There will be six more issues at Fresh Men before the new changes are implemented. No more weekly issues. There will be a different update structure and a new look.
Like Belami Online, the new members of Fresh Men will be streaming only, with options to download for a fee.
Thanks for the heads-up. Although I subscribe to both Freshmen & BelAmi I rarely look at the discussion boards.
I shan’t be renewing with either site partly because of the new streaming-only policy but mainly because, although BA/FM scenes are beautifully shot, the guys look increasingly samey with very few stand-out models of the calibre of Jorik Tautou, Kieran Benning or Justin Saradon (to name three of my favourites).
I’m sorry to say it but I think BelAmi’s bubble has burst. Thanks for the memories.
FWIW: Current BA subscribers will retain download rights as long as they renew, apparently. I suspect it will be the same with Freshmen.
This doesn’t address your other points, of course.
I think ANY SITE that does not let you download for free is a dud. I would never ever join up if I had to pay for downloads. That was always the knock on English Lads for years.
Bad business model for them. But I guess they have made enough all these years to not worry…. I will say this : The new guy there STEVE COLLINS looks like a winner. Maybe the best new guy there in years as far as looks go. Love those hairy legs!
I think that the real problem is that the combination of piracy and OF has hurt them considerably, as they have significant losses and a decreasing pool of models from which to recruit.
Thus, they’re trying to manage what is within their control (downloads) and minimize any revenue losses by forcing new subscribers to pay for each scene they download. It’s inconvenient for subscribers, but I do appreciate why they’re doing it. Sadly, it doesn’t say anything positive about BA’s financial health.
Time will tell, I guess.
In their responses to pushback, a BA spokesperson said that they can’t afford to have people join for a month and download the entire catalog and that streamijng only/charging extra for downloads was now the ‘industry standard’. He also said that longer term subscriptions (annual?) might include downloads, since such subscriptions show ‘committment’.
That’s basically a sneaky price hike. If you have to pay extra for downloads that used to be included, it ends up costing more overall. So you’re paying more for the same stuff.
I’ll never forgive or forget the owner of the two sites making disparaging remarks about some of the young models.
Austin Wilde had a period where he did the same thing.
As someone who has worked in the biz I thinks it’s disgusting.
I’m glad they’re struggling to the point they have to make these changes.