We all know the cliché about the college student who decided to do porn to pay off their loan because it pays more money than waiting tables.
But does it really? How much do people in the porn industry actually earn?
To find out exactly who makes what, CNBC spoke to a number of people who work in all aspects of the adult world to get an idea of what the pay is like.
There’s no way to say with certainty that the figures are correct but they were supported by enough people to give us a rough guide.
CNBCAccording to CNBC, the average porn actress typically earns $800-$1,000 (£560-£700) per film depending on the studio’s budget.
New-comers (pun intended) earn as little as $300 (£200), however, top-tier female performers like Alexis Texas or Jessica Jane can earn as much as $1,500-$2,000 per movie (£1,050-£1,400).
To bolster their earnings, porn stars willing to perform ‘extreme acts’ can make $1,800-$2,500 (£1,260 -£1,750), while females who engage in woman-on-woman porn can earn between $700-$1,200 (£500-£850).
TimeThere does seem to be a bit of a pay gap within the industry, as the average male porn actor only earns approximately $500-$600 (£350-£420) per shoot.
The biggest name male porn stars can expect to make around $1,500 (£1,000), but apparently the ‘big bucks’ are in gay porn where popular performers can make as much as $5,000 (£3,500) for a shoot.
Moving away from the talent and into the creative side of the business, as a writer for a porn movie you could be earning $250-$400 (£175-£280) per script.
A cameraperson makes between $500-$700 (£350-£500), but if you have a keen eye for directing the action you could be taking home $1,000-$3,000 (£700-£2,100) per movie.