Source: Versatile Media Group, Inc.
(CANOGA PARK, CA) — Would you steal from Ron Jeremy? Free Speech Coalition Launches Public Service Announcement Videos: Illegal Downloading has a Terrible Effect On People that Work in the Adult Industry
In two newly-released public service announcement videos, adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition appeals to consumers to consider performers like Jeremy, as well as thousands of creative professionals and workers – the people who suffer from the devastating impact that illegal downloading has on the adult industry.
”Consumers don’t realize that the adult entertainment industry employs thousands of people who work hard at building careers, from performers to production personnel to business professionals. From retail store owners to workers that stock the shelves in warehouses – working in adult is their job,” FSC Membership Director Joanne Cachapero said. ”And as in other forms of mainstream entertainment, illegal downloading and content theft have had a terrible effect on all people that work in the industry.”
Available on YouTube, the two PSA videos deliver a serious, but engaging, message – if you illegally download any type of entertainment content, you help create an environment where people that produce and sell content cannot make a living.
The first video, ”FSC All-Star Anti-Piracy PSA,” features adult industry performers including Lisa Ann (Hustler’s ”Who’s Nailin’ Paylin”), Wicked Pictures contract stars Alektra Blue and Kaylani Lei, AVN Best Actress of the Year 2010 Kimberly Kane, Joanna Angel (BurningAngel.com), Nicki Hunter (Playboy Radio), Julie Meadows, Sinnamon Love, Penthouse Pet Charlie Laine and adult industry icon Ron Jeremy, as well as XXX directors will Ryder (”not the Brady’s XXX”), Axel Braun (”Batman XXX: A Porn Parody”) and Cousin Stevie (Showtime’s ”Family Business”).
The second video spot, ”FSC ‘Turn a Frown Upside-Down’ PSA” highlights Penthouse Pet and XXX performer Charlie Laine, and sends a humorous, visual message to consumers about the evils of content theft.
”Though adult may be viewed by some as the illegitimate cousin of mainstream entertainment,” Cachapero added, ”It’s obvious that millions of people enjoy watching adult material. But illegal downloading is stealing product right out from under the people that produce it, no matter what kind of entertainment it is.”
Is it realistic to expect that free content can be eliminated from the Internet?
”Free content will continue to exist in some form,” Cachapero said. ”But, for example – when you get a free food sample at Costco, the idea is that if you like it, you’ll buy more of the product to take home. Tube sites and other sources of illegal content are like guys selling product in a back alley; they profit from other people’s hard work.” ”The adult industry wants consumers to enjoy what we create; but when revenue goes down because that product is being stolen, people lose their jobs,” she added. ”That affects families and communities, just as it would in another type of business. If you created a product and sold it to make a living, but it was stolen from you and distributed illegally – that’s just wrong.”
YouTube links to PSA videos: 1) FSC Turn a Frown Upside-Down PSA (Charlie Laine): www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE7xMI6vIVs
2) FSC All-Star Anti-Piracy PSA – full (retail use) version with text over picture: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xNzsTHA1nI
For more info please visit freespeechcoalition.com
About the Free Speech Coalition
The Free Speech Coalition was founded in 1991 by a group of concerned industry professionals in response to numerous government attacks against producers and retailers of adult products. Its roots are embedded deep within the birth and development of adult entertainment in the United States, and the organization has continued to grow with the industry’s own explosive growth, now representing all segments of adult entertainment on a national level.
The concept of an organization as a rallying point for those who believe in the free expression of adult-themed works began as early as 1970. The first truly national group to emerge was the Adult Film Association of America (AFAA). At the time, adult entertainment was only available in adult theaters and bookstores, so early members were largely theatrical exhibitors. With the advent of inexpensive home videos, the AFAA morphed into the Adult Film and Video Association of America (AFVAA).
The next significant event that galvanized the AFVAA was the arrest of Hal Freeman for pandering. Prosecutors wanted to establish once and for all that paying performers to have sex in a film was an act of prostitution. Freeman won that legal battle, which redefined the use of the pandering laws relative to providers of adult product. As video productions became the dominant factor in the marketplace, theatrical exhibition diminished. Video chains and many independent stores in suburbs and smaller cities started carrying adult fare. Overzealous law enforcement officials subjected more and more retailers to ”obscenity” charges. In 1990, under the first Bush administration, the Federal government attacked most of the major manufacturers of adult video with a sting operation designed to destroy the industry. In response, the Free Speech Legal Defense Fund (FSLDF) was formed by industry leaders to protect the rights of members in all areas of adult entertainment.
In 1992, as the government attack was blunted, the FSLDF decided to select a name more reflective of its broadened role in the adult community and the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) was born.
For Interviews Contact:
Joanne Cachapero
Membership Director
P.O. Box 10480
Canoga Park, CA 91309
Office: (818) 348-9373
