MIAMI — If you miss the sunset in South Beach this Thursday, blame the adult entertainment industry. On Thursday, June 1, hundreds of the industry’s biggest stars will descend on the The Villa Casa Casuarina — the former Versace Mansion —for the first-ever XBIZ Cam Awards.
Over the past five years, the adult webcam business has become a potent rival to traditional adult films, with the industry’s top stars generating multi-six-figure incomes.
“It’s time that we recognize the immense worldwide popularity of cam stars,” says Alec Helmy, publisher of XBIZ, the adult industry’s leading trade publication. “The XBIZ Cam Awards will be the first major awards show dedicated to the cam industry in the U.S., and we’ve planned an event to rival the legendary galas of old Hollywood.”
Unlike the adult film industry, which is largely centered in Los Angeles, the cam business is global. Hundreds of leading cam stars are expected to descend upon Miami to attend the inaugural awards show, with nominees flying in from across the U.S., Latin America and Europe.
The cam business employs the largest number of performers of any sector of the adult industry, with tens of thousands of active cam models streaming from all corners of the world.
The cam business was recently profiled in Netflix’s docu-series “Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On,” which has caused outrage among cam performers for allegedly violating their privacy.
Helmy says he hopes the XBIZ Cam Awards will help counter exploitative narratives about adult performers in the mainstream media.
“Cam performers are not just internet celebrities but savvy entrepreneurs who are in fact in control of their own destiny,” Helmy says. “We want the XBIZ Cam Awards to not only celebrate the best and brightest, we want to show the world just how diverse and vibrant the community really is.”
The red carpet for the awards begins at 7:30, at the Villa Casa Casuarina in South Beach. Press inquiries, passes and interviews should be addressed to events@xbiz.com.