Inside the lucrative world of OnlyFans ‘content creators’ and business managers

Amy Mae is an exceptional student with dreams of becoming a doctor. She now makes big money creating adult content on OnlyFans – but will it prevent a future medical career?

The cost of living crisis has seen many South Australians start side hustles and invest in alternative streams of income to make ends meet – one of which is OnlyFans.

The rise of OnlyFans has inspired emerging industries such as OnlyFans creator management.

Edward Lee was aged just 20 when he founded OnlyFansManagement.com.au, one of Australia’s first management businesses for OnlyFans creators.

The agency caters to OnlyFans’ top 0.1 per cent of creators – who cumulatively earned over $2m in 2022.

Mr Lee, who lives in Brisbane, started his national agency two years ago after he noticed a gap in the market while managing his friend’s account.

“I was helping my friend grow her account … because she was doing another job,” he said.

“I just realised some people don’t use business strategies to help grow their account.”

Mr Lee, 22, was working in the real estate industry as a leasing manager before he quit to pursue the new industry.

Now he is the director of one of the only OnlyFans management businesses in Australia, an industry he considers to be worth in the millions.

But they don’t want to be referred to as “pimps”.

“We are actually the opposite of that and actually despise (being called that), we’re there dedicated to our clients success and provide them with the best possible service and we keep everything 100 per cent strictly business,” he said.

More people are turning to OnlyFans during the cost of living crisis. Picture: Supplied

OnlyFansManagement.com.au employs 12 people across the country to manage 20 of Australia’s highest-earning “content creators”.

The agency has had more than 1000 creators inquire about being represented by the agency but they ultimately focus on “quality over quantity”.

“When you’re doing this business (OnlyFans) by yourself you’re second-guessing yourself all the time, so we have meetings all the time with our creators – we’re telling them exactly what content to create, helping them with their social medias as well, how can we get more fans? How can we run the account?” Mr Lee said.

Mr Lee said OnlyFans has seen an increase in creators since the cost of living crisis as people search for a way to make ends meet.

“OnlyFans is on the rise, it’s a really great way to make an income on your own terms and we’ve seen some really amazing successes,” he said.

General manager of the Sex Industry Network (SIN) Kat Morrison said there has been an increase in the online sex work industry since Covid due to the rising cost of living.

“The cost of living crisis has seen people enter the industry in diverse ways,” she said.

“Some sex workers have begun working online in conjunction with in-person work to supplement their income, and others have transitioned their business to entirely online.”

She said many Australians are picking up “side hustles” to supplement their income and the phenomenon isn’t unique to the sex industry.

“There is nothing inherently different, in the context of creating extra income, in launching an OnlyFans account, than driving for Uber Eats for example,” she said.

“It makes sense than online sex work might be an appealing option as it allows people to work from home on their own time.”

Sex Industry Network general manager Kat Morrison said the rise of OnlyFans has had positive and negative effects on the industry as a whole. Pictur:e Brenton Edwards

The rise of OnlyFans has caused both positive and negative effects for the sex work industry according to Ms Morrison, who said “the broader public don’t really have a problem with sex workers as whole”.

“There’s definitely been a surge in the last few years of sensationalised news pieces, especially about OnlyFans,” she said.

“The rise of OnlyFans and the subsequent broader visibility of sex workers has also come at some cost.”

Sex workers are “regularly banned” from websites according to Ms Morrison – even their personal accounts “without any clear reason at all”.

“OnlyFans bans sex workers if they suspect that they might be engaging in any in-person work,” she said.

“We are definitely concerned about the way that sex workers are given less and less ability to access online spaces despite many major companies such as OnlyFans rising to success only because of the work of sex workers.”

‘I made $12,000 a day’: Medical student Amy Mae quits for OnlyFans

Amy Mae was living paycheck to paycheck while studying a medical degree before she decided to put it all on hold to become a sex worker earning up to $12,000 a day.

Passionate about science, Amy excelled at school and had plans to become a doctor but when working four to five days a week at a retail job while juggling a full-time university degree became too much for the 21-year-old she looked to adult website OnlyFans to earn her a few extra hundred dollars a week.

