OnlyFans
Type of site | Membership platform |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Headquarters | London , |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Owner | Leonid Radvinsky[1] |
Founder(s) |
|
CEO |
|
URL | onlyfans.com |
Users | 24 million registered users |
Current status | Active |
OnlyFans is a content subscription service based in London.[3] Content creators can earn money from users who subscribe to their content—the "fans".[4] It is popular in the adult entertainment industry,[5] but also hosts content creators from other genres such as physical fitness experts[6] and other creators who post regularly online. It allows content creators to receive funding directly from their fans on a monthly basis as well as on tips and the pay-per-view (PPV) feature.[7]
Business model
A subscriber to (i.e., fan of) a content creator can view his/her content in exchange for a monthly membership fee.[8] The company pays 80% of the fees collected to the content creator, with the remaining 20% retained by OnlyFans.[9] After merchant and processing fees, the company's share is around 12%.[5]
History
OnlyFans was launched in 2016[10] as a website for social media performers to allow their followers to subscribe for a monthly fee to see clips and photos. Little is known about the parent company, Fenix International Limited.[5]
In October 2018, Leonid Radvinsky, owner of MyFreeCams, became a person of significant control with over 75% ownership of parent company, Fenix International Limited. He became a director in November 2018.[11][12]
In late May 2019, OnlyFans introduced an extra safeguard into the account verification process so that a creator now has to provide a selfie headshot with their ID in the image in order to prove that the ID provided belongs to the account holder.[13]
In April 2020, BBC Three published a documentary and found that on a single day, a third of Twitter profiles globally advertising 'nudes4sale' (or similar) appeared to belong to underage individuals on various platforms, and many of those used OnlyFans to share their content.[14][13]
As of May 2020, the site has 24 million registered users and claims to have paid out $725 million to its 450,000 content creators.[15]
In May 2020, CEO Tim Stokely told BuzzFeed News "the site is seeing about 200,000 new users every 24 hours and 7,000 to 8,000 new creators joining every day."[16]
Mid-2020 saw OnlyFans announce a partnership with Demon Time social media show to create a monetized virtual night club using the site's dual-screen live feature.[17]
In January 2020, twenty-year-old American Kaylen Ward raised more than $1 million in contributions to charity during the wild bushfires in Australia. OnlyFans teamed with her for their first partnership for a charitable cause.[18] This started a trend with some OnlyFans creators who have been raising money through their accounts.[19]
July 2020, Sky News published information that OnlyFans has not paid VAT in the last 3 years, and would likely be heavily penalized by tax authorities. Not paying VAT is a criminal offense in the EU.[20]
Usage
Pornography is allowed. In fact, the website is mainly used by pornographic models,[5][21] both amateur and professional, but it also has a market with chefs, fitness enthusiasts, and musicians.[22]
References
- ^ "FENIX INTERNATIONAL LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "onlyfans.com Competitive Analysis, Marketing Mix and Traffic". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "FENIX INTERNATIONAL LIMITED - company report". Dun & Bradstreet.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Arceneaux, Michael (2020). I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-2930-9. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d Bernstein, Jacob (9 February 2019). "How OnlyFans Changed Sex Work Forever". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Former Chef Becomes Millionaire By Sharing Fitness Photos On Instagram". LAD Bible. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Jankowicz, Mia. "We spoke to a woman earning more than $100,000 a year selling explicit content on OnlyFans — this is exactly how she makes her money". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "How to Make Money on OnlyFans: The Complete Guide". HomeGrown Income. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ "Help & Support -Earnings". OnlyFans. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Ryan, Paul (2019). Male Sex Work in the Digital Age: Curated Lives. Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-11797-9. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ "FENIX INTERNATIONAL LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ Bernstein, Jacob (9 February 2019). "How OnlyFans Changed Sex Work Forever". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b Gallier, Thea de (7 April 2020). "'I make over £20k a month selling nudes online'". BBC Three. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ Morgan, Jessica. "This Documentary Reveals The Dark Side Of OnlyFans". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "English: OnlyFans brand deck". 8 November 2019.[full citation needed]
- ^ "Everyone Is Making Porn At Home Now. Will The Porn Industry Survive?". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Demon Time and OnlyFans Launch New Virtual Night Club". Complex. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ "Nude photos raised over $1 million for the Australia fires". VOX. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Donate $10 to Australia, Get a Nude Photo". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "OnlyFans could be hit with bill for more than three years' worth of unpaid taxes". Sky News. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "OnlyFans is the site where porn is more intimate than ever". Dazed. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ "Porn app OnlyFans and platform JustFor.Fans stars share personal stories, paid sexual content creation, and the online adult entertainment marketplace". Esquire SG. Retrieved 12 May 2020.