It’s been a roller coaster of a decade for the adult industry. 

At the dawn of the 2010s, tube sites like PornHub seemed poised to bring traditional porn studios and productions crashing down by way of free content and piracy. In the middle of the decade, some of the industry’s biggest stars were accused of sexual assault and misconduct. 

But the #MeToo movement, along with the rise of cam sites, performer-generated content and new technology has given the industry new hope, imbuing this year’s XBIZ—a weeklong conference for the adult business—with an air of tentative optimism. 

Over the course of this week, the conference rendered the first two floors of the Andaz West Hollywood awash in frosty white decor, with neon pinks and purples illuminating life-sized posters of young women in lingerie, gazing invitingly at the attendees. On Tuesday morning, as the smell of the hotel’s bacon-y breakfast ushered in the start of the day and the conference, I saw, among many others, middle-aged men glad-handing one another; a pair of pink-haired starlets with impossibly luminous skin; and women in their mid-thirties and up projecting epic wisdom, their cinched waists encased in leopard print and black dresses or onesies.

Unlike its splashier sister AVN (held next week in Las Vegas), XBIZ has its head in the game. It’s about examining industry trends rather than celebrating accomplishments; informal networking over unabashed self-promotion. It’s the understated black minidress to AVN’s sequined ball gown.

For three days I pinballed from panel to panel, listening as veterans and newbies alike spoke about the future of marketing porn and adult content on social media, building brands and brand partnerships, performer-generated clips and more.

Here are some highlights from five of my favorite talks.

Playboy Plus Presents: The Value of Brand Partnerships
In a small meeting room on the second floor, about seven rows of standard-issue hotel chairs faced forward towards three speakers: Playboy’s Holly Ruprecht; Elsa Jean, an adult performer who was recently featured in the magazine’s Equality Issue; and Ana Foxxx, also an adult performer and a Playboy Plus model.

For 50 minutes, the trio discussed the importance of brand partnerships and the need for performers and content creators to be smart and deliberate about developing their own brands.

Elsa Jean has been in the industry for five years, has a Fleshlight deal and was recently featured in Playboy’s Equality Issue. Building her highly successful brand—at age 23, she has over 1.5 million followers on Instagram—depended on creating clear boundaries for her online persona; working with the right people, including good publicists, lawyers and techies.

“You have to stay away from toxic stuff, because that is your brand if you engage,” she said. 

Ana Foxxx, also a Playboy Plus model with her own Fleshlight, defined her brand by noticing something missing in the industry when she started out. 

“I didn’t see anyone that looked like me,” she said. “I wanted to make sure I was seen as a positive woman of color.” 

Now, Foxxx describes her brand in downright delightful terms. 

“The Ana Foxxx brand is elegant chocolate in slow motion,” she said. “I always imagine it being like a Godiva chocolate commercial… just with dicks and vagina in it.”

Virtual Vibracy: Elevating VR Content Through Intimacy and Immersion
Five years ago, virtual reality was the talk of the adult industry; many leaders in the business thought it would be their salvation in the face of rampant piracy. But as was the case in the mainstream tech world, VR appealed primarily to a niche audience—a group of people who are willing to “go through all of the hurdles of getting the headset out, putting on the headset and watching,” said director and producer Anna Lee. 

Nevertheless, as creators forge ahead in this space, certain best practices are coming to light. Among the most apparent? Connect deeply with the camera. 

“With VR, you’re not just fucking in front of the camera; you are incorporating the camera into the performance,” said creator and performer Ela Darling. “You have to connect with the viewer as though they are a part [of] the experience with you… in VR, authenticity is key.” 

“Yes” Means “Yes”: Making Porn in the #MeToo Era
Like so many other industries, adult is grappling with how to foster safe work spaces—but how do you navigate sexual harassment or violence in a workplace where people’s job is having sex? Checking in, empowering everyone on set to speak up, and taking responsibility at every level. 

Director and performer Lance Hart checks in with actors and actresses every minute and a half during filming to make sure that they are comfortable with what’s happening.

“What we want to avoid as a director is having the model say, ‘I can get through this, I don’t want to stop,’” he said.

JohnPaul the Pope, a director specializing in BDSM and kink, ensures that his crew feels safe letting him know if something doesn’t look right: “Empower your crew. Tell them, ‘If you see something, say something.”

Companies like Kink.com provide check sheets for performers to specify what they are and are not comfortable doing. In the absence of that, said performer Lotus Lain, actors have to look out for themselves. 

“I have the direct responsibility to have this conversation with my scene partner,” she said. “It’s on us.” 

Trans Talk: Stop Giving Away So Much for Free!
In this roundtable discussion, one thing became clear: Just as mainstream society changes and expands to make space for all genders and sexual identities, so too does porn—and it also faces learning curves. 

Conversation topics during this 50-minute talk included how to respectfully ask for someone’s personal pronoun, best practices when it comes to showing genitalia on Twitter and whether trans women should be featured with or without the proverbial asterisk under the “women” vertical on cam sites.

Moderator Steven Grooby, CEO of Grooby Productions, noted that “there isn’t a lot of full-time work for trans performers,” which creates a barrier for such actors to have a steady stream of income. 

All present agreed that time, patience and the continued presence of trans performers and allies was the way to move the needle.

State of the Industry
This one was held in the largest of the four panel rooms. The space was standing-room-only only before it began, and yet the presentation could perhaps be best summed up by moderator Gunner Taylor’s interjection less than 10 minutes into his opening questions:

“This panel is really dragging.” 

He wasn’t wrong. By the end of the second day of the conference, attendees and panelists alike were visibly drained. Which isn’t to say that they were discouraged; the state of the industry seems to be tired, but grateful. Grateful that they still have jobs, grateful that things are looking up and even grateful for the unknowable but exciting future. 

“As time moves along, adult content is being more accepted,” said Greg Clayman, the CEO of Flirtforfree.com. “I think we can all agree on that. It’s not like it was 25 years ago, when I had this dirty little secret I had to keep.” 

Brad Mitchell, the owner of Mojohost, contributed another note of optimism. 

“Ten years ago, the feeling in the room was pretty fucking dismal, because of piracy,” he said. “But it’s come full circle…. We have come back to a place where content is king. Now, power is kind of back to the performer, and the people.”