- Nigeria’s adult film industry is using the internet to gain a foothold in a space dominated by the west
- Edet Mareme, an adult film actress, tells Business Insider SSA Nigerian porn stars can earn between $3,000 to $10,000 monthly
- The business model revolves around a one-off pay-for-download and monthly subscription service
Inside Nigeria's adult film industry: Porn star tells Business Insider SSA actresses can earn between $3,000 to $10,000 monthly
Edet Mareme, an adult entertainer, during an interview session at the Pulse Nigeria HQ in Lagos
Is Nigeria as conservative as she appears? The demand for x-rated content online and the nation's growing adult film industry suggests this may not be the case.
In the United States, the porn industry is estimated to generate up to $10 billion, according to the National Research Council Report, 2002. There is no official record for Nigeria.
![Mareme Edet [Instagram/maremeedet]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'685'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Mareme Edet [Instagram/maremeedet]")
Mareme Edet [Instagram/maremeedet]
Pulse Nigeria
Edet Mareme, an adult entertainer, tells Business Insider SSA that porn stars can make up to between $3,000 to $10,000 a month, depending on the role.
“In a month, porn star can make from $3,000 to $10,000 and more. “Girls are paid more than their male counterparts in the industry," Mareme says.
Against societal narratives, Mareme said working in the industry doesn't stop a woman from having a happy life and home. “A woman can decide to go into porn acting and stop after a while and go and marry. Nobody can stop you.”
Nigerian societal settings stigmatise porn actors and women are castigated from society for engaging in porn or its related industries.
A game of monkey post going on in Lagos Island (Pulse Nigeria)
Pulse Nigeria
Changing the narrative about the porn industry
Mareme said people are mistaking the porn industry for commercial sex or prostitution, claiming they are quite different.
“People mistake me for a sex worker, I am a porn actress. Because you watched my video from an x-rated website doesn't mean I have sex with everybody I meet,” she explains.
She added that in the porn industry, so many protocols are followed before an actor or actress can participate, including conducting tests.
![Nigerian porn star, Uglygalz Mareme speaks on how adult entertainer make money in the industry. [Pulse]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'988'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Nigerian porn star, Uglygalz Mareme speaks on how adult entertainer make money in the industry. [Pulse]")
Nigerian porn star, Uglygalz Mareme speaks on how adult entertainer make money in the industry. [Pulse]
Pulse Nigeria
How the porn industry makes money
The Nigerian porn actress said videos are posted on x-rated websites to generate views and per-click revenue. She said videos are also sold to other x-rated websites. All these complement the amount paid for acting in a porn scene.
She called for a professional porn industry in Nigeria that would be able to compete with the international market for views.
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