Safety matters for OnlyFans.
At least that’s what the London-based adults-only subscription platform went to lengths to express in full-year financial results recently shared with Proactive.
In fact, on no less than six occasions in the single-page document, the privately-owned company touted the platform’s “best-in-class” approach to safety moderation and collaborative efforts with “safety-focused NGOs, law enforcement, and industry groups”.
There’s little wonder why OnlyFans has gone on the PR defence though, given the inevitable controversies that came with operating a social platform primarily used for pornographic purporses.
Not that OnlyFans just deals in smut; you can also find music lessons and yoga classes too, but let’s face it- that age restriction is there for a reason.
In May 2021, a BBC investigation uncovered widespread dissemination of underage pornographic content on the site.
Investors fretted and OnlyFans responded by announcing that and and all sexually explicit content would be blocked on the site.
It took around four days before OnlyFans realised the stupidity of such a move would harm not just investors, but ultimately the models whose income relied on the platform.
The site's response to controversy became a controversy itself.
But through these controversies, OnlyFans has swelled and swelled into what appears to be a hugely profitable venture.
Owner nets quarter billion in dividends
According to the latest financials seen by Proactive, pre-tax profits came in at US$433m in 2021, up from $61m in 2020.
Such stiff growth was the result of the fanbase increasing by 128% alongside a 34% uptick in content creators.
So while OnlyFans’ meteoric rise may have started in the dark days of 2020, things really took off the following year.
“Our creator-first approach to building the world’s safest social media platform propelled OnlyFans to a record-breaking 2021,” said chief executive officer Amrapali Gam.
Gam continued: “We are empowering creators to monetise their content and have real control over it.
“We will continue to invest in the creator economy by enhancing safety, developing original OFTV content, and continuing to grow our community of creators and fans.”
Like any disruptor, OnlyFans makes its money from commissions; in this case, 20% of creator revenues go to the company.
On the back of these strong financials, owner Leonid Radvinsky netted up to US$284mln (£245mln) worth of dividends in the past 18 months.
As for the creators themselves, of the US$8bn in creator earnings logged since the site’s 2016 launch, almost half was earned in 2021 alone.
It isn’t hard to fathom OnlyFans’ exponential growth; sex sells after all.
But you only need to look at those other pandemic-era profiteers – the likes of Deliveroo, Ocado (LON:OCDO) and other disruptors catering to our human human needs – to realise that lockdown gains can be fleeting.
So is OnlyFans Britain’s next big tech unicorn? Who knows.
While rumours of a SPAC were flying around earlier this year, investors are generally reluctant to put their name to porn so a valuation is hard to determine.
All that’s certain is that OnlyFans is selling what a lot of people want.