Easy Money: The Inside Story of OnlyFans

An in-depth and uncompromising investigation into OnlyFans, exposing the truth behind the secretive company’s rise to power and the world it has created.

Since its inception in 2016, OnlyFans has gone from a tiny startup to the porn industry’s biggest disruptor. The subscription-based platform, which allows creators to upload and sell content directly to “fans”, has transcended the world of sex to become part of popular culture, blurring the boundaries between porn, glamour, and celebrity to an extent not seen since Hugh Hefner’s Playboy. The platform now has over 440 million users worldwide, with more than five million people creating (often explicit) content to share.

The startup burst onto the scene with the promise of monetizing fans directly. For adult workers, this meant liberation from exploitative porn studios, directors, and platforms, offering models the opportunity to create content they felt comfortable with from the safety of their own homes, and for a far greater chunk of the profit than sex workers would receive anywhere else. It offered the holy trinity of safety, control, and cash. OnlyFans has made millionaires out of some creators, and billionaires out of its bosses, and while some have made fortunes, the pay distribution is far from equal. The stark reality is that most creators are barely scraping a living.

It is indisputable that lives have been forever changed by OnlyFans, but how many of these creators would have entered the sex industry if this new platform had not made it so accessible? How many would have been tempted if the promised rewards were not so great? OnlyFans has been genuinely empowering and life-changing for some, but it also comes with an underbelly of exploitation.

With insider access to reveal the behind-closed-doors story of the business’s growth, Easy Money will blow open the story behind OnlyFans’ meteoric rise. Expert journalist Ellie Flynn will expose those riding on the platform’s coattails, shine an urgent spotlight on the impact that OnlyFans has had on its creators, explore what the future holds for OnlyFans and its competitors, and crucially explore what protections OnlyFans offers for the sex workers responsible for the company’s growth.