Is producing content still worth your while?

I've been shooting content for some years, but stopped doing so about three years ago for various reasons.

Every now and then I keep thinking if I should start again shooting content, but I'm not sure if it's worth your while. Travel costs, accomodation, model fees, etc. virtually exploded over time, so before I start looking for models/scouts again and invest some money to produce new content, it would be good to get an idea if selling exclusive/non-exclusive content could make me any money or not.

I think the most likely way to make money from content is running your own paysite so you're using your own material and the investment pays off in the (very) long run. However, right now this is not an option for me.

Another way would be selling the material through a content store (non-exclusive) so, provided the content is of good quality, it will sell quite well and you earn more money than from the last option I can see.

That one would be selling the material exclusively to websites. But from my experiences this seems to be least profitable (if ever) way.

I'm talking about high-quality amateur content, not professional studio quality, so the models won't be overpaid wannabe stars, but mostly guy next door types.

Any thoughts that could help me make a decision would be greatly appreciated. :)

We've went from shooting once a week to shooting once about every 6 months. But we're also so stocked up on content.

We do produce the same as you've described. A shoot with 6-8 guys generally costs us right around $10k. But that makes 2 movies and does not include model flight costs.

So, yes... We're in the same situation as you and to be honest, we've found it doesn't hurt us as much as expected.

Yes, you're right. I tend to pool models over a long weekend and do as much shootings as possible as I think it's much less stress (or the stress is just concentrated on a few days).

However, the question is not about investing the money but if it's worth the investment at all. Spending $10k on producing content doesn't make much sense if you can get back only $6k or $8k. And as I said, I don't run my own paysite, so I have to earn the money from selling the content.

Without a contract, or confirmed order from a buyer I would say, don't bother. The days of random content purchases are over, at least in any significant number worth investing in.

I think this comes down to the fact that the paysites that existed a few years ago, who used to just buy random content are all pretty much dead. They lacked direction and consistency so surfers migrated to paysites that had it, or turned to piracy?

Most paysites, who don't produce themselves have contracts with producers, for every update, not just a random purchase. Sure there are exceptions to this, such as badpuppy/boyfun but they are "MONSTERS".

My advice would be if you want to do it, find a buyer or partner before committing your finances with questionable profit.

These days, the return is not that great... up front.

We'll spend $10k on a shoot, we will earn about $5k of that back within the first 60 days. After that, it takes about 6mos to 8mos to hit the profit.

We've completely made a new transition... The owner has stepped down (different reasons).... It's cheaper for us to team up with other producers for content as well as buy content as a non-exclusive right. We earn our return I'd say within 45 days from the live date. (If we buy the content today, the content will go live in about 10 days afterwards). It's all about you really. Some out there know they will hit a profit and continue producing. One studio that I know of, they produce 2 new films weekly knowing it will take time to hit the profit. They are coasting on retained profit.

It's all about you, your market, who you cater to, the following, and of course your financial standards.

MaxxxAdult can u get back to me asap ???

Many thanks for the good advice, Maxx. :)

I guess I'm going to look around if there is a potential partner before I take that road again.

Attis, a friend of mine turned my attention to Ur thread.

I'm so called "primary producer" for almost 10 years. I was a bit surprised to see I'm not the only one to struggle with the same doubts.

Over these years I tried all three ways of selling the content. And here are my thoughts...

For me the best way to make money is selling sets and videos directly to clients. I have some contacts to webmasters and each time I find a good looking model I just send the samples for evaluation. If I get "yes" I shoot exclusive set or video, upload it, do the paperwork, cash a cheque... Done.
Pros: direct contact; faster return, budget for the session known in advance.
Cons: very hard to start a new cooperation these days (too many photographers); it's also hard to predict if it's a real client and it's going to work or somebody tries to screw U.

I tried to upload sets to content providers and sell it inexclusively as well. I must admit it was better when there was just one significant content store. Now it's not that easy...
Pros: U shoot a session, submit the content and that's it - U don't have to worry about it... U just cash a cheque every now and then.
Cons: U have to wait for money; there is no control who buys it and where it goes; U have to invest in advance; hard to break through other producers.

I also run my own site and sell memberships, so I know this part as well.
Pros: it's Ur business, Ur decissions, Ur models, Ur money - nobody tells U what to do; U can run it, close it or change it; U don't depend on somebody's financial stability; U don't need to wait for anything except the money.
Cons: U have to invest a lot in advance; on top of being busy with contacting models, arranging places, shooting, editing - U also have to take care about promotion of Ur own site; there is also a problem of different tastes... My favourite type of man is quite different from members expectations (sometimes models attractive to me do not sell at all).

So how do I deal with it? I'm just in the middle - doing all three. Running a site, selling exclusive content directly and keeping the rest of it in the stores. Quite happy with the results so far...