The study valued the creator market north of $100 billion in 2021. Writers, gamers, academics, sex workers, chefs, athletes, artists: anyone with a point of view, or a video to share, has flocked to sites like Twitch, OnlyFans, Patreon and Substack in hopes of selling their skills directly to their fans.Ī September study from the Influencer Marketing Factory estimates some 50 million people around the world participate in this economy, broadly-that’s a third the size of the entire U.S. But the creator economy that took off around 2011 with YouTube has evolved as creators seek autonomy over their intellectual property and freedom from brand sponsorships and social media restrictions. Savannah considers herself half sex worker and half “online creator,” a burgeoning and nebulous category of workers who have turned to online platforms to profit off their talents and speak to niche audiences. Historically, though, the conditions of sex work serve as an indicator of the health of a society, and the inconclusive OnlyFans incident could predict the future of the growing digital creator economy and its workers. For many, online sex work is easy to ignore or view as the internet’s titillating sideshow.

That sense of stability was put to the test by the new August policy-briefly. “I never, ever thought that I would be stable enough to buy a house, period, in my lifetime,” she says. And it just all came together.” By September 2020, she had earned enough money to buy her own house-a goal that had always seemed elusive with a traditional career path. “It was an extreme case of right place, right time,” she says. Then the pandemic lockdowns started, and Savannah’s online star began to rise. At first, the subscribers just trickled in she made $80 that month. “It was nerve-wracking,” Savannah admits. She opened an account in January 2020, posting sassy videos and photos that showed off her passion for Star Wars cosplay and her cheeky sense of humor to attract subscribers. But while career-hunting, she was working three part-time jobs and her boyfriend at the time suggested trying out OnlyFans.

She could’ve gotten a more standard job when she graduated from college in 2020 with a business degree-maybe at a bank, as a mortgage loan officer.

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