People are quick to say there will never be another Jenna Jameson. But is that true?
The average performer today would have to do 4 to 8 scenes to make as much as Jenna Jameson did for a single scene some 10 years ago. Without a doubt time, have changed, but not necessarily for the better.
While some of this can be attributed to the changing market and loss of VHS/DVD sales. Some of it has to do with brand building. The more famous you are, the more your movies sale. The more your movies sale, the more people will pay you to be in them. It really is that simple.
Even performers in Jenna’s day didn’t make as much money as she did. Why? Because she had a bigger brand. A VP at Vivid once told me that they paid Jenna Jameson as much as they did to be in movies because they were all but guaranteed a return on that investment. Any movie she was in was guaranteed to sell 25k units, right out of the gate – far more than a movie starring any other girl in the adult industry at that time or since then. No movie today sells more than 1,000 to 1,500 units.
Brand building is vital. You can’t just be in a bunch of gonzo fuck flicks and hope to be the next Jenna Jameson. You have to do as much work at marketing yourself as you do on anything else.
Jenna Jameson starred in fewer movies than people seem to realize. She didn’t even do 1 movie a month. In fact, in 1998 she did like 5 movies. In 1999 she did about 7, and she also did 7 movies in the year 2,000. Basically, she did about 1 movie every other month.
This is Jenna Jameson’s best selling movie, it’s called Jenna Jameson is The Masseuse. The year Jenna Jameson did this movie, she filmed like 3 movies that entire year.
But just because she wasn’t on a set didn’t mean her job was over. She would spend hours every single day working on building her brand. She would do interviews, make public appearances as stores and sign autographs. She would also spend time visiting distributors and meet with the warehouse workers who were shipping out her movies, and take photos with them. All at a time before social media. She was building her fan base the hard way., one fan at a time.
She knew that she had to get her name out there and one way to do that was to get her mug in men’s magazines and she did what it took to make that happen. Not a month went by that Jenna Jameson wasn’t in at least one magazine and often times she was on the cover of two or three.
I’m not saying Jenna Jameson is perfect. God, we all know that isn’t the truth. She has made many mistakes in her life and she has problems – personal demons. But this is a look at what she did in her career and with her brand versus what performers today are doing.
Are you willing to put in the HOURS and time it takes to be famous? Because it is possible to be a true star but it’s hard work. It doesn’t just happen. You have to make it happen. You have to bend over backward and really put in the HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS every single day in building your brand.
So many say they are, but almost nobody actually does it. Lots and lots of girls are great at giving lip service.
And let me tell you, sitting on your ass and being on social media isn’t what I’m talking about here.
Making 100 movies a year isn’t going to get you there either. That actually may work against you. You have to be willing to spend the time AND MONEY to be that star. Be willing to fly to New York, or Miami (or wherever) and do interviews on your dime.
Taylor Swift didn’t become a megastar just because she is talented. Her parents invested an enormous amount of money into making it happen. She put in the time, they put in the money.
If you do what it takes to be that famous and then just watch how much your boy/girl rate increases. There is a reason why celeb sex tapes sell for so much money because the girl is famous. Make yourself that famous and make that much money! Get that $5k to $10k rate. You can do it!
But it’s not going to just happen to you. You have to work your ass off. You have to put in the time and I don’t mean on your phone or at the gym wishing you could get things done. I mean actually stop talking about it, get off your ass and make it a reality. Be the next big star.
Building your brand is far more important than the total number of movies you do. You can do less movies and make more money if you build up your name. People will pay you more money to do a movie because you are more famous.
It’s simple math.
There is a reason why a celebrity is paid six figures for a movie and you are paid $800. That’s because the celeb’s brand is bigger than yours. But that doesn’t mean your brand can’t be that big.
You may not be able to do it in the same way that Jenna Jameson did 10 years ago, as times really have changed since social media, but it is possible. You just have to have the same mindset as her. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to be a STAR, a real star.
Some girls and I won’t mention any names to make fun of them, refuse to promote any movies they have starred in because they aren’t paid residuals. That’s so short sided. Because the more a movie sales, the more likely that company is to want to hire you again and the more you are sought after, the more money you can demand per scene.
What do you do on your days off? You don’t need to answer that because any answer you give is wrong. If you truly want to be a huge star then you don’t have any days off. Because when you aren’t on the set of your next movie, you should be working on your building your brand and marketing yourself.
Anyone can say they want to be the next big star but there is a reason why so few actually do it. It’s hard work and most aren’t cut out for it.
3 Responses
Piracy and Cam Models have killed the porn industry. It will continue to limp along for at least a few more years but the days of raking in the cash for the studios and performers is over. There will never be another huge mega star.
Jenna also did it without ever performing anal or DP, or, if I’m not mistaken, IR. In fact, she may be the last “star” who finished her career without doing anal and DP. I think Lisa Ann may have been the last porn star to approach Jenna for name recognition and visibility, and at the end of her first career, she was regularly doing all three, and, like Julia Ann, did at least one double anal. I first career, because Lisa Ann is back performing in front of the camera, at least for her own site. Which, hey, may say everything you need to know about Lisa Ann. She’s calling her own shots. It was certainly a different time during Jenna’s reign.
@bt Lisa Ann had short-term notoriety, not fame. As Sarah Palin’s flame burned out, so did Lisa Ann’s level of recognition.