Anyone who has seen Michael Lucas perform in front of the camera knows that he isn't one for bending over. But after starting his own video production company in 1997, he felt like he had to do it repeatedly when dealing with his distributor.
"An explanation I heard was, 'You are not our only customer. We have thirty lines, we cannot talk to you every day.' Well you know what? You need to talk to me, because that's not my problem if you have thirty other lines. I am the only one, and that's how we treat everybody at Lucas Distribution: You are the only one and you are the most important," Lucas says.
It was that distaste that led the New York-based performer-producer-director to add yet another title to his successful resume and start Lucas Distribution last year. "I will never give the answer, 'You are not our only customer.' This is not acceptable in business. My cell phone is available twenty-four hours to any client that wants to talk to me. I am always available to my clients, I always call back immediately, I always e-mail back. And I'm not putting it on anybody else, I'm doing it directly."
The crown jewel for the company is Titan Media, which now partners non-exclusively with Lucas for nationwide distribution after initially starting with just New York stores. "Titan Media is Number One in sales. Anyone can say whatever they want, but that's true. It's the hottest thing."
The Lucas Distribution stable also includes Lucas Kazan Productions, home of the king of Italian romance with hits like Decameron; Marcostudio, the successful Brazilian line and home to the 8 Inches titles; new company El Dorado, whose Lust in Translation secured a GAYVN nomination; Dragon Media, whose Whiplash won a GAYVN award for Best Specialty Release; and Euros Films' Czeski Friends, the new project by Phil St. John and SilverCities Entertainment. The latest companies to be taken onboard are South American-focused Alexander Pictures (The Tail of Thomas) and Matt Sterling Films which has just released A Matter of Size 2.
Lucas started as a performer in 1995 and has drawn upon his wealth of experience in front of and behind the camera. That experience has given him a unique wealth of knowledge that he says many companies lack, enabling him to develop strong bonds with his clients. "I'm not taking thirty to forty trashy companies on board," Lucas says. "In my office there is a pile of DVDs from people represented by other distributors who desperately would like to switch. But I'm taking it very slowly. There are many factors to consider, and number one is the quality of production. I also have to trust and like the person I am dealing with, and it should be a company that does not have any history of producing bareback films."
Lucas notes that he has a better staff-to-client ratio than other companies, a key to good distribution. With eight employees on his distribution staff, he is able to ensure stronger communication that makes each client feel important. He also has the staff patrol stores directly, actually setting up displays and advertising materials. "Stores love it. Straight store-owners don't know shit about gay porn, and they're very happy to put it in our hands. We're in a great relationship with every store owner and every chain owner."
He also stresses that they don't sit by the phone waiting for orders. "That's how other companies are working. They are not aggressive with stores and local distributors. They are waiting for the call to come and orders to be placed, that's why the numbers are not moving." Lucas also says that they show all clients weekly reports of exact sales figures, and they are never late with payments to companies — and are aggressive in securing money from stores. "It's always a last resort, but we are very fast to go to court in order to collect our money. And so far we had four cases and we won each of them. There is nothing that anybody owes us. We are very tough about collections, and that's what producers like."
In addition, Lucas says they don't sit on product. While the company has grown so fast that it is moving into bigger offices at the end of the year, they don't have a huge warehouse to let product collect dust. "Everything that comes in goes right out to the stores." That includes recent releases Czeski Friends (Euros Films' first title,) El Dorado's Touch of Twink, Lucas Kazan's Decameron and Marcostudio's 8 Inches Part 2.
The success of production company Lucas Entertainment has helped the distribution side gain respect fast. The Auditions line won the GAYVN award for Best Pro/Am Release, Dangerous Liaisons is a big-budget groundbreaker with cameos by celebrities like Boy George, RuPaul, and Bruce Vilanch.
Lucas is also proud to be a pioneer in dropping prices: "Other companies are charging up to $100, and that's where I think they are very old fashioned and wrong. It's the arrogance and just not being able to see where the market is going."
With the success of both companies, Lucas has proved he is most comfortable on top.
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