In person or online, the challenge most industries in the 21st century face. With the digital age bringing more accessible and convenient ways to access the pleasures of life, it creates the ultimatum of which one is the best. This is the reality of the adult entertainment industry. With websites like OnlyFans rising in popularity over the past five years, it begs to ask how the adult clubs survived and how many have been sacrificed for the offer of convenience.

OnlyFans is an online platform where content creators can publish videos and photos, PIPEDOT estimates that 98% of the content on the platform is adult content, however later reports claim its between 70-80% adult content. Other content that is posted on the website is fitness, fashion, art, and cooking content. however, the majority of the content that brings in the revenue is adult content.

In 2021 OnlyFans skyrocketed as company in popularity and revenue, with a total of 1.5 million creators by then end of the year. That has since drastically increased to 4.1 million by the end of 2023. Peaking just after the Covid 19 pandemic, dancers and performers tried to merge into the online industry of sex work, finding a way to continue their careers whilst the world shut down. Although in 2021, they tried to ban “adult content” as a means to remove inappropriate behaviour, the guidelines still claim that it is an 18+ website where adult content is still accepted. When the world rebooted and freedom was once again restored upon us, the financial security of the online work kept dancers from returning to their earlier work. Can they be blamed? The adult entertainment industry (or strip clubs for lesser words) lost 17.4% of their revenue instantaneously as lock down was announced. Between the pandemics outbreak and the current times, over 60 venues have been closed with a 50% decrease in bookings, although they are not official statistics its clear it is due to the decrease in physical revenue. During the pandemic, OnlyFans shot up with their gross revenue by 118% due to the Covid lockdown with last years yearly income reaching to 7.2 billion in fan payments worldwide, a drastic difference from the strip club industry. With OnlyFans creators taking in 80% of their content’s revenue, the other 20% going towards the sites revenue, the vast amount more they should be making compared to those who work for minimum wage at adult clubs starts to show why so many dancers choose to switch from in person to online workspaces.

So, what is the opinion of those in this industry? One industry worker, we will call her Kate, claims that the level of income for them was ‘really predictable’ for others it can differ, her earning came in at £17,000 as an average monthly payment at 18 years old. With the sites income reaching 7.2 billion in payments, it begs to wonder how much better these creators are doing in the digital worlds compared to those who work in “real-life” venues. An ex-dancer has stated that between £25 and £400 was the average amount of income made daily, it was not reliable and flitted between both extremes depending on the day. However, in their first year, none of the money earned by them was deducted for house fees compared to the 20% initially paid into the online industry. Although now it is a custom to pay a house fee, it comes out of pocket if they have not made enough money or docked from their earning.

Whether or not online or in-person is more financially secure, there are still many dangers to the industry. Nicole said that in their time working for the company, ‘all the girls looked after each other, I think the girls were probably more capable of looking after us then the bouncers.’ As much as it is a great display of “womanhood” it does present the dangers of working in a face-to-face industry as she said, ‘they treated us like we were nothing.’ The issue of being recognised is also a fear they had, recollecting a time they were openly called a ‘slut’ in public after leaving the industry prior to the club demanding that the dancer must strip on stage without pay. However, online work is not at all much better, an anonymous interviewee has claimed that there have been multiple instances where they have received crude, uncomfortable and semi-threatening messages over her time on the website. 57% of adult dancers who were interviewed in a case study felt that online sex work was a safe and secure in their work whereas a whopping 80% of dancers felt that club security was insufficient to protect them against customer behaviour. Although 60% on average report harassment, doxxing and threats to online establishments; between 69 and 92% of strippers have reported harassment, threats or witnessed assaults. One worker claims that in public ‘being recognised in public was too often, it led to me being cautious when out.’

Amid this, their opinions on each subsection of adult work are completely different. An ex-dancer claims online work is ‘the devil’ not advocating for online content being a career as it seems more dangerous and more invasive as you are not in the safety of one venue, ‘you’re in your own home which can lead to threats and stalking in more severe cases’. However, an ex OnlyFans creator claims she doesn’t condone working within strip clubs on the premise that ‘I (they) don’t agree on income you earn by selling yourself’, the idea that only fans allows them to tailor content to their personal choices rather then it being just based on walking around the venue and dancing.

So, is it really the death of adult clubs at the hands of online establishments? The threatened atmosphere of these adult clubs shows how technology is slowly taking over the industry, leaving those left in these clubs with the ultimatum of which is better. Financially? The online system is more stable than in person clubs due to the ability to pay for subscriptions, personalised services, and the bonus of the guaranteed 20% payment to the site out of their earnings compared to the fear of unreliable wages and house fees. In terms of safety, each have their own individual issues. Weighing it up the safety measures in the venues can only stretch as far as the venue, there is no safety in the streets.