It cannot be denied that OnlyFans became one of the biggest subscription services on the planet mainly due to its open embrace of the adult industry.
Now the site reportedly wants to clean up its reputation and distance itself from sex work. The company is currently seeking funds in a bid to remove the majority (if not then all) of the pornographic content from its site.
On the site, celebrities and adult-film stars charge fans for access to videos and photos not available on other online platforms. Before the influx of celebrities, it was the sex workers who bolstered the site.
However, according to Bloomberg, the platform is in talks to raise new funding at a company valuation of more than $1 billion. They are currently seeking backers to help it become more of a mainstream media platform and do away with its reputation for porn.
Last year, OnlyFans made $2 billion in sales last year. Since the site currently charges talent a 20% fee, meaning that last year alone, it had more than $400 million in revenue.
That same year, Cardi B joined last August and promised fans a behind-the-scenes look from her saucy “WAP” music video. “No, I’m not going to be showing my titties,” she said at the time.
And that is what OnlyFans is trying to move away from. When a celebrity (or anybody for that matter) announces they are launching on the platform, it is pretty much assumed that the content they will offer will be of an NSFW nature.
This can turn off prospective advertisers, and even though the company is profitable, you can always make more money… right?
But for those relying on OnlyFans to pull in a steady paycheck, their new push could produce life-altering results.
Ashley, an organizer with SWOP (Sex Workers Outreach Project) Behind Bars, a social-justice network that centers on incarcerated sex workers, spoke to The New York Times in May.
“I know 10 or 15 trans people making over $10,000 a month on OnlyFans,” she said. “And I’ve never known more than one trans person making that much a month in full-service or porn or anything. It’s taking folks from barely homed to having a savings account.”
OnlyFans has made no official statement on the matter. It’s now a waiting game.
