AVN (magazine) explained

Adult Video News
Category:Trade magazine
Total Circulation:40,000
Publisher:Tony Rios
Circulation Year:2006
Frequency:Monthly
Language:English
Based:Chatsworth, California, U.S.
Country:United States
Issn:0883-7090

Adult Video News (also called AVN or AVN Magazine) is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. The New York Times notes that AVN is to pornographic films what Billboard is to records. AVN sponsors an annual convention, called the Adult Entertainment Expo or AEE, in Las Vegas, Nevada along with the AVN Awards, an award show for the adult industry modeled after the Oscars.[1]

AVN rates adult films and tracks news developments in the industry. An AVN issue can feature over 500 movie reviews.[2] [3] The magazine is about 80% ads and is targeted at adult-video retailers. Author David Foster Wallace has described AVN articles to be more like infomercials than articles, but he also described the AVN magazine as "sort of the Variety of the US porn industry."[4]

History

Paul Fishbein, Irv Slifkin, and Barry Rosenblatt founded AVN in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Slifkin left in 1984; having lost interest in reviewing adult movies due to the industry's transition from film to videos. Rosenblatt and Fishbein had a falling out in 1987. Eventually, Fishbein moved the magazine to the San Fernando Valley where it operates to this day.[5] Fishbein sold the company in 2010.[6] Theo Sapoutzis became chairman and CEO of AVN.[7] Tony Rios became owner and CEO of AVN in August 2015.[8]

AVN is widely quoted for various figures about the adult industry and its revenues.[9] AVN estimated that the sales and rentals of adult videos topped four billion dollars in 2000 and 2002. Forbes has called this figure "baseless and wildly inflated". When Forbes asked AVN how it arrived at this figure, Mike Ramone the managing editor at the time responded, "I don't know the exact methodology... It's a pie chart." When asked to separate the figures for sales versus rentals, a standard practice among those who cover the video industry, the editor did not think those figures were available. Adams Media Research noted that no one tracked the adult video business with rigor or precision and that the most generous estimate of sales and rentals combined was $1.8 billion.[10] AVN estimated that adult industry revenue in 2005 was $12.6 billion with $2.5 billion of that coming from the Internet. However, ABC News reported that this figure could not be independently verified.[11] According to Michael Goodman of the Yankee Group, it is difficult to estimate for an industry where few companies are public and new providers continually appear.[12] By 2018, Dan Miller, AVN's managing editor said, "The safe estimate is to say it’s worth billions, but I don’t know exactly how many billion, and no one does."[13]

Notable alumni

publisher and editor-in-chief (2005–2010).[15] [16]

AVN Europe

In October 2007, AVN launched the first ever pan-European, English-language adult industry trade-magazine, AVN Europe, with editorial offices based in Budapest, Hungary. For about two years, AVN Europe published monthly issues with reviews and news items as well as in-depth background articles on such topics as historical development, distribution patterns and women's erotica. By mid-2009, following a change of editorial staff, the publication lowered its ambitions somewhat, focusing more on photos from trade shows and other light-weight content. It folded soon after; the last issue was June 2009.

Adult Entertainment Expo

See main article: AVN Adult Entertainment Expo.

AVN sponsors an annual convention, the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE), held each January in Las Vegas.[17] The Expo is the largest pornography industry trade show in the United States.[18]

Award Shows

AVN Adult Movie Awards

See main article: AVN Awards.

AVN also hosts an award show for the adult industry modeled after the Oscars.[19] [20] [21] The awards feature over 100 categories and has an attendance of over 3500 people.[22] David Foster Wallace skeptically noted that AVN, in 1997, reviewed over 4,000 new releases in every category in comparison to the 375 films that the Academy Awards were required to see for the Oscars. This number increased to 8,000 for the 2008 Awards and Paul Fishbein comments that it is "a very long, horrible process".[23] The New York Times noted that the "precise criteria for winning an AVN are not, well, explicit".[24] Awards often go to consistent advertisers in AVN.[25]

Sports columnist Bill Simmons commented that the Awards were "the most secretly captivating telecasts on TV" alongside the National Spelling Bee and Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.[26] Violet Blue, the sex writer, describes the Awards as "big backslapping event where the same companies and same names win year after year... To think of the 'porn Oscars' as a true representation of porn's very best is like having sex with a Jenna Jameson love doll and telling your friends you had sex with the porn star".[27] Even Tyla Winn, an award winner, had trouble remembering one of her sex scenes that was nominated.

GayVN Awards

See main article: GayVN Awards.

AVN also sponsors the GAYVN Awards which are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. Awards for gay adult video were a part of the AVN awards from 1988 to 1998. In 1999, AVN decided to separately host the GayVN Awards.

