In 2023, the popular online video and user-generated content OnlyFans, which is owned and managed by the London-based Fenix International Limited, reported that the platform generated over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in net revenues during the year ending November 30, 2023. This represents a staggering increase since 2019, year in which the company reported 44 million British pounds (or 49.9 million U.S. dollars in net revenues). OnlyFans has become ubiquitously popular in 2020, due to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed creators in several industries - including the adult entertainment industry - to rely more heavily on online environments.

In 2023, the popular online video and user-generated content OnlyFans, which is owned and managed by the London-based Fenix International Limited, generated over 541 million U.S. dollars in revenues by subscription products. In comparison, non-subscription based revenues generated approximately 765.8 million U.S. dollars for the year.

As of August of 2022, the highest earning OnlyFans accounts ever were the musicians Bhad Bhabie and Cardi B, having earned 59.8 million U.S. Dollars and 46.7 million U.S. Dollars respectively. The highest paid non-musician was Blac Chyna, having earned 39.3 million U.S. Dollars.

In 2023, London-based Fenix International Limited, which is the parent company of online video and community platform OnlyFans, reported that the platform generated 6.63 billion U.S. dollars in gross revenues for the year ended on November 30, 2023. This represents an increase compared to the previous year when the company reported 5.5 billion U.S. dollars in revenues. Launched in 2016, OnlyFans reported gross revenues of 238 million British pounds in 2019.

In 2020, the content creator platform OnlyFans saw net revenues of almost 380 million U.S. dollars. It was projected for company revenues to increase by more than 200 percent, reaching 1.2 billion dollars by the end of 2021. Founded in 2016 and based in London, OnlyFans is an online platform where creators can host their content for users to access by paying a subscription or for free. The content hosted on the platform varies, but there is a distinct predominance of adult material.

In 2021, American model and television personality Blac Chyna was the top-earning creator on OnlyFans, with an estimate of 20 million U.S. dollars in earnings from the platform per month. Actress and creator Bella Thorne ranked second, with an estimate of 11 million U.S. dollars earned per month on the platform. Rapper Cardi B. followed, with 9.34 million U.S. dollars in revenues on OnlyFans in 2021.

Where online pornography meets the creators economy OnlyFans experienced staggering growth in 2020, when the global coronavirus pandemic drove audiences worldwide to move their lives online. Traffic to the OnlyFans website kept increasing through the end of 2021, reaching 39.43 million visits in January 2022. Launched in 2016, the London-based platform OnlyFans hosts video and photo content available for free and via monthly subscription. While it was not purposely launched to host adult entertainment material, the platform became increasingly renowned for sexually explicit content as the sex services industry moved online and independent workers looked at content creation to support themselves during the pandemic. Despite the company announcing a ban on porn in March 2021, it backtracked on this statement only a few months later. OnlyFans global net revenues are estimated to reach 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

Monetization tools for creators Effective content monetization is crucial not only for creators, but also plays a role in online platforms’ success and market presence. Professional and semi-professional creators that can focus on producing engaging content represent the backbone of the social media economy, with hosting platforms relying on user-generated media to attract views and drive ad presence. According to a survey of digital content creators conducted in 2021, 60 percent of content creators had not chosen to monetize their content yet, while less than one in 10 reported earning over 10,000 U.S. dollars. Among niche creators who managed to successfully monetize their online efforts, approximately 23 percent of respondents reported selling their own physical products. Affiliate marketing deals were also among the leading monetization methods for non-niche creators, with 10 percent of respondents in this group reporting earning revenues online.

Among the possibilities that Web 3.0 has promised to bring, direct monetization and follower support might represent the most important digital gig economy development of the next years. A number of digital creators have also started showing interest in crypto payments, with 40 percent of creators who use images as their primary media deeming them crucial or nice to have.