Here’s My Question: Can a Network Re-sell My Shows?

Wait, what? A network can redistribute recordings of your live shows?

The answer is — in a nutshell — yes.

A distressed model recently posted this on a forum:

I just had a customer tell me he purchased a video of one of my privates for 2.99! First of all, I didn’t get paid for it. Second, it was a RECORDED PRIVATE SESSION that I had with another customer!

 

I DID NOT allow this and I cannot even SEE the video anywhere on my page, yet four customers confirmed it was true. It was in “my videos,” and I don’t even see a “my videos” [tab/option].

 

I didn’t get to set the price, and I had NO IDEA that [the network] had access to my private shows or that I had no control over what they sold in it!! What’s going on!??!

 

[Edited for clarity and anonymized.]

People responded thoroughly and kindly to this model’s distress. Here’s a summary of key points and important things to be aware of.

1) A network has authorization to sell, record, and promote your live feed however they see fit if you agreed to that kind of clause in your original contract.

This means not only do they have every single show you’ve ever done recorded and saved for their own records and safety, but they also have the right to do whatever they want with the live feeds and the footage, especially if they are in the white label game. Most are.

2) A white label product is goods or a service produced by one company that other companies then re-brand and market as their own. So, for example, imagine Company A manufactures a water-based lube. If Company A is in the white label game, any number of other companies can then paste their label on that same lube, creating a uniquely branded iteration of the exact same product.

The same goes for cam sites. Networks can white label their feeds for other sites — hundreds, even thousands of them. The “skin” overlaying the white labeled site will be unique, but the content or feed will be composed of the network’s base product.

3) White labeled sites have some good points, mainly that they get more traffic into your room. But they also spread your image out to every corner of the internet, and you have no say in how white label sites are branded. So, for example, even if a site is raunchier than you’d like or doesn’t align with your politics, religion, views about the environment or foreign policy, etc., you have no control over whether your image or feed is used on that site if your network opts to do business with it.

4) On most networks, you can opt out of having your feed spread around — just contact model support. Remember, though: Setting restrictions on where and how your feed may be used could cause the network not to promote your room.

From network recording and low-price clip sales to capping and piracy, you must keep in mind that anything you say or do on cam lives forever on the interwebs. There are certainly tricks and tactics you can use to limit your redistribution exposure — like incorporating copyrighted material such as posters or music in your performance, watermarking your feed, or saying your name over and over again — but these types of behaviors quickly will raise the ire of your network.

At the end of the day, free porn is available everywhere. If networks are able to garner a significant amount of money via your pre-recorded shows, you may wish to speak with them about royalties. Bear in mind, though: Low-cost or free pre-recorded clips may be a form of marketing — an attempt to pique the interest of people tired of porny porn or a sort of trailer to show existing cam lovers what they get when they pay to access you live. As such, low-cost or free clips may very well make you money by driving traffic to your room.

The key issue here is to make sure you pay attention to all the elements of contracts you sign with networks. Opting in or out of certain promotional elements certainly will have an impact on your placement in the promotional pecking order. You must weigh this against your own comfort level and goals to make sure camming works, first and foremost, for you.

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Got something you want to share? Tips or rage-inducing incidents from which other models may benefit? Email erika@ynotcam.com. I’d love to hear from you!