AVN Online

AVN produces a publication dedicated to online adult business trends. In print and on the web, AVN Online publishes articles devoted to the diverse adult internet experience, such as a story about the Village TV Gay News.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Steve Kroft . Porn In The U.S.A. . . September 5, 2004 . January 2, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080103014218/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/21/60minutes/main585049.shtml. January 3, 2008 . live.
  2. Web site: Frank Rich . Finally, Porn Does Prime Time . The New York Times . July 27, 2003 . August 9, 2014 . May 23, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130523024603/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/27/arts/27RICH.html?ei=5007&en=00eab4b1b37e54de&ex=1374638400&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=all&position= . live .
  3. News: DPA, Los Angeles . Porn loses seedy image, becomes mainstream in US . . July 17, 2003 . January 2, 2008 . June 28, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180628015723/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/07/17/2003059757 . live .
  4. Web site: David Foster Wallace. First Chapter – 'Consider the Lobster'. The New York Times. March 12, 2006. January 2, 2008. David Foster Wallace. April 25, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160425155808/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/books/chapters/0312-1st-wallace.html. live.
  5. News: Anthony Layser . Porn Supremacy . . January 9, 2008 . January 18, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080112175057/http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/16173 . January 12, 2008 . dead .
  6. News: Silicon and Silicone Split, as C.E.S. and Adult Entertainment Expo Part Ways. Nick Wingfield. January 9, 2012. The New York Times. January 10, 2012. January 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200130004836/https://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/silicon-and-silicone-split-as-c-e-s-and-porn-show-part-ways/. live.
  7. News: Street . Sharan . AVN Acquires Social Networking Site Adult Whos Who AVN . 7 May 2024 . AVN.
  8. News: Madler . Mark . Porn’s Insider . 7 May 2024 . San Fernando Valley Business Journal . 17 April 2016.
  9. News: Bill Keveney . Hollywood gets in bed with porn . . October 16, 2003 . January 2, 2008 . June 26, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120626085923/http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-10-16-porn_x.htm . live .
  10. Dan Ackman . How Big Is Porn? . . May 25, 2001 . January 2, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20071213075014/http://www.forbes.com/2001/05/25/0524porn.html%20. December 13, 2007 . live.
  11. Web site: Jonathan Silverstein . Is Porn a Growing or Shrinking Business? . . January 19, 2006 . January 2, 2008 . February 2, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080202155037/http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1522119 . live .
  12. News: San Fernando's Open Secret. Sue Chen. November 25, 2002. CBS News. December 11, 2014. December 29, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181229190501/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/san-fernandos-open-secret/. live.
  13. News: Porn could have a bigger economic influence on the US than Netflix . 7 May 2024 . Yahoo Tech . 21 June 2018.
  14. AVN Names New Managing Editor . https://archive.today/20120709163841/http://business.avn.com/articles/11738.html . dead . July 9, 2012 . Adult Video News . January 26, 2000 . April 16, 2008 .
  15. News: Jessica . Gelt . Anthony Lovett dies at 52; humorist wrote 'L.A. Bizarro' guidebook . January 28, 2014 . . January 29, 2014 . January 29, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140129053121/http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-anthony-lovett-20140129,0,7307930.story . live .
  16. http://business.avn.com/articles/video/Tony-Lovett-Steps-Down-as-AVN-Publisher-Editor-to-Pursue-Creative-Ventures-418258.html "Tony Lovett Steps Down as AVN Publisher and Editor-in-Chief to Pursue Creative Ventures
  17. Web site: From actors to accounting firms, annual AVN Expo in Las Vegas offers a diverse landscape. Las Vegas Sun . 26 January 2024.
  18. News: Ex-stripper evangelizes to sex industry . Stephen Clark . . April 1, 2006 . January 4, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20071209172439/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002903581_stripper01.html. December 9, 2007 . live.
  19. News: The Oscars of porn. July 25, 2007. January 9, 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. October 15, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071015151252/http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/the-oscars-of-porn/2006/01/09/1136655116166.html. live.
  20. News: Porn: The Valley's secret industry. July 25, 2007. Brent Hopkins. June 3, 2007. Los Angeles Daily News. ...earned seven Adult Video News awards, referred to as the Oscars of porn.. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070606225512/http://www.dailynews.com/ci_6039690?source=most_emailed. June 6, 2007.
  21. Porn's Big Night. July 25, 2007. David Schmader. March 9, 2000. The Stranger. ...the most prestigious event in the world of adult film: the Adult Video News Awards, hereby known as the AVNs, popularly known as the porno Oscars.. June 24, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180624010335/https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=3400. live.
  22. News: Stuart McGurk . And the winner is ... . . March 4, 2006 . January 4, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080110225513/http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/features/story/0%2C%2C1721656%2C00.html . January 10, 2008 . live .
  23. Web site: Adam Tanner . Porn industry seeks recognition with annual awards . . January 14, 2008 . January 15, 2008 . April 6, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090406130622/http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTON50445020080115?sp=true . live .
  24. News: Matt Richtel . A Night to See the Stars Actually Wearing Clothes . The New York Times . January 10, 2006 . January 5, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20111012210105/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/national/10porn.html. October 12, 2011. live.
  25. https://web.archive.org/web/20090313234709/http://www.mywire.com/a/LosAngelesMagazine/teenager-porn-star-will-18yearold/1938923?page=4 The teenager & the porn star: will 18-year-old Sasha Grey become the adult film industry's next Jenna Jameson?
  26. Web site: Bill Simmons . Great sports any way you spell it . . May 31, 2002 . January 2, 2008 . June 3, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080603233901/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1389130&type=story . live .
  27. News: Violet Blue . The Rise of Indie Porn? . . January 18, 2007 . January 4, 2008 . Violet Blue (author) . https://web.archive.org/web/20080106085936/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fg%2Fa%2F2007%2F01%2F18%2Fvioletblue.DTL . January 6, 2008 . live .

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