live interaction with someone compelling
anywhere in the world is a new type of
entertainment. Once the products mature and
offer these services in a way that get attention
in mainstream markets, this industry will see
explosive growth.”
Mugur Cosmin Frunzetti, a veteran of the
live cam space for 16 years and the current CEO
of Studio 20, operates live cam studios in both
Europe and the U.S.—he recently franchised
two in Romania and one in L.A.
“The live cam market is going up,” Frunzetti,
who projected his company to do $10 million-
plus in revenue this year, told AVN. “Fast. And
it will continue grow as a part of the new online
world we live in. There is no more let’s meet
in parks. It’s meet on Facebook. Real sex is
replaced by virtual sex and so on.”
Frunzetti added, “The market needs to
separate adult from mainstream live cam
and get new customers on board from the
mainstream online network.”
Chaturbate’s Lara, who is based in Southern
California, said foreign territories are definitely
cultivating up-and-coming talent.
“Eastern Europe and South America
have grown tremendously in bringing new
broadcasters and members,” Lara revealed.
Siner, who has consulted for Vivid,
FreeWebCams.com and Flirt4Free, among
numerous others, explained that his projects
deal heavily with talent/recruiting issues and
solutions.
“I have seen rapid growth in the Latin
American market—mainly Colombia and some
regions of Mexico have been extremely fruitful
on the model side of the equation,” Siner said. “I
attribute this to cost of labor and ‘studios’ that
have gradually scaled to full service contenders.
“In my 16 years dealing with recruiting
specifically for cam models and users, I have
identified extremely successful regions (down
to the city) in North America. I can’t get too
specific about this in this article, as this is how
I increase my clients’ profits. I can say there are
a plethora of North American markets being
completely overlooked.”
Streamate’s Vanessa said the live cam market
in Europe is “a glamorized career” in which
models often flourish in immaculate rooms with
cutting-edge equipment and the best internet
connection in the area.
“I can see the draw and the appeal for
performers,” she said. “And from what I’ve
observed there is a vast difference between a
European cam model and a U.S. cam model,
even in their online presence. U.S. cam models
tend to be super vocal, and with the Eastern
European models in general it’s more like a job
or a career for them.
“Many U.S. models have also made this a
full-time job as well and their main source of
income. Some models support not only her
direct family, but their extended family as well.”
With the rapid expansion of the cam
community and the number of platforms vying
for consumer dollars, everyone must raise their
level or risk being left behind.
“There are more cam sites competing for
traffic than ever before and we have to all get
creative in how we win and retain members and
models,” said Steve Hamilton of Cams.com.
“It’s all about who’s going to disrupt
the industry next while making the right
investments. Ultimately, the cam community
needs to learn from companies like AirBnb,
Uber and a handful of others. Be nimble
and keep moving forward. Disrupt or be
disrupted. That goes for the talent as well as
the companies. We all have to keep innovating
and thinking outside the box to distinguish
ourselves.”