K atlyn Carter got her first cam girl job in after responding to an ad posted on Craigslist by a fetish modeling studio in Van Nuys, California. Carter and her partner, Kayden, were struggling to make ends meet despite working full-time office jobs, and she was intrigued by the potential for financial security. From a nondescript office building in a studio with about five rooms, Carter and other models broadcast live sex shows for online audiences.
Fans paid them in virtual tokens online currency that cam sites use to get around financial institution regulations regarding the purchase of adult content to strip, masturbate and chat in real time, with the option for a private show away from other viewers at a higher price.
Studio managers monitored her broadcasts from down the hall and gave her feedback through an online messaging service. On most cam sites models use to stream from home, performers can choose to accept or turn down audience requests at their own discretion, and set their own rates for private shows or fetish requests such as foot worship, role-play or penis humiliation. They can also block viewers who are rude or overly demanding from their chat rooms.
But at the studio, management wanted Carter to accept any and all requests from viewers, including vomiting and urination. Carter says she got in trouble for turning down these requests, and on multiple occasions. The demanding viewers, pressure from management and grueling hours took a toll, and Carter left the studio after only two months.
Big-name traditional porn studios struggle to compete not only with the rise of free porn, but with the rise of the amateur porn star. Streaming sites such as MyFreeCams, Camsoda and Chaturbate allow models to stream live sex shows from their own bedrooms and interact with their viewers in chatroom communities, offering fans an intimate connection with performers playing the role of both porn star and virtual girlfriend.
