OnlyFans has launched a creative fund for emerging artists and musicians

WORDS Ella Jane PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy Instagram PUBLISHED Mon, 22 Mar 2021 - 2:32 pm

Subscription-based social media platform OnlyFans recently announced the launch of a creative fund, which will focus on supplying emerging artists across the creative industries with a financial pick-me-up.

The newly announced £80,000 fund will support four recipients, with £20,000 awarded to each of the winning applicants chosen by a panel. On this year's panel is UK rapper Stefflon Don, OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely, designer Henry Holland, and actress Suki Waterhouse.

The inaugural years' creative category will be centred around music. "With so many music artists including Cardi B, Jermaine Dupri, Franc Moody, and many more joining the site, OnlyFans wants to support up-and-coming artists in the creative community." OnlyFans said in a statement.

The move comes as a way to expand the platform into more safe-for-work territory with exclusive virtual performances or Q&A content. Those from the US who have joined the platform, such as Cardi B, have had a lot of success via earnings from OnlyFans, something that the platform hopes to grow for UK artists who haven't yet tapped into the social-media-sharing site.

“Music is an industry you have to work incredibly hard at anyway and with live gigs off the table it’s been tougher than ever,” Stefflon Don tells the Independent, “My hope is this gives musicians inspiration or a channel to earn a wage. For the winners who will get the grant, I’m excited to see their possibilities in the industry and see the entries.”

With so many venues and avenues of income shutting down last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OnlyFans has grown substantially over the last year, with an increase of both viewers and creators joining to subsidize the collapse of other forms of media and in-person work during continued lockdowns. According to the Independent, the company has now paid out more than $3 billion to creators and has more than 100 million registered users.

According to OnlyFans, music and artists are already a large part of the platform, with reports stating that last month, its top 40 biggest US music focussed accounts generated $2 million of income between them, representing an average of $50,000 each.

Applications for the new OnlyFans creative fund are open via the platform's website to musicians from the UK, who will need to upload a 90-second video performing one of their songs. Entries close on April 13 at 12 pm (GMT).