The Porn Map
An Overview of the Porn Industry

If you're thinking about getting into the porn industry, you need to realize where (and most likely travel or relocate to where) most of the porn is shot in the United States. 

The Los Angeles, California area (specifically the San Fernando Valley) is the primary place where most of the major porn studios and agencies are based. 

Slowly but surely South Florida (specifically Miami) is becoming a major porn base as well and is currently the #2 area where porn is shot and produced (Venetian Studios - who produces the content for BangBros.com - one of the most popular online adult websites is based out of Miami). 

Las Vegas, Nevada has a minor amount of porn shot in it's city but not nearly as much as Los Angeles or Miami.

A very small amount of porn is shot in Phoenix, AZ and New York City as well, but not nearly as much as in the major porn studio areas.

Adult & Porn Industry Chart

Below is a color coded listing of areas within the adult & porn industries, from what's viewed as the mild to softcore to hardcore arenas. Many women start in the softcore arenas and gradually progress into the hardcore, but some start within the hardcore arenas from the beginning.

Now of course there are endless specific niches within each of the above areas such as "fetish" solo scenes (ex: foot fetish) and domination scenes (ex: a man dominating a woman).

Also keep in mind, the only LEGAL places in the USA where you can escort are in Nevada. One example of a LEGAL brothel is The Bunny Ranch.

I personally don't know much about legal brothels including The Bunny Ranch, nor have I ever been to one. However in my opinion, you're better off working legally than illegally so if you're going to be an escort, do it legally and in a legal location - otherwise be VERY careful and adhere to the legal guidelines of what an "escort" or "companion for hire" actually is rather than a "prostitute".

Being a porn performer is completely different from being an escort in my view. I'm not suggesting anyone become an escort, nor am I saying you shouldn't explore the world of escorting. I'm simply providing young women with the facts as I see and know them.

A Common Path of a Porn Performer

Most women who enter the porn world, whether independently or through an agency (or perhaps a little of both), follow a general path from the "softcore" to the "hardcore". 

Of course there are always exceptions and variations, but once you pass a certain "point of no return" it's difficult to backtrack to find studios that will shoot you in a "less hardcore" scene. These general porn roads can potentially lead to undesirable situations which I've outlined in detail in the "Porn Industry Dangers & Problems" area of of my book.

Now you might ask, "Why didn't the girl just stop after booking Girl/Girl scenes or Boy/Girl scenes?" 

Well, because often times studios want to "push" a girl into a more extreme category so they can claim to be the 1st studio with such a scene of the girl. 

Sometimes agents/managers will lie to a girl and say that the work has "dried up or slow", but if she's "comfortable" working in a more extreme category they'll be able to find her work again, when in reality the agent is simply expanding the girl's "available for" list to increase his own commission cut as more extreme scenes do generally pay more. 

Other times a studio will offer a girl a "bonus" if she were to for example, do her first anal scene or gang-bang scene for them.

Now of course, some women simply WANT to go as extreme as possible, as soon as possible, but it all depends on the individual and it all SHOULD be entirely up to the individual. 

Many women have the goal of obtaining a CONTRACT with a studio which can be both a good and/or bad thing. 

Good points of a contract: You are paid a salary (guaranteed amount of money), you generally work with a smaller talent pool which can lower your risk of contracting certain STDS, you generally are in a very professional working environment, and the studio actively and heavily promotes your image. Women such as Jenna Jameson, Brianna Banks and Heather Hunter were "Contract Girls". 

Drawbacks of a contract: You may wind up not getting along with people you're locked into working with, you basically have to do as you're told and work with who you're told to work with, you are obligated to make appearances, and you are "locked in" to only working for that studio for whatever amount of time your contract states. Many times the studio may even OWN or trademark your name - so if you choose to leave (end your contract) you can never use that name (alias) in the porn world again. 

Of course as times and the industry changes, the terms of contracts will change as well.

My suggestion is that you check the "Building a Solid Pre-Porn Foundation" section of my book before you even consider beginning.

Areas within the Porn Industry

Many women who enter the porn industry as performers eventually find that there are many other areas within the porn industry of which they can find success, once they no longer want to perform. 

This isn't 100% complete but it gives you a good idea as to how vast the world of porn is.