So how much is the business worth? Some of the most acclaimed research agencies in the world say that the business is worth anywhere between $500 million to $10 billion. In other word, not many people have a clue as to how much it is worth in America. Worldwide figures are out of the question. One of the obvious problems faced by these agencies is that there are very few adult entertainment companies that are publicly traded. Another fascinating exercise is watching analysts take a call on the future earnings of these companies. It is like having a 3rd grade student write a 7th grade examination.

So what is legit porn and what is not? Nobody seems to know for sure. Some of the premium production houses insist that the actors wear condoms while they perform. But some of the not-so premium producers argue that since they are in the business of selling fantasy, the presence of a condom devalues the product. Another industry rule is the insistence of monthly testing for HIV. Every actor needs to show his HIV negative certificate to his co-stars before the shoot begins. This seemingly non-complicated rule is again broken time and again.

Recently there has been a hue and cry about the outsourcing of jobs in various industries to low cost providers like India and China. But the porn industry has been openly practicing outsourcing for years together. This has been done in terms of locations and actors. One of the places in the world that seems to have both in abundance is Brazil. Brazil has some of the most eye-popping locations for any kind of filmmaking. But the sun, sand and surf of Sao Paulo are perfect porn. Combine this with the fact that there are actresses in Brazil who have no hassles performing without condoms. This ensures that the overall cost of production is lowered without any compromise in the quality of the final product. They seem to conveniently forget the fact that the incidence of HIV amongst prostitutes in Brazil exceeds 90 percent.

A recent incident has shaken up the entire porn industry in America. Darren James (screen name), one of America’s veteran porn stars was shooting for a movie in Brazil. The next month he was back in America, where he was working again on a different movie. While in America, he performed extensively with an actress named Laura Rox. Not once during the shoot did Darren show Laura his HIV negative certificate. Laura who is a relative new comer in the industry did not ask for it either. Darren’s Brazilian shoot resulted in him contracting the HIV virus. He passed it on to Laura. She is 22 years old. But it doesn’t end there. Darren and Laura went on to perform with host of other actors and actresses before they were discovered with the virus. These actors and actresses went on to perform with others. The ironic part of the whole Brazilian affair is that Brazilian actors will not perform with their female counterparts without a condom. But American actors do not seem to have a problem.

For the first time ever, all the producers, both big and small have agreed to stop production for a period of 60 days. More than 60 actors and actresses have been quarantined and are repeatedly being tested. 6 have already tested positive. So is this the end of the road for the industry. Apparently not if one goes by what the stock market. analysts are saying.