The Biggest Site in Porn Just Became a Record Label

Coolio was only the beginning.

After helping the aging rapper announce his comeback earlier this year with a ludicrously NSFW video about masturbating, PornHub just announced the news none of us saw coming: It's starting a record label. And for its first act, it's opening up a contest to the world to write a theme song for the site.

"Show your love for PornHub by writing the ultimate anthem" the contest reads. And if you needed any more proof that these are strange times for the music industry, there it is. The songs will be judged by a panel of "high profile artists" (like Coolio, presumably), and the winner will get $5,000 to shoot a video, which will run on PornHub and be guaranteed to receive a minimum of 500,000 views. That shouldn’t be too difficult as the site receives upward of 40 million views a day.

"We've always seen a strong music presence from the beginning of PornHub," Matt Blake, head of the company’s PR and marketing, told Consequence of Sound. "Artists upload their own stuff, like uncensored tracks and R-rated versions of songs. Some people come in and upload exclusive videos, so it creates a buzz for them."

What Blake said is true, though not all their music content is NSFW. The video that FaltyDL premiered for his song "Some Jazz Shit" was boring as hell. Electronic band Xiu Xiu’s PornHub-exclusive video for "Black Dick," though, is graphic enough to get a whole office floor fired. "We’re looking for acts that aren’t necessarily porn-focused," said Corey Price, PornHub's vice president. "We’re an ad-based network looking for content that appeals to our demographic. Mature lyrics for an adult audience; no boy bands or teen-pop, for instance."

Because there are absolutely no teenagers on PornHub.

PornHub Records may be absurd, but it's not an anomaly. It’s following a growing trend of non-music media channels hopping into music for a slice of the pie. Adult Swim may be a part of Cartoon Network, but it has curated incredible musical projects and introduced the world to extremely talented artists like Flying Lotus, Run the Jewels and Cerebral Ballzy. Clothing outlet Urban Outfitters currently sells more vinyl than any other company in the world, providing huge support for a resurgence of that medium.

It's all a bit weird, but alternative musical outlets are actually great for music. They offer an unparalleled level of combined reach and artistic freedom that’s hard to find with traditional labels. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that PornHub could help talented artists burst onto the scene. Starting with Coolio was a hilarious first choice. We’ll see if the porn giant can keep it up.