The Kink.com Layoffs, Or What We Mean By “Recession-Proof” Porn

We're still reeling from the news of the recent layoffs at fetish powerhouse Kink.com—but we've received information on the situation that's provided insight on what happened at Kink (and what could happen around the industry).

First, the bad (well, worst) news: of the thirteen layoffs, several were concentrated in the Production department—including two webmasters who were sent packing. Though we're not surprised to hear this—production is expensive!—we're still saddened by the news. Kink.com's high quality, in house production has always been one of its most appealing features (well, aside from the extreme kink), and we're crossing our fingers that these layoffs don't lead to a reduction in quality.

Which brings us to our second point: what led to the layoffs to begin with? Why, the same story we've heard over and over again, from mainstream companies across the country: during boom times, Kink.com expanded—so much so that when their revenues began to slow down, their profits disappeared.

And what about this idea of recession-proof porn? Are porn layoffs a sign that the economy is, well, that fucked?

We're going to go with a no... kinda. Yes, the economy is clearly in dire straits, but it's not solely the economy that's to blame for the porn industry's troubles.

The idea that porn is "recession-proof" is one that's oft misunderstood. The porn industry itself isn't what's recession-proof, it's the desire for porn that withstands economic woe. But with Pornhub and Redtube providing ample access to free hardcore content, high quality, studio-produced content can more easily be written off as a luxury—one that can fall by the wayside during tough times.

Recently laid off Kinkster Thomas Roche offered us another opinion:

I think the key to porn seeming recession-proof is that for years it was tied to organized crime, which has pretty shady ways of doing business. In the time that the vast majority of the porn industry has been above-board, both the economy and the tech sector have been growing at a rapid pace. In any given 3-5-year period, there have been new offerings and new products, and new developments in terms of what porn decides it can get away with, so there's always something new being offered. The economy pretty much couldn't compete with that until now. All recessions since porn became "legit" or semi-legit (in fact, back to the '30s) are a blip on the radar compared to this one. There is no period to compare this to.

The times, they are a-changin'.

· Greetings from the downsized (thomasroche.com)
· Thumbnail: Like Madison Young, Kink.com is now hogtied by the economy (hogtied.com)