Page 69 - AVN November 2017

FEATURE
THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT: The unfettered torrent of free online porn has been a major disrupting
force in adult entertainment. But not all of the disruption has been negative. The internet also created
an intimate channel of communication between porn fans and the artists they enjoy watching. One
key component of that communication is the clip site—a virtual bazaar where independently produced
content is sold straight to the consumer.
Given that most online adult companies are not even two decades old, this sector of the adult
industry is still evolving. And as more performers embrace the idea of producing and selling their
own content, there’s been plenty of room for growth.
One upstart determined to make waves in the marketplace came on the scene less than five years
ago. Even at that tender age, iWantClips.com already has its sights set firmly on the future, and to
that end the company is rebranding under a new name with a broader scope: iWantEmpire.
Jay Phillips, vice president of iWantEmpire, pinpointed when his company came into being. “We
first launched iWantClips back in April of 2014,” Phillips said. Last year marked the company’s debut
as an exhibitor at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, but Phillips and his wife, femdom artist Bratty
Nikki, have been attending AEE since 2012.
In the interview below, Phillips talks about why they started the company, its recent moves in the
marketplace, and what lies ahead.
How did you first get into the business?
Well, I’d say it was through my wife, Bratty Nikki. She became an
HAVING IT ALL
independent artist in the fetish/femdom scene back in 2010. Back
then it became pretty apparent when she started that there was room
for improvements with some of the sites she was working with. She
experienced quite a void in the level of service that she required and her fan
base required for her to really take that career to the next level. I guess you
could say my entry into the industry came from the needs of independent
artists.
What do you think makes your company unique in the adult space?
I think we’re different than a lot of other companies out there in this
space and online in the adult industry inasmuch as first and foremost we
built a technology company and then we built our sites. We saw the value
Co-founder Jay Phillips talks
of being a technology company with the way that the industry’s going, the
way that the sites are going, the way the times are going. You constantly
need to be innovating and updating, and if you’re constantly outsourcing
your technology you’re getting old and stale on a daily basis. The
about the iWantEmpire domain
technology has been a huge driver, but we use technology ultimately for our
goal of creating the most performer/artist-centric sites that we can make. …
If it wasn’t for the artists we wouldn’t have a website, I wouldn’t have a job,
and I wouldn’t have the pleasure of speaking to you today.
Performer-generated content is changing the adult industry. Do you also
see it changing mainstream entertainment?
I don’t see a difference between mainstream and our industry. I think
that technology has evolved. Initially the purpose of technology was to
simplify our lives. … If you look at companies like Postmates and Uber and
OpenTable, they’ve done a great job of simplifying the process but they
have also removed us from having direct connections. They have taken
away the basic chore of picking up the phone and making a reservation, of
ordering food. Technology is greatly limiting human interaction. So while
we have technology advancing our ability to consume more of the content
we desire at an increasingly rapid, almost instant pace, you have this desire
to connect, this desire to consume. … I now see technology bringing people
back, and closer together, with more direct interactions via products like
our custom clips site, via the phone site, via our upcoming iWantFanClub.
These all allow fans to have a direct, personal and intimate connection with
their favorite artists. …
For the fan base on our websites, I think it really strikes a chord that it’s
genuine. Not to take away from any other form of artistic content produced,
but when a fan comes to one of our websites … they know that what they
are buying is what that artist wanted to make, it’s 100 percent genuine and
it’s authentic, and I think that connection is worth a lot to the fan.
When and why did you decide to change your brand to iWantEmpire?
The idea for changing to iWantEmpire was originally conceived earlier this year after
we launched our third website, iWantPhone. When we launched our first website, under
the brand name iWantClips, it made sense to stay under that brand name. But now we’ve
grown over the years to include the custom clips ordering platform and iWantPhone—and
we’re just about to launch a private social media subscription platform similar to selling
a private Twitter feed. So iWC overall as a brand doesn’t fully represent us anymore, but
iWantEmpire really does so perfectly. One of the real important things that I want to
make sure is emphasized about iWantEmpire is it’s not this elitist, close-knit, impossible-
to-get-into club. In fact, it’s not even about us as a company and our websites … it is
the embodiment of our unified success. iWantEmpire is what happens when artists take
control of their futures and all come together. So I look at it and say it’s their empire, it’s
their future and it’s all theirs for the taking.
Who are some of the performers who came on board early with iWantClips?
We had so much support from independent artists when we launched because we had
been working with them for months. We had focus groups set up. We had beta testing.
We really utilized our ears when it came to building the first site and listening to what
they had to say. As far as independent artists who launched with us, there were so many.
I really hope I’m not missing anybody, but off the top of my head, of course [there’s] my
wife, Bratty Nikki. In addition to her we had Bratty Bunny, Adrienne Adora, Goddess
Jasmine Mendez, Goddess Jessica, London Lix, Lindsey Leigh, Mandy Flores, Mina
Thorne, Goddess Tierra, the Mistress B., Princess Breanna, Ellie Idol—I don’t want to
forget her. That’s just to name a few of the independent artists. I apologize to anybody
I’ve missed. Please know that we couldn’t have done it without you, and you’re the most
important aspect of our business and our brand.
They Want Empire From left, Tasha Reign, Jenna Sativa, Bratty Nikki and Riley Reyes, shot by mainstream
photographer Josh Ryan for the iWantEmpire winter and spring ad campaign.
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