It is difficult to determine the profits generated by the porn industry, mainly because part of the activity is carried out outside the limits of the law; according to The Observer, the industry that concentrates in the Californian valley of San Fernando entered in 2007 about 13 billion dollars, of which only 4-6 million were billed legally. Although there are no concrete figures, what is clear is that the San Fernando industry’s turnover far exceeded that of Hollywood in the 2000s.

Porn has had a huge influence on the Internet. It has driven the development of systems such as audio and video streaming, geolocation or payment systems, among others. The Internet has also had a huge impact on the pornographic industry. The purchase of porn on the internet is more comfortable and private, so the network has drastically changed the distribution of the payment pronography. According to Forbes, the sale of porn on the internet in 2001 reached $1 billion in the United States, surpassing for the first time the sale of pornographic magazines. Since then, the sale of physical media has decreased, while the sale over the Internet has increased, at least until the free distribution has exploded.

According to the Free Speech Coalition, in 2009 the revenues of the pornographic industry were reduced by 30-50%. In 2007, actors were paid an average of $500 per scene and in 2009 only $300 was paid. The fall can be attributed in part to the economic crisis, but free distribution over the Internet has had a greater impact. And not only in billing or movie budgets, but also in content.

Commercial productions in the San Fernando Valley tend to have high technical quality, but they usually represent clonic stereotyped contents. Free distribution, on the other hand, is providing more diverse and realistic content. The distribution of porn is mainly done through hosting services, that is, through sites like Youtube. On platforms like YouPorn, Xtube or PornHub, RedTube or Extreme Tube, the user uploads the videos. Many of them are fragments of commercial porn movies, but you can also see videos that users have made at home. The rise of amateur porn has greatly favored realism and diversity. According to the categories of these websites, we will find all kinds of practices, gender combinations, number of participants, ages, bodies, fetishes... For example, in the Instructional category you can find videos with an educational vocation and on the female friendly label you can find pornographic videos directed to women.

However, on these free websites commercial porn still has a lot of weight. In fact, many of the companies that offer paid porn usually place baits (low-quality short films) on free websites so that the user can access their sites and pay all of their content. In short, free pornographic spaces derive benefits from these other companies and from advertising.

One of the most prominent models of “more democratic” porn Porn For Everyone! (porn for everyone) is an initiative. The Canadian producer queer porno, founded by Charlie Spats, bases her activity on crowdfunding. The user can see several scenes for free in pornforeveryone.net, but anyone who wants to download full movies must pay for them. Films do not have a fixed price, the spectator will pay whatever he wants or can and also can choose which production to invest what he has voluntarily paid for. You can also suggest what you want to see in the movies. Besides being a mere spectator, financial or advisor, the user can be an actor. “whatever your gender, sexuality, constitution, race, or dexterity.” Porn for everyone and made for everyone.