2014 has brought big changes for TLA Entertainment Group, which was acquired in January by a New York-based investment group. To find out more about what lies ahead for the company's adult retail properties, TLARaw.com and TLAGay.com, AVN talked to managing director Erik Schut, who’s long been a guiding force of all things gay at TLA. (This article originally ran in the June issue of AVN magazine.)
AVN: I tried to figure out how long TLA has been in business, but it all depends on if you start with the first retail store in 1985 or go even farther back to the founding of the theater company in the early 1960s! But however you do it, this is one venerable company. Can you give us a quick history lesson about TLA and your involvement with it?
Erik Schut: Even after all this time I still sometimes get asked this question by people in the porn biz. Based in Philadelphia, TLA Entertainment Group has been in business since 1981. TLA stands for Theater of the Living Arts, which was the name a live theater troupe gave to an empty 1930s-era cinema located on South Street when they formed in the late 1960s. Its artistic director was writer/ director Andre Gregory, and featured players such as Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch, Lois Smith, Sally Kirkland, Morgan Freeman, Anne Ramsey and Ron Leibman. The live performances eventually stopped and the theater was closed. In the early ’70s it was reopened again as a movie theater. TLA started showing oddball double features—everything from King of Hearts, The Who’s Tommy, Harold and Maude and Fellini Satyricon to Pink Flamingos, Deep Throat and Caligula. The employees bought out the original owners and formed TLA as it is today. TLA was one of the first places to run Rocky Horror Picture Show and John Waters’ Pink Flamingos at midnight. Divine celebrating its anniversary at TLA is legendary. The theater morphed into the advent of TLA’s video stores, which begat film festivals, the mail order catalog, the publishing film guide division, TLAvideo.com, TLA Releasing, and whatever else the future brings.
My background is in foreign, independent and alternative film. I worked directly with most of the indie art film studios and was managing and booking one of the largest art film theatres in the U.S. when TLA came calling. I’ve actually known the former TLA owners since I was a kid. I used to cut school and make my way to the city to see movies at TLA—everything from Fellini, Antonioni and Koyaanisqatsi to Sid & Nancy and Stop Making Sense. TLA was part of my film education. When they asked if I wanted to take over the gay adult division and become its editor, I knew next to nothing about porn at the time, but I treated it as a challenge—and a business. I dove in head first (so to speak), and the rest is history.
What about the adult entertainment business, and TLA in particular, has kept you around for this long? What aspect of this business really turns you on? How has your role within the company changed over the years?
I started when retail sites were just starting to take off. I had literally no experience with adult whatsoever—other than the ones I personally watched at home. I soon realized that most retail websites geared to purchasing porn were pathetic. They were so barren with little to no information or critical eye. I’ve always been a bit obsessive about movies—I started my career in the independent art film industry—so I just plunged headfirst (pun intended) into learning everything about the retail side of the adult business. I took the adult part of our website and patterned it after the non-porn aspects of TLA. Original reviews and writing, tons of content, stuff for fans that would make them not only want to buy but to stick around for a while.
Let’s talk a little bit about how the business had changed over the years. Obviously, we live in a completely digitized world now, but what would you say are the most profound changes, for better or worse, that the industry has undergone?
Obviously the most profound change is the advent of digital delivery coupled with piracy. At the end of the VHS era, while there were still bootleggers, they were more easily caught. Now with things being delivered via an online medium, not only have hard goods taken a hit sales-wise, you’ve got everyone from tech geeks to casual fans uploading and sharing stuff for free. And the studios are at a loss on what to do. The smart ones are continuing to reinvent themselves and make cool product people want to see; the ones that can’t or won’t are starting to fade. While I love streaming and all it has to offer for the future, the glut of free tube sites and lack of any guidance or management of it is disheartening. The other thing is the complete lack of true porn “stars” these days with longevity. Five years ago there were tons, and they were actually stars in the true sense. Now, they’re few and far between. Any time I see a new Twitter account pop up with some generic name followed by XXX and the phrase “porn star” in their bio I want to scream “LIAR!” in their amateur-ass face.
How do you maintain a successful business for so many years in the face of such change? Do you have any general advice about business longevity and maintaining a good reputation for so long, and in a business known for its bruising tactics?
Change is always going to happen, no matter what business you’re in. Publishing, fashion, food service, anything. Even supposedly “steady” ones are going to experience change. The key is to recognize it when it’s happening and adapt—not out of fear, but out of creatively wanting to grow and see what’s next and what you can do for your customers. There lies the whole key, too: Listen to your customers and treat them like kings and queens. Too many businesses act as if their customers are theirs forever no matter what they do. Wrong. Plus, the shitty way some porn retailers and studios treat not only their customers but each other is mind-blowing.
Now let’s talk about TLA’s acquisition by a private NY-based investment firm. Can you first explain how and why this deal came about? I have to assume it was a long time in the making.
