egafd.com

A while ago some forum contributors were asking about the level of payment models receive and bemoaning some of the poor rates on offer.

I get 3 or 4 offers of work a week through my site etc and this is typical of the e-mails I receive:

"Hello Wendy

I would like to book you for a stills and video shoot. The shoot I would like to do would be an hour stills shoot, consisting of 3 sets, one in each of the following, bedroom, livingroom and kitchen. This would be at magazine strength (for the shoot in the bedroom I would like you to be holding a dildo). The video I would like to be at continnental level, this would be split into two shoots, one would be filmed as a soft shoot the other at hard. I would also need a signed model release form. For the above I would pay ?120, please let me know if you are interested and what availability you have over the next couple of weeks."


Needless to say I thought ?120 for all this was a bit 'cheap' so replied in that vein. What I got in reply was this:-

"Hi Wendy

Sorry ?200 is out of my budget at the moment. When I run out of models who will do the shoot for ?120 I'll certainly email you to make a booking!"

Well I suppose that's market forces for you but you see the sort of thing we're up against. I know many would like to see the girls in the industry being paid more but while there are girls willing to work cheaply things will never improve.

I'm in the fortunate position of having other sources of income but some would say this example (and there are many others)is typical of an exploitative industry and use it as ammunition. Producers aren't of course running a charity but I steer well clear of the mean ones! Maybe I should form the UKPAU - UK Porn Actresses Union

Wendy,, how much would you charge me to wash my car/bike/truck only soft core with a bit of anal and DP I might have all my mates round to watch and they could join in if you would pay them for me,, Get this guy to e-mail me all the girls he gets at ?120 well only the ones with a pulse,,I think you earn more than this signing at erotica, being naughty and gettin pissed
Love,
Phil McC & Violet

Thats interesting Wendy. All we seem to hear is producers telling us they don`t make much money, work thier fingers to the bone etc. My heart bleeds for them. I bet they would all crap themselves if pornstars did have a union.

Not enough in my book to chow down some of the geeks we see in the vids. Plus there is a future to think of after the looks have gone. Good luck to you

Do the girls get double pay if they have to suck John Masons nob. They ought to get triple pay for that.

I look forward to the introduction of a Union, look what they did for the Miners and the Steel work. Wendy is in a minority she turns up on time looking great and works her ass off. She will always find work and loves what she does.
The problem if there is one lies with amatuer producers. since the introduction of idiot proof cameras everyone and their grandmother is a producer. They don't have any budget cause they can't sell their products so they can't pay proper dosh to the girls. Look how many companies are operating in a correct manner in the UK, 10 maybe less. How many have been around for more than 10 years. half that probably, 20 years half again.
How many produce, distribute, invest and pay their taxes, very few we all know who does and I respect them for doing so even if I don't like their product.

Phil McC

Phil, it was not the unions that destroyed British industry. It was Thatcher.

That is very naive I was slightly involved with the steel and miners strikes etc and they had each other over. When the steel guys were on strike the transport workers fed the furnaces with coal from the miners etc etc they f..ked themselves.
I know for a fact in the steel industry the wages were crazy for the work they were doing I had mates that were earning a fortune to sleep at work in Ravenscraig. But they couldn't be sacked cause of the Union. If you are a worker you will always work this country is real healthy and a great place to live. Jobs are plentiful we should be thanful for all that, why do you think every c..t and their brother is trying to swim the channel.
Unions had a place when kids where sent down mines to die of bronchits and women died of TB working in dye mills breathing bleach all day. Now I don't think so as much,

Phil McC (A&DP Party)

Yes there was a lot of skiving back then I also knew people who slept at work and shipbuilders who went on strike because their drinking water was not chilled enough. But Thatcher was ultimately responsible for a deliberate policy to undermine the coal industry with cheap foreign imports. I never thought she had many fans in Scotland.

It's perfectly true that British producers are struggling at the moment. The reason being is that the majority of potential punters are just not being turned on by the low rent productions, featuring low rent girls, which sadly, have become the British porno scene norm. As the returns from porno projects become less and less then obviously there is less capital to reinvest in the business, let alone make a living. Most British producers react to this situation by offering peanuts for models. But the fact is that attractive girls with a bit of class simply will not consider appearing in porno movies for such a small return. Particularly, when porno (due to the mainstream media, political correctness and crackpot politicians) is still socially unacceptable. So porno fans have to put up with the 'scrag-ends' as my colleagues describe them. And I?m afraid they?re not a pretty sight to the people in 'Civi Street?. i.e. Joe Public. Our enemies talk about a "seedy industry," I fear their prejudice is becoming founded.

The geezer who wouldn't run to ?200 quid to hire Wendy sounds like a small time loser and tosser. But the most annoying and exasperating thing is that he said he would get someone cheaper! This is the kind of dude who if he went to 'McDonalds' and they said a quarter pounder was "?2.00 quid", but they a special offer on "shit burgers" - "only a ?1.00 quid." - would happily tuck into the shit burger! 10-15% of porno fans fit into this sad category (we've recently done a survey.)

Hey, us quality producers don't mind paying, if we get what we're paying for. We often pay models like Lana, Lucy, Louise or Teresa ?300 - ?400 + Exps for shoots and they don't even have to shag! But it's worth it because there are fantasy girls, guys daydream about these girls and want to see and hear them in action. Any action. Their films sell far more than any unknown scrubber casually taking it in every hole. Personaly, if a model didn't reach a certain standard I simply would not hire her - even if she would do it for free.


D.T.