With the recent disruptions in traditional platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans, creators are now turning to Web3 for greater autonomy over their content and to evade the risk of censorship. Decentralized platforms promise not only better financial independence but also a safeguard against being arbitrarily removed from platforms due to controversial content.
Power shift from intermediaries to content creators
In an era where content creators are the heart and soul of the digital economy, central intermediaries, like payment processors and platform hosts, have played a significant role. However, according to Leon Lee, founder and CEO of Only1 — a decentralized equivalent of OnlyFans built on the Solana blockchain — this dynamic is witnessing a transformation. Lee shared that the prominence of intermediaries is waning, while content creators are gaining more control over their content and earnings.
This shift is reflected in recent challenges faced by Patreon creators. In August, many reported difficulties in withdrawing their earnings. Payments were being flagged as suspicious or fraudulent by banking institutions, creating undue hardships for creators.
Moreover, the shadow of the 2021 OnlyFans fiasco, where it temporarily decided to ban explicit content, only to backtrack shortly after, remains fresh in many creators’ minds. Such unpredictable policy changes underline the precarious nature of centralized platforms, pushing creators to seek more stable and reliable alternatives.
Lee highlighted this concern, noting that as long as creators stick to these centralized platforms, they’ll perpetually face the threat of de-platforming. Furthermore, they might not be harnessing their full earning potential in the current infrastructure.
Crypto: The knight in shining armor
The resilience and freedom that cryptocurrencies offer have become particularly alluring for adult content creators. In 2022, Allie Rae, an OnlyFans model, took matters into her own hands by launching WetSpace, a crypto-powered adult content platform. She expressed to Cointelegraph that the restrictive and sometimes unpredictable policies of traditional platforms were often influenced by banking institutions. Rae’s perspective was, if banks were the problem, then the solution was to eliminate their role. Cryptocurrency, in her view, was the answer to this conundrum.
There’s a rising tide of platforms like Friend.tech, which operates on Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base, offering decentralized services and drawing creators from mainstream platforms like OnlyFans. These platforms provide a solution to the age-old problems of censorship, payment bottlenecks, and high commission fees.
The future of content creation in Web3
Lee envisions a significant shift in the coming times. As more creators understand the constraints of centralized platforms, they will transition to decentralized alternatives. This migration isn’t just about better payments; it’s about having more control over one’s content, unrestricted by a central governing body.
This sentiment is echoed by many in the content creation sphere. For instance, since the OnlyFans censorship controversy, a trend has emerged where creators have been diversifying their presence across multiple platforms to safeguard against potential de-platforming risks.
Apart from Only1 and WetSpace, platforms like Proof of Peach, SEXN, and Keyhole are also making waves in the Web3 space. These platforms offer creators the autonomy they’ve been seeking, allowing them to interact directly with their fans, sidestepping any intermediaries.
Lee’s vision is one of a future where there’s a direct and unfiltered connection between creators and their audiences. He perceives this as not just an ideal but as the inevitable future trajectory, stating, “It is an inevitable future where there will no longer be any intermediaries between fans and creators — this is an obvious but unrealized potential of blockchain technology.”
Conclusion
The marriage of content creation and Web3 is not just a temporary phase but a significant evolutionary step in the digital world. As blockchain technology continues to mature, its integration with various industries, particularly content creation, will only deepen. The promise of better financial returns, coupled with unfiltered creative freedom, makes this synergy between creators and decentralized platforms an exciting space to watch.
