8A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY MARCH 23 2009
ECONOMY
Adult entertainment jobs attract women Strip clubs,adult films and magazines see increase in applicants in tight economy
BY KAREN HAWKINS Associated Press
CHICAGO — As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago's Pink Monkey gentleman's club, she makes almost that much in one good night.
The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler.
Brebcca Brown begins her first three-song set of the evening at the Pink Monkey gentleman's club in Chicago, Feb. 23. Brown, 29, is among a growing number of women across the country who, faced with a tough job market and bills to pay, have left their day jobs to work in adult entertainment.
Employers across the adult entertainment industry said they're seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.
"You're seeing a lot more beautiful women who are eligible to do so many other things," said Gus Poulos,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
general manager of New York City's Sin City gentleman's club. He said he got 85 responses in just one day to a recent job posting on Craigslist
The transition to the nightclub scene isn't always a smooth one —
"In the past, people have said this industry is recession-proof ... maybe recession-resistant."
from learning to dance in five-inch heels to dealing with the jeers of some customers.
ERIC WOLD Director of research
Eva Stone, a 25-year-old dancer at the Pink Monkey, said dealing with occasional verbal abuse from patrons required "a thick skin."
"Once you decide to be an adult
actress, it impacts your relationship with everyone," said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of adult film giant Vivid Entertainment Group. "Once you make an adult film, it never goes away."
Makers of adult films cautioned that women shouldn't rush into the decision to make adult movies without considering the effect on their lives.
For some, dancing is temporary, a way to pay for college loans or other bills. Others say they've found their niche.
Dancers at the upscale Rick's Caberet clubs in New York City and Miami can make $100,000 to $300,000 a year — in cash — even with the economic downturn, club spokesman Allan Prialy said.
Priaux said 20 to 30 women a week applied for jobs at the New York club, double the number of a year ago.
Rhode Island's Foxy Lady held a job fair Saturday, seeking to fill about 35 positions for dancers, masseuses, bartenders and bouncers. The Providence Journal reported that more than 150 job seekers showed up to apply for work at
Still, analysts say, the industry isn't immune to the eco-
the strip club. Foxy Lady co-owner Tom Toumas said a recent promotion to cut prices helped the club regain business lost due to the bad economy, forcing it to hire more employees.
nomic recession. Business is down an estimated 30 percent across all segments, including adult films, gentleman's clubs, magazines and novelty shops, said Paul Fishbein, president of AVN Media Network, an adult entertainment company that has a widely distributed trade publication and an award show.
"In the past, people have said this industry is recession-proof," said Eric Wold, director of research for financial services firm Merriman
Curhan Ford. "I definitely don't see that; maybe resistance-resistant."
Strip club dancers and managers said they were drawing in the same number of customers, but fewer high rollers.
Wold and others said it was almost impossible to estimate the size of
"They're not getting the big spenders," said Angelina Spencer, executive director of the Association of Club Executives, a trade group for adult nightclubs. "They're not getting the guys who come in and drop $3,000 to $4,000 a night anymore."
Still, the clubs' operating structure leaves them with low overhead and profit margins of up to 50 percent. Wold said.
the adult entertainment industry because few companies were publicly traded. He does pay close attention to three that are: Lakewood, Colo.-based VCG Holding and Houston-based Rick's Caberet, which own clubs, and New Frontier Media, a Boulder, Colo.-based adult film producer and distributor.
Rebecca Brown talks about the economics of being a stripper as Eva Stone, background, works on her makeup before dancing at the Pink Monkey gentleman's club in Chicago. From strip club owners to filmmakers, employers across the adult entertainment industry said they were seeing an influx of applications from women like Brown and Stone, who were drawn in by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash.
Dancers are independent contractors, paying clubs a nightly flat fee depending on how long they work. At the Pink Monkey, for example, dancers who arrive at 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday pay a $40 "house fee," while women who don't arrive until midnight pay $90. And they keep their tips.
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All three are profitable.
Adult magazines also are struggling along with the larger publish
Rick's Caberet had $60 million in revenue in its 2008 fiscal year, up from $32 million the year before, Wold said, and he estimates VCG will have $57 million for last year, compared with $40.5 million in FY2007. New Frontier Media generates more than $400 million in consumer buying a year.
Larry Flynt, whose half-billion dollar Hustler empire publishes magazines, produces and distributes films and operates a casino, said he's continued to do well. But he doesn't expect those who are solely in the film business to survive.
ing industry, and have to cut pages like everyone else.
But the economic realities aren't keeping jobseakers away.
Vivid Entertainment's Hirsch said the number of women in his business had doubled in the last couple years, with roughly 800 working as adult actresses. "It is more competitive than I've seen it in 25 years," he said.