While consumers of porn enjoy watching it, they rarely consider the actresses and actors at the heart of the films. But why do people become porn performers? How much do they get paid and does this depend on what they do? Hay, who is British-born, co-founded the company in after performing as an adult actor himself. Overseeing and managing the pay of his clients is part of his job. The pay for adult performers is not set in stone, and usually vastly depends on what they are willing to do.

Jenna Jameson is one of few to earn a million dollar paycheck in the porn industry. The name Mark Spiegler, a top talent agent in a different billion dollar entertainment industry, may not ring as many bells. Spiegler's boutique firm, Spiegler Girls, represents a small group of elite women and is regarded as one of the industry's top agencies in the Hollywood of porn: The San Fernando Valley. But while many aspects of the business are changing — from the just-passed L. County measure requiring condom use in adult movies to shrinking profits — 40 million to 50 million people in the U. According to Spiegler, there is a relatively straightforward scale for performances by an in-demand actress:. According to THR, "guy-on-guy pornography has a separate pay scale; most agents in the mainstream straight porn world, including Spiegler, do not represent gay men.

There's a well-worn porn cliche about the college student-turned-actress who decided to have sex in front of a camera in order to pay off her student loans. Like many cliches, it's rarely true — but it's worth wondering: How big are paychecks in the porn business, anyway? Money is a topic that's shrouded in mystery in the adult entertainment world.

Being a porn star might not be the kind of job you'd like to write home to your parents or your granny about, but it turns out it could actually be a pretty lucrative means of paying the bills - if you're into that kind of thing. The Independent recently spoke to Derek Hay - former porn star and founder of LA Direct Models, which represents a number of the leading adult performers in the industry - to find out whether money in the bank is the real incentive for these professional sex-havers. According to Derek, the money varies from porn star to porn star depending on their status, who their agent is and various other factors, but there is basic rate of pay to be expected. So how do the male salaries compare?