Exclusive: Here Are Men.com’s Plans For Recently Acquired Sean Cody
EXCLUSIVE: Several reliable sources with firsthand knowledge of Men.com’s (MindGeek) recent acquisition of legendary gay porn studio Sean Cody have finally broken their silence, and they’re talking exclusively to Str8UpGayPorn. Many (myself included) were worried that Men/Mindgeek would in effect “take over” Sean Cody’s production and diminish the iconic brand, but I’ve been reassured that nothing of the sort will happen. In short: Nothing is going to change at Sean Cody (which is either good news or bad news, depending on your view of the studio’s content lately). Here are the details:
STAFF: All of Sean Cody’s staff—including model recruiters, directors, editors, and photographers—will remain in place and continue performing the same duties. No one from Men/Mindgeek will be involved with the casting, filming, or post-production of Sean Cody’s scenes.
LOCATION: All production will remain in San Diego at the same house and the same studios on the same sets. So, don’t worry: Those Sean Cody couches and beds aren’t going anywhere.
BAREBACK: As Str8UpGayPorn previously reported, all Sean Cody scenes will remain bareback.
MARKETING/PROMOTION: This is the only area where Men/Mindgeek will be playing an active role. Sean Cody has never gone out of their way to market themselves to consumers (as one insider remarked to me, “Sean Cody has never sent out a single press release in 14 years!”), but with Men/Mindgeek’s money and social media reach, that’s going to change. It’s already started, what with Sean Cody finally joining Twitter late last year, and you can expect to see even more promotion via industry trade papers, blogs, and, of course, Men/Mindgeek’s tube sites. One thing you won’t see are interviews or social media profiles from Sean Cody models (Str8Up’s exclusive interview with Tanner was against the rules, but I snagged it anyway). The best thing about Sean Cody has always been the mysterious, almost “secretive” allure of the models, and I’m told Men/Mindgeek respects and appreciates that. Other than Brandon, there are no Sean Cody models with Twitter or other social media profiles, and that’s not going to change.
DVDs: At first this sounded weird, but I’ve been told that you’ll probably be able to buy Sean Cody “collections” on DVD in the coming year. Yes, there are still some people who buy DVDs, and Men/Mindgeek’s access to distributors is going to facilitate this. Hopefully these DVDs will have unreleased footage and special bonus content. If they do, I’d definitely buy a “Best Of Calvin” collection.
AFFILIATES: This part of the deal has nothing to do with consumers or fans, but for bloggers and affiliates who promote Sean Cody content, expect an eventual migration from CCBill to MenNetworkCash. This is my favorite part of the deal, since CCBill’s ancient website hasn’t been updated since 1992, and they have ZERO affiliate content (photos, videos, banners, etc.). Plus, this means no more “CCBill processing fees” deducted from commissions.
Hopefully this allays most of the fears about the acquisition. I’m relieved, and am hoping that with the money and marketing team behind them, Sean Cody will get even better (and hire even hotter models). As one Men/Mindgeek source told me, “We love Sean Cody and have been fans for a long time—we would never interfere with what has made them so successful for so long.”
