Are porn mags going broke ?

[The Ed - Club Int.]

Thanks Knave Editor for that reference regarding my titfer of choice!

On the question of whether or not the Paul Raymond Publications titles have become more lifestyle than stroke in emphasis, I can assure you they have not. Inevitably the huge success of the lads' mag phenomenon has effected the look of the adult mags to some degree (and, indeed, vice versa), but it is still very much our intention to produce something entirely strokeworthy!

Of course many posters may prefer the internet (although personally I find wanking while sitting at the computer desk in my spare room more trouble than it's worth), but the Editor of Knave is right - we are still uniquely placed to offer something a little different? even if it's just a lack of pop-up windows.

[Dave Wells]

None of the Brit mags have put up their rewards to us photog's since 1989, which I think was Galaxy to the pathetic ?600 a set. We ONLY survive because of our U.S. sales.
I heard that last year in a particular month ALL of N&Shells mags sold under 40,000 copies which was less than Gardiners World apparently.
The answer must be yes because there ain't no money in anymore for us photogs.

[Austin Cambridge]

The comments about about the style of photography and the girls in general decline is probably quite true, plus has anyone noticed how so many magazines are just full of adverts?

Late last year we thought we'd do something about it and bring out a good old fashioned porn magazine with a modern twist, and just jam packed with pages of naked girls. Isn't that why we buy them after all? certainly not to read articles on ?400 shoes.

Have a look out for 'innocence' on the shelves. You'll see a lot of the girls inside are also featured on here. Or have a look at our website www.flowersfilms.co.uk Theres a page there for the preview of the magazine.

[marcusallen]

For what it's worth, my opinion is that the mag owners buried themselves with greed and short-sightedness. As Dave said, fees paid to photogs have changed little in the last 20 yrs! The side-effect of this is that many guys went abroad to shoot for obvious reasons) thus restricting the Eng market even further. Same thing happening with porn girls in US as opposed to UK.

Flooding the mags with chatlines and making them generally tacky, did not help either. They left little scope for people like The Prof who was a great snapper and (unfortunately) a gentleman, used, abused and discarded by the Gold Brothers.

The bottom line, I suspect, is that certainly the days of the mags are numbered, but the owners are multi-millionaires. (Nowadays, they are not in any way asociated with "naughty mags"), they are BUSINESSMEN!!!

One light on the horizon, is that there IS room for a fifferent type mag - many guys want/need a mag.

[The Healer]

To the ed of Club Int: why don't you print the hardcore versions of Club etc in the UK? They have many British models and the photography is superb.

[Deano !]

Let me say how humbled I am to know I started a thread that provoked responses from the editors of both Club and Knave. As a teenager, these mags were my only source of relief and I regularly fell in love with the girls featured. When I finnally got to London in '95 ( I'm a bloody Aussie ) I went to find 2 Archer Street Soho expecting it to be some huge complex like the headquarters of Shell or IBM only to find it looked like something Aurfer Daly would lurk in.

Whenever I go into naughty book shops I always keep an eye out for any old copies of those mags. The only thing I dont miss is that prior to about '88, most models didn't shave ( their snatches that is ! ) and I like the clean look.

And I agree that wanking off in front of a screen is a wank. It should only be done when staying foreign hotels with cable porn on !

[Mayfair & MensWorld]

Are we all going broke? Easy way to find out. Do a search at Companies House and check out the figures for yourselves. Our figures were published in the Sunday Times earlier in the year, and I didn't see anyone falling past my window in a Wall Street Crash style.

Mind you, having said that, the accounts department is on the ground floor...

[The Ed - Club Int]

In response to The Healer's question (thanks for the comments about the models and the photography, btw) all I can say is that the decision not to publish our harder (US) mags in this country has been made at a rather higher level than mine. I believe they can be found, however, if you know where to look.

Sorry to hear about Deano's disappointing pilgrimage to Archer Street - but then imagine how upset a good number of travelling Brits are every year when they discover the Great Barrier Reef is now almost totally submerged!

And as for 'Ayer's so-called Rock' - more like 'Ayer's bloody Pebble'?

[Knave Editor]

Dave and Marcus both mention that the money paid for sets hasn't increased for over 15 years. A fair point? Maybe, but two things worth mentioning: the guys getting ?600 a set back in the late 80s were making damn good money. And secondly, the rates paid don't seem to be putting off wannabe snappers. Here at Galaxy we're receiving more sets than ever before, well over 100 a week.

Yes it's hard work and an uncertain existence, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: I've never met a poor photographer.

And why is "having to rely on US sales" a bad thing? US mags probably pay double for a set compared to the UK so potentially that's close on two grand for the one set. The model gets a couple of hundred, same again for film and processing????you do the maths.

[Dave Wells]

I'd better start sending sets again to Knave, Mens World, Club and Mayfair but please Deano none of this 20 tranny samples rubbish that Andy Morgan keeps telling me.