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Two things kicked started porn into big business. One was the ease of printing magazines, mens magazines could be bought in most places around the world so long as they complied with local laws. The other was sales of VCRs.
In the mid to late 80s I saw a huge rise in these sales, people could record off the TV, buy/rent mainstream movies and buy porn movies for home consumption. No longer were films limited to loops or a visit to a a cinema specialising in porn movies. The business and revenue exploded over night. Far more than the explosion of online porn.
Porn production companies and labels took off everything from Homegrown amateurs to Playboy could now put films on tape and sell them in the many 1,000s. The delusion that "Porn Valley" was all glossy films shows a distinct lack of knowledge about porn before the Internet. This delusion was brought about by people who couldn't shoot better end or couldn't afford to hire someone who could. There was a market for everything. Even micro niches.
I was producing amateur solo girl, 60 minute tapes with three scenes. Selling via mail order, porn shops and to other distributors in the US. The market was huge. Because you had to buy to get one, no one was swapping them with their mates then.
Also doing this in the UK guaranteed a visit from the police, so few suppliers. They never found anything because there wasn't anything to find. Prosecutors had a nightmare trying to get a conviction under the outdated Obscenity law and many will say the Video Licensing law was invented. It allowed the Government to censor videos. The Government's story differs. As it would.
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