Ever the marketer, I'm always on the hunt for the next big thing.  As a software developer, I'm always eager to build the damn thing myself.  And as a proud podcaster, I'm always wondering who's going to conceive a universally-applicable business model to really allow a podcast producer to make good money, not just subsidiary chump change from fleeting advertising sponsorship.  Adam Curry created Podshow, which was a major moment in the podcast history, but creating and managing a network of producers is well beyond what most do-it-yourself'ers are capable of. 

Moral implications notwithstanding, one industry I sometimes look to for entrepreneurial inspiration is pornography.  If you can shelve your elitist beliefs for a moment, realize the business prospects contained within the practice of producing, distributing, and marketing blue content.  While there are a handful (pun somewhat intended) of adult-oriented podcasts available at the moment, consisting mainly of annunciated erotica or well-produced sex education shows, much to my surprise (and to some degree, my chagrin) such podcasts don't exist featuring porn's main attraction: its performers. 

Opportunity, methinks?

Top-rated adult entertainers like Jenna Jameson, Briana Banks, Ron Jeremy and Sunrise Adams, either hosting shows themselves or being featured in rotation on a program profiling an "actor's guild of adult entertainment", if you will, would be hugely popular from the get-go.  I simply don't know of any other comparable industry that would more quickly gain in popularity, commercial success or positive notoriety, dually helping to further solidify the podcasting medium in the aggregate. 

Consider the impacts of porn's polar opposite: religion.  Godcasting, the practice of recording religious materials (sermons, Bible study lessons, group meetings, etc.) and releasing them as downloadable MP3s, was among the first major content genres to instantly gain success and listenership in the podosphere.  And it continues to pioneer new, innovative, creative ways to distribute content to a global audience, completely devoid of the traditional mass media limitations of geography and time.

Consider the following assumptions about podcast shows featuring well-known performers from the San Fernando Valley:

• A well-produced podcast featuring a high-visibility performer would instantly draw high demand, consistent over time
• You could charge for it - we'd see podcasting's first subscription-driven content (you know people would be fumbling to whip out their…ummm…credit cards)
• A show can additionally generate money by having sponsorship for products within the industry (product reviews of toys and new DVD/VHS releases, mentioning trade show appearances, strip club engagements, book signings, etc.), all in the spirit of shameless cross-promotion and upselling
• A show would capitalize on a performer's celebrity aspect and highlight their off-camera personality, giving it more natural drive than the average DIY podcast by someone you've never heard of (a concept proved true in the success of The Paris Hilton Podcast)
• Can directly be integrated into a performer's existing web site either as a teaser to entice paid subscription, or as a value-added benefit of membership
• The success will spread like wildfire - other podcasts will sprout up in parallel at an exponential rate

I previously mentioned how porn's embrace of new technology has historically been in catch-up fashion, waiting for mainstream industries to formulate a way to creatively use web-based products to generate profits.  Porn star podcasting, I believe, will be an instance of the opposite - mainstream podcasting benefiting from a bold step forward, using a proven business model to distribute MP3-based content.

If you can get past the moral challenges of working in Sin Cinema, this is a marketer's dream.  It's like being tasked to build pottery with the finest clay…you know it'll work.  Think about what this will mean for the daring time-shifted digital audio content creator who offers such audio production services to a company like Vivid Entertainment.  Ka-ching!  Whoever has the foresight to jump on this is going to make a killing.

But most people aren't so liberal of mind.  The success of such a platform would need to have support, either directly or silently from the majors. Apple likely won't touch the things, not surprisingly banning such productions from the iTunes 4.9 library (see the excellent article by News.com's Jennifer Guevin, "Porn purveyors push prurient podcasts").

Listen to additional thoughts I've got this on porn star podcasting on my own podcast.