Unlike prerecorded pornography, cam shows, which happen in real time, are hard to pirate. The traffic to the most popular camming Internet sites is substantial, with a handful of the top sites getting 30 million visitors a month, according to Compete.com, which measures Internet traffic.
At any given time, hundreds of models are online, some being watched by 1,000 or more people, others giving private shows. The money generated by cam sites is hundreds of millions of dollars at least, and very likely a billion or more, according to industry analysts and executives.
The money generally comes not from subscriptions or pay-per-view, but rather from credits or “tips,” electronic tokens viewers give that allow them to interact with the models — instructing them through typed messages to use a certain sex toy or use it in a specific way. The Web sites provide the platform and then collect and distribute the tips to the models.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/techn ... d=all&_r=0
