When it comes to the creator economy, Patreon is the name that comes to mind. Between 2013 and 2019, the platform paid out $1B+ to creators of all stripes.
But an unlikely competitor is blowing it out of the water: OnlyFans.
According to a recent Bloomberg profile, the site — which allows people to charge fans for access to videos, photos, and personalized communications — is on pace to dish out $2B this year.
Never heard of OnlyFans?
The platform’s traditional power users are attractive females selling the “opposite of G-rated” photos to (usually) male buyers.
Today, its biggest accounts are from the world of Instagram influencers like Jem Wolfie and Andrea Vasile.
But adult performers and sex workers — who are unable to meet clients in person — have taken to the platform as a way to earn a living during the pandemic.
OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely is a serial entrepreneur
He founded a successive series of startups throughout the 2010s, prior to the launch of OnlyFans in 2016:
- GlamWorship, which facilitated transactions for a sexual fetish known as “financial domination” (which may also have been a phrase used in Amazon’s pre-IPO prospectus)
- Custom4U lets customers order personalized videos
- 121with was a marketplace where tradespeople (e.g., plumbers) could sell their expertise
Stokely tells Bloomberg that these ventures gave him key insights into the creator-fan relationship.
Mainstream celebrities are taking notice
Musicians like Cardi B and The Weeknd have used OnlyFans as a promotional platform. Actress Bella Thorne pulled in a single-day record of $1m when she joined the platform.
While sex workers expressed concern that the likes of Thorne will “gentrify” the platform and take away a much-needed income stream, OnlyFans’ growth outside of adult content looks inevitable.
Already with 85m+ users and 1m+ creators, OnlyFans is adding 500k users a day and — with a 20% take on the $2B in sales — will bring home $400m in 2020.
If Patreon is already worth $1.2B+, the sky’s the limit for OnlyFans.
Check out our related coverage:
- OnlyFans is in Trends’ 30 “future of media” companies
- Sam’s viral Twitter thread on a top OnlyFans creator
- Give Trung startup ideas for a URL he owns: OnlyPhans
