tuscl

Porn Star Economics

Sunday, February 15, 2009 10:55 PM
I found this at another board. Back in the early 80's I befriended a couple of girls in the porn industry and I noticed they could afford a house (in expensive Southern California). Of course that was nearly thirty years ago, but look at what they make today. However, there's more than one recipe for success. Some starlets this decade appeared in 200-400 DVD scenes and an unknown number of other shoots for the web. Assuming that was over a three or four year period, and each scene was in the ballpark of $1000, that's a lot of cash even without doing any of the other things I mentioned in my post above as possible ways to generate additional revenue. During their time in porn, these girls earn a very good living and can maintain the stress-free, fun party lifestyle with low demands on them. Kat is an recent example of barely legal starlet who fits in this category. So lets say a porn starlet starts out when she is 18. How many scenes per year can she do and how long does she last? Do most women quit porn because they really dont like it or because they are not making enough money from it? Realistically, what is the actual income per year for most starlets? Lets say Nyomi Marcela or Charmaine Starr? Here are a few assumptions I made: Lets say 200 scenes done over a three year period. Scenes: 200 X $1,000= 200,000 Escorting: 8 flings a month at about $500 per hour, $4000/month (all cash business) Dancing: Work at the club 2-3 times a week, pull in $300 per shift Web: $22.95 for a one month subscription, lets say you sell about 10,000 subscriptions per year Totals for 3 years Scenes- $200,000 Escorting- $144,000 (dont forget, all cash biz, no w-2 or 1099) Dancing- $117,000 Web- $688,500 $1,149,500/3= 383k per year Have vagina, will travel.

5 comments

  • samsung1
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    15 years ago
    I think porn is like a lot of other entertainment industries. Some musicians become millionaires but most of them just manage to make a living from it. Some even have to work other jobs or rely on other people's incomes to support themselves. I also think one "new" sources of income for girls that was not around in the 80s is the web cam sites. Also some girls can work on phone sex lines and make additional income.
  • ozymandias
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    15 years ago
    The big money in porn is in contracts, not the "per scene" fees - the Marcelas, Charmaine Star et. al are (or were when they were really working) contract girls. As far as age goes, I think the vast majority of girls retire voluntarily before age becomes a factor; if a girl does want to stick it out to the end, there're always "gonzo" films. Plus there's ancillary stuff. Charmaine Star, for example, does shoots for fetish "smoking" sites, but mostly she deejays at clubs now (her name is a club draw in SoCal, so that's potentially bigger money than porn) and she's done some bikini bartender videos, things like that. She escorted briefly, but didn't like it... that's more potential money, though. Jade Marcella escorted for awhile (best $1k I ever spent lol), but got burned out on it. I suspect you'll find most of these girls get out of the biz with basically no savings or assets to show for it but yes, a smart girl can make a ton of money at it. O.
  • minnow
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    15 years ago
    Quite a few ASS-umptions there. So called pornstars are probably scattered all over the spectrum as far as earnings & time in industry go. I still see some that were POM's when the Gipper was in the White House doing feature/escorting gigs (occasional, but) as 40 somethings. Ditto for web subscriptions. Just because someone lives in a posh neighborhood doesn't make them a Warren Buffet- they may well be overextended. If someone as famous as Ed McMahon can faced foreclosure, what then of top 10-25% of porn starlets? It's not what you earn, its what you can manage to keep/grow.
  • MisterGuy
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    15 years ago
    I don't know that all porn stars (or even most of them) escort though. I also think that they are pulling in waaay more than your average stripper when they make a personal appearance at a strip club. I lot of "contract girls" don't do a whole lot of scenes either...unless they want to...they basically get paid to do whatever the company that they have contracted with wants them to do (personal appearances, signings, premieres, mags, etc.). "Kat is an recent example of barely legal starlet who fits in this category." Who's she?? Keep in mind that these "stars" have to travel a lot, and I'm not sure that someone else always picks up the tab for that.
  • casualguy
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    15 years ago
    Some so called porn stars are small time as well. I remember one dancer told me she was a porn star after talking to her for a while in the strip club. I initially didn't believe her since I didn't think she was in all that great of shape. I knew she wasn't making much money if she was giving me dances in the club I was in. I guess a number of people would argue making an appearance on film does not make one a porn star.
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