Number of webcam models on the rise

A Newsbeat investigation’s located a rising number of English women are working as livecam models on the internet.

Market analysts the overall webcam market is right now worth more than a billion pounds, with online sex reveals a big part of it.

Industry insiders claim there’s been a rise in applications, partly fuelled by the recession, with hundreds of British women signing up to UK websites monthly, many more internationally.

They appear live on webcams which can be accessed on computers around the world.

Men usually pay premium rates to get the privilege.

Twenty-three-year-old Lauren’s been functioning as a webcam model for some months.

The woman works with a few other girls within a free sex.com basement of a semi-detached house that is converted into a studio.

It’s been furnished to appear like two different rooms. On a single side there’s a bed, one the other side of the coin a sofa.

Girls wear fancy underwear and headsets to talk to punters in the webcams. Lauren told Newsbeat she can make up to £ 30 per hour with bonuses.

“You would ever guess, it is talking dirty. You know, if they ask me to consider my top off, I will do. ”

Big demand
It’s a secretive international industry. Women can work from anywhere in the world, pretending naked and talking explicitly about sex.

Lauren
Lauren says she can make up to £ 30 per hour like a webcam girl
Market analysts say overall the webcam market progressed from around £ 730m in 2006 to £ 1 ) 1bn in 2008.

It’s predicted to almost double in worth again by 2015, with pornographic webcam sites generating much of that growth.

They say it’s extra hidden from analysts than any other segments, but is a “lively” part of the market.

The most popular site is enormous in size, claiming to have about 27, 000 webcam versions and 17 million people, with around 12, 1000 new sign-ups each day.

Brodie Fry create one of the websites. He advised Newsbeat the recession provides contributed to more women working seeing that webcam models.

“A lot of women through this sort of economic downturn will transfer to the adult industry.

This puts substantial pressure on women inside the industry to perform more
Object campaign group
“This is a safe alternative to becoming an escort or an adult style. There’s total anonymity. Of course , the operators don’t use their very own real names.

One site told Newsbeat in the last year it’s put an extra 42 British women typically a month sexo porno gay on its books.

Richard Smallbone recently set his very own webcam site. He advised Newsbeat up to 150 British women are signing up to UK sites a month, with many additional joining international sites.

He said: “We started off with 12 single profiles and there would be one young lady working during the day.

“Eighteen months down the line, we have now 80 different profiles, nearly anything up to 16 girls functioning during the day. ”

‘Enormous pressure’
But there are concerns. Campaigners say webcam girls could possibly be pressurised into doing factors they’re not comfortable with.

Mobile phone
Mobile adult services are usually the next growth area
Anna van Heeswijk’s from Object, which campaigns against the sexual exploitation of girls, said the industry should be better regulated.

“It is the man whom decides which women this individual wants to choose, depending on what she looks like and how she is willing to behave sexually.

“This puts substantial pressure on women within the industry to perform more and more severe versions of pornography to be able to attract men, in order to make a full time income. ”

Lauren has no such worries. The woman said her priority can be her three-year-old daughter and insists she’s not being used.

“A great deal of my friends are working in clothing shops and stuff, they have no money.

“I could do two shifts in a week and Now i’m still earning more money than what they are and I get to spend all day, every day, with my girl.

“I didn’t want to be at work all day and still have her in nursery. My spouse and i wouldn’t be able to see her. ”

It is not only on the internet where livecam models are becoming more popular.

Juniper Research anticipates that revenues from portable adult services will grow from £ 1 . three or more bn in 2008 to £ 2 . 9bn simply by 2013 – part of that growth is from webcams on mobiles.