OnlyFans has paid creators over $20 billion, CEO Keily Blair reveals

OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair has revealed the whopping amount the subscription-based platform has paid creators since its 2016 inception.

OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair has revealed the whopping amount the subscription-based platform – best known for its adult content – has paid creators since its 2016 inception.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in LA late last week, Ms Blair said the UK-based company had paid out over $US20 billion ($29.6 billion) in the past eight years.

While the majority of this has been to creators who produce explicit content, Ms Blair stressed OnlyFans offers all “artists freedom to say what they want and to be controversial, and to have a point of view”.

“Everyone assumes it’s sexy content. Some of it is sexy content – and we’re very happy with that, we’re an inclusive platform, and we’re that way for a reason,” she said.

“We believe it’s very important for adult content creators to have a safe space, to be able to monetise and also to be able to do that alongside other content creators.

“We’re all adults, we’re all grown-ups, we can all choose what content we subscribe to.”

OnlyFans has paid creators close to $30 billion since its 2016 inception. Picture: Nicola McNamara

Other social media platforms, Ms Blair said, have “struggled” to introduce a subscription model similar to the one OnlyFans uses. The site does not sell advertising or track user behaviour, and creators rely solely on subscriptions, pay-per-view events or tips from subscribers to generate income.

According to OnlyFans, creators earn 80 per cent of all payments made on the platform.

“Porn is free on the internet. I think the reason why people pay for OnlyFans is because they want to engage with those particular creators,” she said.

“It’s because of the ability to customise as well as to ask for a specific content.”

For some consumers, she said, “it’s an ethical decision actually about how they choose to consume, particularly, adult content”.

For some consumers, OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair said, ‘it’s an ethical decision actually about how they choose to consume, particularly, adult content’. Picture: iStock

Founded by father-son duo Guy and Tim Stokely, OnlyFans was sold in 2018 to Ukrainian-American entrepreneur and porn site owner Leonid Radvinksy.

A regulatory filing seen by Variety last month showed that the platform had reported record revenue and profits last financial year, with payments jumping 19 per cent and the number of registered users increasing by 28 per cent.

“We continue to grow,” Ms Blair told Financial Times in February.

“I think everyone was worried we’d be a pandemic bubble. We’ve proven that’s not the case. The company is also capable of doing so much for creators. That’s what excites me about the job.”

‘I think the reason why people pay for OnlyFans is because they want to engage with those particular creators.’

She also shot down suggestions OnlyFans was merely a “porn site”.

“We’re a site that hosts adult content, but we also host a variety of other content. And a lot of the people who create adult content also choose to create other content, so maybe yoga and naked yoga,” Ms Blair said.

“Sites that are for adults should cater to all of grown-ups’ interests. Lots of people who are over 18 like sex, but they also like comedy and sports and music, so (it’s about) being able to cater to our audience base and to be able to provide opportunities for creators.”

Originally published as OnlyFans has paid creators over $20 billion, CEO Keily Blair reveals