Page 34 - AVN May 2018

FIELD REPORT | By Dan Miller
BUSINESS
THE ‘CAM U’ CURRICULUM
Program at the Phoenix Forum spotlights performers
a spotlight as part of the “Cam
U” program at the Phoenix
Forum, held March 21-24 at the
The #MeToo movement received
Tempe Mission Palms in Tempe,
Arizona, and orchestrated by
payment services heavyweight
CCBill.
The anticipated session
featured a special guest from the mainstream porn
biz—AVN Hall of Fame performer Lisa Ann.
“I think #MeToo has flown into our business in a
non-responsible way on some levels and this is where I
think conversation needs to be started and we need to
all agree on how we’re going to diffuse this effect,” Lisa
Ann said from the seminar stage.
The performer, who recently came out of retirement
to sign an exclusive deal with Evil Angel, shared the
microphone with PrincessCamryn (iWantEmpire), GG
Terra (Cam4), Jamie Rodriguez (Flirt4Free), Liz R.
(Streamate) and attorney Karen Tynan.
Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals moderated the session that
highlighted the first-ever “Cam U” track in Phoenix,
presented by YNOT Cam and sponsored by Chaturbate.
The #MeToo hashtag went viral on social media
last fall on the heels of numerous allegations against
Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein—who became
a universal symbol of the prevalence of sexual assault
and harassment, especially in the workplace.
“I feel like we’re in a storm around it,” said Tynan, a
seasoned defense attorney.
Flirt4Free Director of Product Jamie Rodriguez said
from her standpoint “any hint of something, we don’t
want to be a part of it.”
“It’s not something that’s worth the risk,” she said.
PrincessCamryn, one of iWantEmpire’s popular
models, said the adult industry would benefit from
being more vocal about protecting models as well as
positive experiences that most of them are having.
“Not to silence victims, but it’s also very important
for the industry to make loud statements that we are
here for the models, so that the rest of the world can
see the industry as a safe and supportive environment,”
Camryn reasoned, adding it would negate the public
perception that models are in danger while doing sex
work.
Lisa Ann said the adult biz tends to be its own worst
enemy on social media—Twitter in particular has
become a “weapon,” she suggested.
“We now have this uneducated, desperate, fearful
mindset that’s just out there polluting social media.
I don’t engage and if I see something happening I’ll
try hit somebody in DMs and say, ‘Let’s get on the
phone and talk about this.’ Let’s get you to delete
those tweets. Believe it or not, it’s our industry itself
and those girls doing that are creating more fear with
society than we’ve had for the past 20 years,” Lisa Ann
said.
Lisa Ann said that as a producer she will not hire
certain performers, regardless how hot they may be, if
they’re too much of a “loose cannon” on Twitter.
“I’ll go back on her timeline three days and see she
hasn’t promoted one scene because she’s too busy
arguing with people. Not a good look,” Lisa Ann told
the audience.
34 | AVN.com | 5.18
From left, Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals, PrincessCamryn, Lisa Ann, Karen Tynan and Liz R. Photo by JFK/FUBARWebmasters.com
“I was never afraid to walk off the set,” Lisa Ann continued. “I never let porn be my only income. Every day
I walked on set I knew at any minute I could leave. When I read that now girls say, ‘I needed the money,’ that
means your lack of planning constitutes an emergency that you can blame on somebody else.
“You can shame the industry and create a new media frenzy of another negative story when you should’ve
probably just planned better. You can always go on Streamate; you can go on OnlyFans; you can go on
Chaturbate. These girls have so many ways to sit on their fucking cell phones and make thousands of dollars
selling their items of clothing they wore. … There’s so many options.”
Lisa Ann, who also owned her own talent agency for a span in the mid-2000s, said agents should take more
responsibility for their models as “the first point of contact.”
Cam4 model GG Terra said every model runs her own business and has the ultimate say. “If we’re not
managing our own business then whose fault is it? The bottom line is it all falls on us,” Terra said.
The topic of “Expanding the Cam Market in 2018” featured remarks from Marissa Ataliotis (ImLive), Jeff
Wilson (Flirt4Free), Dave Scott (Sex.cam) and Christophe Peyras (Streamate). Moderator Jay Kopita, co-
founder of YNOT, asked the group what the state of the cam industry was to kick off the talk.
“Live cam is becoming more accessible,” said Wilson, the director of business development for Flirt4Free,
who runs the traffic team. “There are so many more ways to get your site out there and get people to come
use it. The market of cam users has shot up like crazy.”
Increasing conversions remains an ever-present challenge for every cam site, according to the panel.
“The advertisers are getting smarter, the publishers are getting smarter, the cam models are getting smarter,
the studios—everybody is becoming a little bit more independent, which makes things more challenging and
easier in some ways,” said ImLive Media Buyer Marissa Ataliotis.
Flirt4Free’s Wilson said his company has found success with various promotions and contests, engaging
users with merit-based activities. “Two years ago we launched our Flirt Rewards system for customers,
creating user levels and badges for customers.”
ImLive’s Marissa said her company does its fair share of mainstream advertising with native ads on mega-
sites such as Buzzfeed.
The “What Cam Models Want” panel got the program off to a strong start as Lindsey Banks (Flirt4Free),
Catherine Taylor (Streamate), Carole Wood (ImLive), Becky LeSabre and moderator Chauntelle Tibbals
discussed what the most important needs of models are in 2018.
“The ability to block zip codes is very important for some models,” noted LeSabre, who has been doing
modeling and clip production for 17 years.
Taylor reminded that not unlike porn, once you make the decision to cam, “you can’t take it back.”
Wood, a 15-year veteran who works closely with models at ImLive, said “what works for you on one site
doesn’t necessarily work for you on another site.”
She added, “As long as you’re picking one of the well-established companies, you’re safe.”
Lindsey Banks, a Flirt4Free model for more than five years from Texas who wore a unicorn hair band at the
panel, said, “We should all be in it to help each other, to make it better, not to copy but to make it your own.”
The “Proven Tactics for Cam Affiliates” panel, moderated by YNOT’s Connor Young, who spearheaded the
Cam U program, provided key insights into the state of affiliate marketing.
Young fired questions at Shay Efron (ImLive/Pussycash), Yuval Kijel (Streamate/Cambuilder), Courtney
Rudolph (Cams.com), Dave Scott (Sex.cam) and independent consultant Thomas Skavhallen.
Just about the whole panel agreed that affiliates should avoid buying traffic.
“That is the last thing you should do,” said Cambulder’s Yuval Kijel. “If you want to be a cam affiliate, have
your own traffic. Sell cams, sell dating. … Starting from zero and going into the cams market, that would be a
tough cookie.”
The panel also all agreed that white-label cam sites are effective—in fact, Streamate built its empire around
white labels. “Over the long term sending traffic to a white label the ROI will be better,” Kijel said. “… This is
where the industry is going.”