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Porn And Condoms: How Will The New Law Impact The Industry?

Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved a city ordinance that requires the use of condoms on adult movie sets.

How will the new law affect porn’s bottom line?

According to two pornographers I spoke to, that’s the question on everyone’s mind.

“It’s more of a nuisance than anything else,” says Steve Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, arguably the most high-profile producers of adult movies in the world. Because the law’s reach is limited to the city of Los Angeles itself, the San Fernando Valley, where a significant majority of adult movies are made already, and beyond remain fair game.

Currently, Vivid movie shoots are “condom optional,” Hirsch says, adding, “we believe in letting the performers make the choice.” Performers are required to be tested for HIV every 30 days and present proof of a negative result to sets where they will be working.

Ultimately, if the law is extended to make shooting porn in Los Angeles too difficult, Hirsch says, “We’ll look for other areas that are more welcoming. And we’ll take the thousands of jobs we create along with us. If we leave the state, those dollars and the tax dollars will go along with us.”

These days, the adult business doesn’t need anymore headaches. “I call it the perfect storm,” Hirsch explains. “We’re dealing with free porn everywhere, there’s an immense amount of piracy, and a difficult economy that seems to be getting better but is still difficult.”

So, how big is the adult business today? That’s hard to say. The numbers on porn are notoriously difficult to come by, and porn producers are disinclined to share the inside scoop on how they’re doing financially.

I asked Bob Christian, General Manager of Adam & Eve Pictures, for some hard numbers on porn.

“I wish I knew that,” Christian says. With some quick figuring on his calculator, he estimated domestic adult video revenue in 2011 at close to $1 billion — which seems inflated, when the reality is many porn companies are struggling.

Will Porn Performers be required to wear condoms?