Exclusive AMA (Ask me Anything) with MetArt

[Sevrin]

I joined FreeOnes after seeing the link to this discussion on MET. I've been a yearly member of MET for a long time now, and still think the photo content is great. The best sets, imo, are the ones that are not just nudes, but also include photos of the models in street clothes in public. There can never be enough of those.

One of the things that I really liked about MET when I was a new member in 2006 were the exclusive cam model shows. I saw my first cam shows on MET and spent a reasonable amount on the old MET-Cams once the pay-cams started. I liked that we could see photo sets on MET of the same models who appeared on cam. In 2010, you switched to a Streamate clone, like we see everywhere *cough* and the MET models we knew went elsewhere. My cam dollars followed them.

Are you considering returning to exclusive (like Diesel) now that there is a network that can bring in sufficient traffic to sustain its own cam site featuring models we see on the MET network?

PS: The feet with the pink toenails.

 

[Met-Art]

Alex the CTO here.

2. My second question is a technical question: How do you host so much content from so many years past? On Met-Art alone a month's worth of Hi-res images is often around 50GBs, and this isn't counting a site like Sex-Art where a hi-res, 20-minute video can run almost 2GBs by itself! My NAS is already groaning from having saved so much MA Network content!

A lot of servers and a lot of hard drives! We have a sysadmin that spends a good portion of his week just swapping out hard drives and rebuilding RAIDs. Our largest servers we build for content importing and preparation use 40 terabyte arrays.

Storage didn't used to be so cheap and hard drives were a major expense in our tech budget. Before SSD caching came about, we used to use the fastest platter hard drives possible on the MetArt member servers to ensure fast delivery (15K RPM SAS). Now that storage is cheap, we'll keep adding new storage slice servers (the 40 TB boxes) so that we always keep the highest resolution originals in a permanent archive.

3. My third question is a short one about piracy: Another poster mentioned this, but I was wondering if you think piracy helps to bring more paying customers in or drives more potential paying customers away? I know that I, for one, am a paying customer whom never would've signed up if not for having experienced the excellence of your site through piracy.
...
A very good answer and I think it answers my third question above as well. What you say about producing content that's worth buying and the benefits of being a member is precisely why I joined after doing the pirating route for a certain time. I eventually realized I was spending way too much time hunting for pirated sets and since most of my searches were for MA material it just made more sense to pay for it, and it turned out to be one of the best purchases of my life.

Thank you! That is exactly what we love to hear in regards to piracy bringing in a valued customer.

 

[Met-Art]

Also I just noticed your username (solrage) -- you're a great commenter on SexArt. We really appreciate members like you who appreciate the work that goes into the production. Cheers!

-- Alex (CTO)

 

[cestmoi2010]

I'm on the left at a Webmaster Convention in Montreal last year.
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First off - recall who asked this (ME!!!!!)

WOW! I see someone very worthy of posing for her own site with one exception.........I don't recall ANY MetArt babes with Tatts. Jill - is this intentional - the wholesome clean cut image you want including Tatt Free? BTW - what does the Tatt say (In whatever language it is in - and then in English). I see someone here who if I saw at the bar or wherever I would most definitely head over to talk to.

What separates a beautiful woman from an attractive woman is.........HER FACE! I see someone here with a smile and eyes and face model quality great - this is not the face of a woman in her 30s - but maybe 25 or so. If there is a guy in your life - he is one lucky dude! If not - I think every guy here (even the married ones) would love to seize that open role!

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

Calm down lads, let's not turn it turn it into a dick-waving contest because the professional in the porn biz is a pretty lady. Someone will end up taking it too far and talking about hard they're going to beat it, and it's not Jill's job to hear all that.

I see someone here who if I saw at the bar or wherever I would most definitely head over to talk to.

You mean the tattoo wouldn't put you off?!? I don't believe you.

 

[Met-Art]

First of all I want to thank you for taking your time to do this.

Looking at the work that you publish I can see that it has a very distinctive and consistent look and feel to it even though it seem to be shot by several photographers. So I assume that a lot of time and effort has gone into developing the concept, including how the girls pose what they show and how they show it. My questions in regard to this focus, as you very well might expect, mostly on the girls.

I notice that all girls are very carefully and uniformly groomed, even though some have pubic hair none has even a stub around the anus, and the inner labia are almost always arranged very carefully and symmetrically (usually with the vagina slightly, but decorously, open between them). Do you give grooming instructions to the girl, or is this done at location before the shoot? And who makes sure that their labia are all-right?

Given the apparent uniformity, I wonder about how much direction is given to the girls during the shoot. Do you, one the one hand, just tell her to act naturally and seduce the camera as best that she can or do you, on the other hand, instruct her exactly how and where to stand and what to do. And to what extent do the model influence the shoot? Having a fetish for the female ass and anus, this is a part of the girl that I tend to notice. Since I do not have access to the full sets I cannot know for certain, but it seems that in some cases the girl hardly shows her anus while other girls seem to happily spread their cheeks apart and show us every detail in close-up pictures, and some girls look almost lustful as the anus opens up a bit.

So what determines if I get to see a girls anus, and, if so, how it is displayed?

And, oh yes, what poses and displays seem to be the girls' most and least favorite? What is their preferred way to be viewed by us?

Each model, photographer and shoot are different...newer models need more direction while more experienced ones know more clearly what we need. Each photographer has their individual style as well and that is conveyed in their work. The girls aren't 'posed' to the extreme that we straighten, tuck in, or arrange labias, lol. We consider our models part of the MetArt family...some models are comfortable showing more of their bodies than others...some are interested in participating in girl/girl while others will not. We never push our models or ask them to do anything they aren't comfortable with. I think because the model is able to be herself and open up to her level of comfort shows through in our content and is part of the reason the end result is amazing.

