The Irresistible Rise of Porn: The Untold Story of a Global Industry

This article focuses on the historical roots of pornography in different media. Theoretically, it is built upon the premise that there is a substantial and persistent audience demand for sexually explicit content and that new technologies have helped to overcome traditional hindrances often associated with accessing, producing and distributing this kind of material. We aim to go beyond a simple technological deterministic approach and focus on both user and supply side. The development from early printing to the development of photography and moving pictures in the 19th century and from 20th century media innovation developments will be tracked. Cases will be used to demonstrate the ways porn and adult content has been commodified from naughty pictures and stories for few into a global industry that serves mass audiences across number of media formats. The commodification of pornographic content in mass media formats is also developing earnings logics and business models of its own. The article will draw attention to the consumers’ relationship to the market and industry practices that are particular to adult content businesses. Finally, it will illuminate how attitudes, legal and moral issues in relation to the content itself have shifted; making room for development of business practices that reveal important aspects in relation to privacy, marketing strategies, monetary transactions, technological and cross media innovations in market economy.