BOSTON—BDSM site Wasteland.com is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024.
“The online adult market has changed in uncountable ways since we first launched, from the technical infrastructure behind the site to the means by which we produce content,” founder Colin Rowntree noted. “It has been a hell of a ride, all the way around.”
From a single-page site with about 30 pictures residing on a numeric IP address, Wasteland.com grew into a pioneer of the early adult internet, as Rowntree first began by licensing content to grow his library, before turning to producing exclusive content for the site.
Given his background before making his foray into the adult industry—Rowntree spent years conducting symphonies, staging operas, and serving as musical director for various church parishes—becoming a director and producer of BDSM content might seem like an unlikely career path. However, Rowntree said there are more similarities between the two vocations than expected.
“When you're doing orchestra and symphonic directing, a lot of the times at smaller places, you're also basically the orchestra manager,” Rowntree explained. “You make sure there's enough chairs, make sure there’s music stands, make sure everyone has their music, all that little stuff.”
Once he got into the swing of making adult movies, Rowntree stated, “This is just like putting on a stage play, or an opera!”
He continued, “It's got dramatic elements, it's got costuming, it's got casting, it's got all of it! I basically treated producing kinky photo sets, and more importantly movies, like being an opera producer.”
Now, with 30 years in the adult industry under his belt, Rowntree is adapting again. Rowntree has decided to “trade in his director hat” to embrace the role of executive producer.
“I find young filmmakers, a lot of them in Europe, some in the United States, and they have some really good ideas,” Rowntree said. “They have good equipment, they have good chops, they know how to hire people or cast people—they make good movies. So, I get together with them, I mentor them a bit on what’s going to be commercially viable, and I fund them to make movies, which I then own.”
Rowntree recently introduced Joe Evans as Wasteland’s new director of business development, a role in which Evans will work to establish relationships with other studios and platforms, grow the company’s existing traffic and revenue streams—and come up with new ones.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years now. It’s time to find some people to take this thing forward who are not 65 years old,” Rowntree said.
Regarding his advice for younger entrepreneurs and those just starting in the adult industry, Rowntree said he advises people to “find your passion, figure out what you really love to do in this space, and proceed accordingly.”
He also offered another bit of advice: Build a network of trusted contacts and put those contacts to good use, particularly when evaluating new ideas and opportunities.
“Talk to people you know and trust, ask them, do they know anything about this new platform that’s offering the moon? Do they know anything about some new crypto opportunity? If it sounds too good to be true, scrutinize it. Use your network of people—build your network if you don’t already have one—and vet people.”
For more information on the site, visit Wasteland.com. For information on affiliate marketing opportunities, go to SpiceCash.com.
