OnlyFans' owner has been in talks about a potential sale of the platform for $8 billion. But it could be worth much more, said the Financial Times, if the social media site, on which "creators" post mostly sexual content for paying subscribers, could shift from being "not safe for work" to being "less edgy." Its business model, which takes a 20% fee from videomakers, is versatile and scalable, much like others that trade in user-generated content, such as Reddit and Roblox.
'Betting on reinvention' OnlyFans was founded in 2016 and grew rapidly during the pandemic. In the year up to November 2023, it generated $6.6 billion in revenue. But tighter regulation of adult content in some states has made investors wary. Any buyer would be "betting on reinvention or at least diversification," a transition that OnlyFans is attempting by luring chefs and fitness influencers to post, said the FT.
A stock market flotation is also being considered. But it doesn't change the platform's reputation, with reports of child-abuse material and nonconsensual pornography being posted on the site.
'Fame equalizer' Some noncelebrity creators defend OnlyFans for giving them autonomy and the opportunity to earn millions, although the average annual payout is about $1,300 per creator, according to Mashable. This potential is explored in Rufi Thorpe's comic novel "Margo's Got Money Troubles," in which a single mother turns to OnlyFans as a creatively fulfilling and financially rewarding lifeline. The platform represents a "way out" for the characters, said Nick Hornby in The New York Times.
And the platform is a "fame equalizer, allowing unknown individuals to rise to prominence and build a large fanbase," said The Independent. But OnlyFans also normalizes the "commodification of a person's body, sexuality and privacy," with creators becoming "globally known for performing sexual stunts that, until recently, would only have been conceived of in the farthest extremes of pornography." |