Portfolio: Who Wants To Own YouPorn?

2007_10_15_youporn.jpgDepending on who you listen to, porn is the best business in the world to be in … or the worst. It brings in $12 billion dollars a year, even though no one has bought a DVD in six months and the going rate for one of the most successful properties on the web is $20 million, even though the site makes no money. That last tidbit comes courtesy of Portfolio magazine which takes a look at the mysterious YouPorn, with its shady overseas creators, non-existent business model and 2257 headaches … and its recent attempts to sell itself off to the highest bidder, including mainstream porn powerhouse Vivid. It’s an interesting read for anyone who wonders where all that porn money goes, and since Portfolio itself is geared toward Wall Street investor types it investigates the matter with a business-like, hype-free approach that is fairly informative. Ultimately, though, it leaves the reader right back where they started—asking “Is anybody really getting rich off this stuff?” (P.S. It’s not us.)

· Obscene Losses (portfolio.com)
· Bonus: “Amateur couple fucking in H&M” and “Schoolgirl Uniform Fuck” (youporn.com, just because)

Previously: Blogging YouPorn (And Other Places, Too), NY Times: Porn Economy Just As Bad As The Regular One

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  • Violet Blue

    this is a bummer, I’ve really (ahem) enjoyed YouPorn. (and that pink heart redesign is so kewt!) but it’s not as bad as PornoTube which has been a craptacular spam farm for quite a while now; I gave up after the 5th time I clicked a link to watch a video and got a redirect to a circle jerk paysite or TGP linkfarm (and not the circle jerking I was looking for). YouPorn is still a decent standby, though.

  • Justin K. Rivers

    This article makes Youporn seem like an outofcontrol episode of the X-Files. Awesome.

    What we really need is a porn equivalent of PBS.

  • sexisthenewblog

    $120K per month in advertising is not a bad deal. For all his highfalutin talk about anarchism or whatever, of course he wants to make huge bucks. The Swedes running pirate bay aren’t in it for altruism either. However, 2257 regs is what’s going to burn this guy. I liked the comparisons between what’s going on in porn with Hollywood studios – and they don’t seem to be hurting that bad. I say pay for porn but please pirate all that schlock they’re peddling on the other side of the Valley so we can maybe get to see some decent movies for a change.