The original owners of TLA had been together nearly 35 years—an incredibly long time for any business partnership to last, let alone flourish as wildly successfully as TLA did. Over the years there have been multiple companies interested in either investing in or purchasing TLA outright. While a few of those dates led into a kiss or even heavy petting, none were ever really the right fit, and the senior partners of TLA knew it. It never felt right and they didn’t want TLA falling in the wrong hands. They could’ve easily cashed out for big bucks more times than once but opted not to. With the new owners it just felt right. The original partners were starting to move on (former CEO Ray Murray is starting an independent cinema/bar and restaurant) and the film industry was rapidly changing. Remember—while TLA has always been super porn friendly it was not a porn-only entity, and none of the former partners had any experience with porn. The Hollywood and indie film scene was moving into new directions, too. Enter Derek Curl and Sterling Zinsmeyer. We had sold Derek the TLA Releasing division (our non-adult theatrical film arm) several years ago, and we worked with him countless times before. He was the producer of Another Gay Sequel and brought many other film projects to the table. So, he was a known entity to TLA and the former owners knew he was intimate with the TLA legacy and willing to help solider it forward. He’s now the CEO of TLA. Sterling brings his expertise with gay film to the table, along with helping to bring in the capital needed as well. It’s definitely exciting.
Can you also explain the roles that G. Sterling ZInsmeyer and Derek Curl will now have with the company, and also any pending role changes for you and Brian Sokel? A recent PR says that Sterling Genesis brings new possibilities to the table. What are those possibilities specifically?
Derek and Sterling have very focused plans on what they see TLA as going forward. Derek especially is intimate with all we do. The great thing is that they realize TLA’s strength in the adult field, and while they don’t know the ins and outs of it, they are leaving that part up to Brian Sokel and myself to run with and build even more. Brian has an even larger role than before, moving up from general manager to senior executive. He’ll still be involved in the straight adult side of the business, but he now oversees new business development and administers to all staff of the entire retail part of TLA. These are really playing into his strengths. If you’ve ever met him you know his leadership skills, knack for getting things done and overall enthusiasm are pretty fucking amazing. God knows he’s given me the “C’mon let’s do this” kicks in the ass I’ve needed at times.
The company has put out a release that stated TLA is tightening its grip on the gay market in the wake of the acquisition. Does the acquisition especially strengthen the gay side of the company? More to the point, do you see more opportunity on the gay side of the biz into the near or distant future?
Derek and Sterling come from the gay non-adult film business, which is itself pretty intense and business-deal driven. They both see the huge opportunities awaiting TLA. We’re already the largest retailer of gay porn in North America, and one of the largest in the world. And as far as gay cinema goes, no one is bigger. Amazon may sell more—not in every case, though!—but we have the depth of knowledge and passion they lack. Our mail-order business continues to thrive. Between the straight and gay divisions we mail nearly 2 million catalogs throughout the year. I’m still amazed so much business comes from mail order! And our online sales continue to grow, too. It’s just gotten tougher, in that you really have to focus and work much harder than before. But it’s worth it. There are some huge projects on the horizon—some I can’t talk about just yet—but the ones I can include acquiring more titles for our M.O.D. (manufacture on demand) TLA Ready Disc program, and we’re definitely getting into production of original content—in some cases in conjunction with some of the coolest gay porn producers out there. It’s all about the new, the fun and the “Holy shit, that was hot as hell!”
TLA also has deep roots in the novelty side of the biz, and of course also puts on the TLA Gay Awards, which I believe is in its fourth year. Can the novelty side of the biz expect to see any changes in the wake of the acquisition?
The awards are something designed to be fun, and are voted on solely by fans. It’s a way of letting them have their voice in a world with increasingly too much separation between fan and porn producer. We may be doing something new and different with them later on this year—perhaps a live event with models and fans in person. Not sure just yet. Sex toys continue to grow with us. We do original reviews on them as well—yes, we have a staff that uses and abuses the toys!—so customers are getting info they can really use from us, and not just a sales pitch.
What about TLA Releasing, the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Society and all of that cool East Coast stuff that TLA has founded? Are they still as important to the identity of the company as they have been for so many years?
Those are all things we’re definitely proud of, but we realized even before the new owners took over that things needed to change. All of those endeavors, while very cool, influential and important to what TLA became in the eyes of many, are huge projects unto themselves. Previously all monies TLA Entertainment Group earned went into one “kitty,” so to speak. And while that obviously worked well for years, the vast and very different changes in all aspect of film going and film watching necessitated big changes. TLA Releasing is now its own entity, and has nothing to do with TLA the retail sales side of the company. It will be run as a stand-alone division, and has a revamped focus. The film festivals were made non-profit a few years back as they became too costly to produce, and are no longer actual TLA productions. TLA sponsored QFEST (the gay film festival) with tech and design support, but even though it became the third largest film festival of its type in North America, we need to focus on the retail side. It will live on in some way, I’m sure. But not through us right now. Running all of these divisions and productions was a satisfying challenge, but it’s time to focus on our core strength.
What other new or pending TLA projects can you talk about? I get a sense from the PRs issued since the acquisition that there is genuine excitement at the company about its future. Am I reading that correctly, and if so, does that mean that TLA is equally excited about the future of adult entertainment in general? Be honest! ;-)
As I mentioned previously, we see lots of life left in this business—in fact, our recent positive evaluation by outside financiers is what led to the TLA buyout in the first place. We’re all really excited about what the future holds for us. Lots of things are planned, and the staff seems genuinely psyched for the first time in a long time. It’s a really, really good feeling.
