By Cameron Lucas
In the last decade, the rise of free porn was supposed to signal the start of the end for the porn industry. Free videos, and overseas sites hosting pirated films meant anyone could evade the paywall for content they wanted to see. Subscription numbers went down, and it looked as though industry giants would need to fight for survival. A whole generation was growing up in a world of free porn, so why would they ever want to pay for it?
But now, millennials have become the biggest subscriber base for several producers. They are spending bigger than all other generations, and in some cases make up more than half of their overall subscribers. Despite having access to a world of free porn, they are now paying for more content than anyone else. So what’s changed?
The Millennial attitude toward porn is defined by personalisation and branding. This phenomenon first arose on YouTube and Instagram, with stars and influencers capitalising on personal brands and loyal followings. By posting about their daily life, their relationships and their friends, influencers are able to generate an authentic connection with their viewers. Subscribers and followers become invested in these online profiles and the connection they feel with them.
Once this personal connection is made, fans are then willing to fork out hundreds for anything from branded items to meet and greets. Fans even send monthly payments to their favourite influencers, sometimes for doing nothing, through a subscription service called Patreon. This model of personalisation has worked so well for Instagrammers and YouTubers, it was only a matter of time before similar models were taken up in the porn industry.
Step in OnlyFans. Similar to Patreon, OnlyFans lets you subscribe to your favourite influencer or star for a monthly fee, and in return gives you access to exclusive photos and videos. The key difference is that OnlyFans allows adult content. For a monthly fee set by the creator, anyone can access photos and videos that either give a glimpse behind the scenes of their public life, or in the case of many porn stars, more photos and videos that they’ve filmed themselves and can’t be found on traditional porn sites.
Many top porn stars have already jumped at the chance to promote their personal brand, not only boosting their personal income but boosting the audience for their future performances – an outcome sites will be happy about. Stars such as Abigail Mac, Joey Mills, and Natalie Mars all have accounts on OnlyFans.
This drive toward more authentic personal connection has also seen a rise in popularity of cam sites, especially amongst millennials. The phenomenon of being able to cam with a performer, or request certain videos is the epitome of the ‘authentic’ connection that spearheads how millennials use the online world. Sites are livestreaming stars to their subscribers and pushing authenticity of their content to boost their personal connection with millennials.
While it is easier for stars to amass a personal following on social media and funnel viewers towards their content, producers and sites can also cultivate a personal brand that appeals to millennials. Through acute brand awareness and social media presence, major sites will be able to capitalize on this phenomenon. By taking advantage of this branding and creating a personality for themselves, sites are far more likely to convince millennials to subscribe for premium content.
Young people, especially men have proven they are willing to pay premium prices for quality content. As the world grows smaller, more interconnected and personal, the porn industry has been handed a lifeline by millennials who are searching for an authentic connection in their porn.
Hate them or love them, influencers are as much a symptom of the personalised branding of the millennial generation as rising porn subscription numbers are.
After all if you had access to unlimited porn, wouldn’t you prefer content you had a connection to?
