Podcasts have been around since the early 2000s, but it wasn’t until the mid-2010s that their popularity really took off. Most people credit Serial, the viral true crime NPR spin-off podcast that centered the murder of Hae Min Lee and the conviction of Adnan Syed, as the podcast that took the industry from a quaint little hobby for many to a booming industry.
In the late 2010s, podcasts became something entrepreneurs, creatives, and journalists used to share stories and yes, make money. But when the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world, the podcast industry began to change.
That’s because celebrities, who were stuck at home due to mandatory “safer-at-home” orders that closed many film and television sets, picked up a microphone and launched their own podcasts. With the fame (and money) they had backing them, these celebrity podcasts quickly began sucking up the advertising money that had previously gone to smaller creators — and the attention of listeners.
Some people worry that the same thing is happening to OnlyFans now. The subscription-based platform is the sole source of income for many adult content creators, and for some, it has been since OnlyFans began back in 2016. The sex workers, porn stars, and fetish creators were the backbone of the OnlyFans community, and for years they were why subscribers flocked to the platform.
But the same problem that has plagued the podcast industry came for OnlyFans: celebrities.
The timing is similar. A flood of celebrities joined OnlyFans in 2020 during the pandemic, many for the same reasons that others started podcasts. To make money, yes. But also to bask in the fame and acclaim.
Joining OnlyFans as a celebrity in the early 2020s was a guaranteed way to make headlines and get a nice cash infusion, even if you didn’t stay on the platform. Cardi B joined around that time, promising behind-the-scenes videos of her life, as well as exclusive music. She stayed on for a few years, making around $9 million a month from her content there. Bella Thorne, a former Disney star, also joined in 2020 and reportedly made $1 million on the first day. At the time, Thorne said of the platform: “OnlyFans is the first platform where I can fully control my image; without censorship, without judgment, and without being bullied online for being me.”
While both Cardi B and Thorne have left OnlyFans (after making millions of dollars), celebrities have continued to flock to the platform. Amanda Bynes just recently announced that she’ll be joining OnlyFans at $50 a month, a monthly subscription fee that is on the very high end of what most OnlyFans creators charge. And people speculate that she’ll make millions with her account because people are so eager to see what she’s up to — even if she vows “I won’t be posting any sleazy content.”
As more celebrities join the platform, many non-famous creators fear for their income. Most subscribers have a limited budget to spend on the platform, and if they choose to support celebrities (many of whom may not even need the money, at least not the way the regular creators do) then the regular creators could see a drop in their subscriber base.
The silver lining of more celebrities joining the platform is that OnlyFans is becoming less stigmatized. It’s no longer as shocking for someone to join the platform…but it will still grab headlines.