The Video Software Dealers' Association (VSDA) maintains a network of 12,000 individual databases contributing to its 2002 figures, combining DVD and VHS rentals and sales. Unfortunately they say they have no conclusive way to measure porn sales. VSDA's straight figures reached $20.6 billion last year.rnrn
This is why AVN relies on a number of indicators to gauge rentals and sales of adult titles, combining data from extensive store polling as well as those of VSDA and Adams Media Research.rnrn
AVN's accounting of the rentals and sales of some 11.000 adult titles in 2002 showed a net of $4.04 billion, according to AVN Magazine's January issue. AVN publishes the adult industry's sales and rental stats every year.rnrn
Carrie Dietrich, VSDA's Director of Research, told AVN.com that most adult retailers are not hooked up to VSDA's VidTrak network.rnrn
"We have a comprehensive database," she said, "but what's not in our database is adult-only stores."rnrn
She did offer that of stores that had an adult section and were covered by VidTrak, a Streamline Solutions tool, 11% of yearly sales were adult purchases or rentals.rnrn
VSDA Media Director Sean Bersell attributes the hazy nature of porn tracking to the fact that many adult companies are not publically-traded. In addition, of the four tiers of participating stores, ranging from small operations to over-$35,000 monthly businesses, many do not specifically report adult sales.rnrn
The 2002 figures represent a significant increase in DVD sales. The report, issued with the help of Adams Media Research, hails last year as a record one, especially for DVDs.rnrn
"The early adopters of DVD technology tended to be people who were more likely to purchases titles than rent them," Bersell told AVN.com. "There's so much content" that probably makes purchases more attractive. "We can watch the film one week, watch the extras the next week. And the price almost makes them an impulse purchase."rnrn
Bersell predicts that DVD sales and rentals will stabilize over time, however, as the cost of renting titles has not significantly increased in the past five years.
