First up was “Profiting In Adult: The Recession Is Over,” a panel featuring several leading names in the Internet adult industry including Allison Vivas, president of Pink Visual; Micheal Brandvold, owner of Michael Brandvold Marketing; Jay Kopita of Ynot Summit; and Connor Young, also of Ynot. The conference room at the Hilton was packed with attendees, presumably with people either eager to attend a panel that might include porn, or from those eager to learn from those in the adult industry, a business long thought to be “recession proof.”

One of the most compelling statements bought up at the panel was the fact that young people simply aren’t used to paying for adult content and instead rely on “tube sites” to get their dose. Vivas, who produces original content at her website, proposed that content makers need to create better, more interactive content in order to compete with the lure of “free.” She asked everyone in the room if their experience on tube sites had decreased since they’d started using more banner advertising and only a handful raised their hands. She said she hoped that in a few years, everyone would raise their hands.

Mobile strategies were also discussed at the panel. The boom in the use of mobile devices should be a natural compliment to viewing adult content. Unfortunately, companies like Apple simply don’t want to partner with any adult company and will not allow their apps to enter the App store. One panelist astutely pointed out that there is no such thing as a “porn-free” iPhone or iPad. As long as they can access the Web, the devices can access porn.

My biggest takeaway from the panel is that the adult industry is just like any other, where professionalism and transparency will get you ahead. The panelists mentioned that the partying atmosphere of adult attracts many people, but only those who can work hard will last and be successful. I can say that is very true of working at Eden. Friends think working for a sex toy company is all dildo testing, but trust: we all work very hard here!

Another fascinating sex-related panel was part of SXSW Film’s programming. Called “Sex It Up!” the panel sought to answer the age-old question: what’s the difference between art and porn? It featured Lisa Vandever of CineKink, Vivian Darkbloom of Kink Studios, film maker Zach Clark, women’s studies professor Dr. Lynn Comella and attorney Alan Levy. Much of the panel was devoted to discussing the production of Ms. Darkbloom’s film Indietro for Kink.Com. Ms. Darkbloom wanted to make a film with pornographic elements (i.e., actors would actually have sex as opposed to simulated), but with a plot and an artistic edge. This was interesting to hear after attending the adult industry panel where all panelists agreed that porn consumers might say they want porn with a plot, but in the end, only end up watching about seven minutes of a film, on average.

Nevertheless, the panelists at Sex It Up all felt that sophisticated audiences want true depictions of sex on screen. Mr. Levy mentioned that there was a cultural shift happening that could be seen in independent, non-adult films. For example, in mainstream television and movies, people with “alternative” sexual leanings such as BDSM or swinging are often vilified. In independent films, they are portrayed in a different light. Zach Clark spoke of his film, Modern Love Is Automatic, which is about a nurse who moonlights as a dominatrix. Unlike Ms. Darkbloom, the depictions of sex in Mr. Clark’s film were simulated.

In the end, the panelists wondered if we were ever going to enter another new “golden age” of porn, like the one enjoyed in American porn in the 1970s where films like Behind The Green Door and The Devil In Miss Jones enjoyed their heyday. Again, contrasting this artistic viewpoint with the business viewpoint of the adult industry panel leads me to believe that the current market just can’t sustain artistic, well-made porn, at least not for an audience that primarily consumes porn online. We must look to our friends in indie films, who aren’t held back by the fake morality of Hollywood, to pick up the slack and show some real sex in our films!