In her account’s first 24 to 48 hours, she earnt more than she ever did at her retail job in a month.

“My theory was I was just going to start it and it would be a side hustle,” she said.

“Within a month I quit my retail job because there was just no point being there anymore when I was earning all this money online.”

Amy Mae wanted to become a doctor, she was studying a medicine science degree, when she decided to ditch uni and jump head first into OnlyFans. Picture: Instagram

Amy Mae wanted to become a doctor, she was studying a medicine science degree, when she decided to ditch uni and jump head first into OnlyFans. Picture: Instagram

Amy, who has thousands of subscribers on the site, is one of the top 0.5 per cent of creators.

“I was so proud of myself … I have worked so hard for it, I feel like I’ve made it,” she said.

Charging $10 a month for her basic content, subscribers are able to pay extra for more of Amy’s content and to talk to the 21-year-old.

“A lot of people think of OnlyFans as posting a couple of nudes and then you’re done and you earn 20 grand in a week which is not at all like it is, it’s actually a lot of hard work,” she said.

Amy manages herself, spending a majority of her day messaging her loyal subscribers.

While most of her subscribers are respectful, there have been times some have crossed a line.

“I’ve definitely had people who are so obsessed with me that it makes me feel uncomfortable,” Amy said.

“I’ve had this guy that I had to block off every platform … I’d rather be safe than sorry.

“I think it’s unfair that we don’t get the same privacy that other people do … I guess it’s just the line of work guys do become infatuated with you because that is what your job is,” she said.

Amy’s friends and boyfriend have been extremely supportive of her career but her parents are still coming to terms with her choices.

“It’s really bad at the moment – my parents were devastated,” she said.

Amy said she believes her parents feelings come from a “huge generational gap” as her friends “didn’t think twice” when she told them about her new career.

The Adelaide woman began posting only lingerie and bikini photos on the platform without her face visible but after realising she could earn more started creating more explicit content.

Amy films one to two explicit videos a week and now shows her face on the platform.

She said she understands her choice to pursue sex work online will likely prevent her for becoming a doctor in the future but has hope that by the time she finishes her studies the stigma surrounding sex work will have evolved.

‘OnlyFans is far from easy’: SA creator Misty on what it takes

South Australian sex worker Misty Rising is committed to dismantling the idea that sex work is “easy money”.

After losing her hospitality job during the global Covid pandemic, Misty had just moved to SA from Canberra and taken out all of her super.

“I was strapped for cash, panicking and the suggestion (to start sex work) came from a chance right swipe on Tinder,” she said.

A now-fellow sex worker suggested Misty try dancing at a club and online content creation on OnlyFans in 2020, and she did.

“In 2023 the decision has paid off and I have completely committed to both jobs,” she said.

“I am proud to be representing the sex industry.”

Misty with her dog Uro.

Misty was working in hospitality before the pandemic meant she lost her job. Now she's creating content on OnlyFans.

But Misty, who has graduated from university with an arts degree, said online sex work is not as “easy” as people make it out to be.

“OnlyFans isn’t easy money – that’d be like saying social media management, consumer engagement, being a creative all-rounder, graphic designer, videographer, Adobe whiz, marketing, financial management and maintaining intricate customer service relationships are all easy money,” she said.

“OnlyFans is all of that and more. It’s people that know the least about the job we do that seem to have the most to say.”

Misty was working in hospitality before the pandemic meant she lost her job. Now she's creating content on OnlyFans. Picture: Instagram

For Misty, OnlyFans is a “supplementary income” that “fluctuates”.

“You put as much money and time into it as you want to get out just like any other side hustle,” she said.

“You can’t just set and forget – it’s not a passive income.

“Earnings fluctuate and the page needs upkeep and management to continue making money. If you miss a couple of days or weeks, it impacts your income and has a snowball effect.

“Regular maintenance keeps subscribers happy.”

Misty said during the pandemic many people “identified the platform as an opportunity to monetise their body and creativity”.

“There was a lot of hype about the platform and popularity spiked, which flooded it,” she said.

To remain competitive, Misty had to change the way she ran her page and lower her prices.