 

[Met-Art]

Of course, just like Petra and Regina.

PS im naked!

I really need to take a trip to tour your offices!

 

[Met-Art]

Hello Jill, I'm wondering if any plans are in the works to update the 'Girls Love Sex' series on SexArt? Thanks for taking my question and keep up the great work!

Hi Kaiser! Yes! The Girls Love Sex series, originally the work of the late Zalman King, is already in the works for a new season. We are especially proud of this series because it showcases real women discussing their sexuality and for those that feel comfortable enough, performing masturbation or sex acts, un-directed or rehearsed, on film. I'm happy to hear someone ask about this series!

 

[Met-Art]

Hi Jill!

I preface this by saying I registered at FreeOnes just to ask you a question. I've been a fanboy of the Met-Art Network for a long time and constantly say that it's ruined most all other erotica/porn for me because of how consistently great the quality is. With the addition of various hardcore sites to the network (especially SexArt), I almost never visit any other porn/erotica sites, you guys are that good, and I hope you never decide to call it quits.

I have three questions:

1. My first question is related to content selection: How does this work with your photographers and models? For example, do you tell the photographers which models to photograph, or are the photographers free to find their own models and introduce them to the site? For models that have already posed, who decides if they're "invited back" for more sets? In other words, do you ever reach out to the models/photographers and suggest they do more sets, or is it always via their submission?

Thanks for your time!

Hi Solrage! Great to hear from you! I think Alex answered your 2nd and 3rd question so I will address the 1st.

We coordinate models with photographers and photographers also introduce models to us for approval. You'll notice that some models do very well when introduced to the site - which is no small feat to accomplish among the thousands of models we have. Some models don't perform as well. We listen to our members and bring back the models they love. We definitely work with the models and photographers to arrange more content production.

 

[Met-Art]

pink nails one?

YES! This picture wasn't taken today, so I'm not the one wearing flip flops. You win - send me a private message and I'll give you your MetArt one month login.

 

[cestmoi2010]

Calm down lads, let's not turn it turn it into a dick-waving contest because the professional in the porn biz is a pretty lady. Someone will end up taking it too far and talking about hard they're going to beat it, and it's not Jill's job to hear all that.

You mean the tattoo wouldn't put you off?!? I don't believe you.

OK - I wouldn't be happy about it but I have dated women with Tatts before. In general - if they don't have a lot and I like them and ant to pursue a relationship them I do and have. My PREFERENCE is different than my "Must/Must not have list"

 

[Ovidius]

How has your time selling porn to (mostly) men changed your understaning of male sexuality and what do you do to make men choose your site over others?

 

[wolverine83]

I remember Met-Art when it first began, way back when. It, to me, was an example of fine art nude photography and still has such a standard on just the Met-Art site. Now, you've expanded several times over into adult entertainment. Congratulations. When did this process take place and how did you guys determine you wanted to make that jump?

Also, Met-Art seemingly doesn't have very many American models. Is your home base mostly Europe namely Eastern Europe? You seem to find alot of Russian, Croatian, Hungarian, and Polish models. Is it that the market over there for this type of work is just more accessible or is that the look that you cater to? Are American women considered too "porn like" for the Met Art site as opposed to some of your other website affiliates? I can think of a number of great American models that would be great for a set with any of a number of your Met-Art contributing photographers.

Thanks for all the quality over the years. I wish the Met Art and it's affiliates continued success.

 

[cestmoi2010]

Jill.............if you never got the job at MetArt what do you think you'd be doing now? Also - NOTHING lasts forever.......given any thought to a life without/beyond MetArt?

 

[Roald]

How many people are there working in total for MetArt excluding the models of course.

Do you have or plan to get and models on exclusive contracts? Like Madison Ivy now got an exclusive contract with Brazzers, this makes (imo) sense since she is a big name which they now can bank on.

 

[Met-Art]

Thank you Jill! Now they'll all stop asking me for my picture!

Everyone, please re-direct your penis pictures to Jill. No longer needed to send them to me!

I'm not sure that I want to take this pleasure away from Roald....let's be fair and allow him first preview of any penis pictures.

 

[Met-Art]

Well since you said you're wearing flip flops you're the one with the black nails. :dunno:

Btw the male feet are disgusting! :throwup: Yours are nice though. :drool2:

Funny (maybe not so funny) thing...only one person in that photo is a male...

 

[Roald]

I'm not sure that I want to take this pleasure away from Roald....let's be fair and allow him first preview of any penis pictures.

But then where do I send my penis pictures?

OK back to the AMA!

 

[Vanilla Bear]

Funny (maybe not so funny) thing...only one person in that photo is a male...

Really?! The one with the adidas is female, too? I thought only male wear this kinda sandals...


Now where is my pass? The other guy that pointed you out already has a yearly pass so it's my turn now.

 

[Met-Art]

First off - recall who asked this (ME!!!!!)

WOW! I see someone very worthy of posing for her own site with one exception.........I don't recall ANY MetArt babes with Tatts. Jill - is this intentional - the wholesome clean cut image you want including Tatt Free? BTW - what does the Tatt say (In whatever language it is in - and then in English). I see someone here who if I saw at the bar or wherever I would most definitely head over to talk to.

What separates a beautiful woman from an attractive woman is.........HER FACE! I see someone here with a smile and eyes and face model quality great - this is not the face of a woman in her 30s - but maybe 25 or so. If there is a guy in your life - he is one lucky dude! If not - I think every guy here (even the married ones) would love to seize that open role!

We do look for natural models, without tattoos or piercings, etc. I am NOT a Met-Art model though