Gillian Orr ponders the potential of Offbeatr, a site for crowdfunding porn:
This could potentially have a democratising effect on porn, with previously short-changed fans (namely women) being given a say as to the sorts of films that get made. Erika Lust, a feminist writer and director of pornography, isn’t quite so sure: “I don’t think that will be the case. There is still a long way to go until women are considered significant porn consumers as it is. Also, it’s my belief that change in the industry will come from film-makers who are dedicated to creating erotica and particularly their own vision, regardless of funding and popular opinion.”
Lux Alptraum agrees that many projects seems to be faltering but names a notable exception:
Almost a year after the site’s launch, many projects are still struggling to get the votes needed to advance into the funding stage (unlike most crowdfunding sites, Offbeatr requires project creators to collect a set number of votes before they begin soliciting donations as a way of proving the viability of the project). Even some promising projects created by talented, experienced people seem to be floundering. “Come to Me When You Are Ready,” a film by the award winning adult filmmaker Erika Lust, has received a mere 17% of the votes required to move on to the fundraising stage; Mormonboyz.com’s campaign to fund a film scheduled to debut last fall is similarly stalled. …
To date, thirteen projects have been successfully funded by Offbeatr. Most had modest goals, which certainly helped their success (though it should be noted that one project managed to raise almost $200k). And many of them were created by established artists with loyal fan bases — a hallmark of quite a few crowdfunding successes, adult or not. But there is one thing that sets Offbeatr’s successful projects apart from those found on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Crowdrise: the majority of them have come from members of the furry community.
In other furry news, WM. Ferguson was in Pittsburgh for the Fourth of July weekend and noticed that, aside from unusually enthusiastic Pirates fans, something about the city seemed strange:
I saw another guy having a cigarette outside the convention center. He had fox ears, a matching tail and big fur boots, and I asked him what was going on. He told me he was in town for Anthrocon — a convention for fans of anthropomorphism, commonly known as furries.
It was a perfect alignment of misunderstood subcultures: Pirates fans and furries. The furries’ ascendancy seems the more assured of the two. Although the Pirates had the best record in baseball the weekend I was in Pittsburgh — which hasn’t happened this late in the summer since I can’t remember — Anthrocon was having its strongest convention ever, having grown to more than 5,000 furries since it started in Albany for a few hundred like-minded anthropomorphs in the late ’90s. This year, The Post-Gazette estimated, Anthrocon would bring an estimated $6.2 million to the city. The attendees would also try for the world record for the largest parade of people in fur suits.
Previous Dish on Offbeatr here.
The Dish 