Is the paysite business model dying?

[Evil Chris]

The paysite model. ie. tour page(s), join page(s), member's area.

The traditional paysite model. Is it dying out? Many people in the online business seem to think it is, while others don't. In the past year, I've seen a lot of people give up on this model. Mainly because they aren't making anywhere near the same money with it as they used to make. However, I ask myself if it's the model itself, or mitigating factors surrounding the online business in general.

Obviously the proliferation of free content (in any form) has hurt online transactions in adult at every level. But I still think the paysite model is fine if the consumer has a sense of trust with the site they are considering joining. The bad processing and shady cross-checks have made many people rich (and gotten several into hot water), but hopefully these kinds of practices will gradually decline in light of the recent news about ICC-Cal.

Something new will show up on our collective virtual doorsteps in due time. What it is, we're not sure yet but regardless of what it is, will the traditional paysite business model survive?