SWR Data
@swr-data.bsky.social
Data-driven insights into the adult creator economy. Fighting stigma & misinformation with facts. Featured in New York Times, Wired, Hollywood Reporter, NPR, Slate, Mashable and others. A project by @melrose.bsky.social & @mikestabile.bsky.social
We're getting ready to launch our 2026 State of the Creator survey, which raises money for sex worker serving nonprofits. Last year, we raised over $8K, and hope to increase that this year. Compiling this year's beneficiaries now. Who are your favorite SW-serving orgs?
We're prepping our annual State of the Creator survey and have sent out the first email to our list. If you haven't gotten something from us, and want to be included in the survey, DM us.
We're finalizing the questions for the 2026 State of the Creator survey. This is the big one. What issues do you want to see included? What questions could we answer? What do you need to know to build your business (and keep your sanity)?
You do not own your digital agency at all. The followers on someone else's app are borrowed, and so is the reach, and so is your ability to talk to your own community. The platform that handed you all of it can take it back on a Tuesday afternoon with no warning and no appeal...
Everyone joking about "gay for pay" when the stats show it's more like "hetero for pay"
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · last mo.New Pride data from SWR: The adult industry is dominated by LGBTQ+ creators. Nearly 70% adult creators say they fall somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum (including half the men in the industry.) And women make up 74% of creators. The adult industry is an industry of queer women. Where's our float?
The adult industry needs to realize that trans and non-binary creators are disproportionately hurt by the War on Porn: 74% more likely to be attacked online 53% more likely to face content restrictions 41% less likely to have fans unwilling to AV Pride means committing to actual, systemic support.
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · last mo.The data are clear: more gender diverse creators are facing greater harassment, more content restrictions, more platform bans and greater decreases in revenue, often as a result of attacks on the industry. Adult platforms need to be doing more than making rainbow logos (one month a year).
Numbers don't tell you everything, but they can be directional. Below, the platforms most popular among LGBTQ+ creators. Notably not on there? OnlyFans. Proud of the work @melrose.bsky.social and I doing with @swr-data.bsky.social, but we want more creator voices. Follow. DM. Get involved.
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · last mo.We didn't get into this in the actual post, but it's worth mentioning the five platforms LGBTQ+ creators view most positively: 1. @sextpanther.bsky.social (+74%) 2. @realloyalfans.bsky.social (+69%) 3. @fansly.com (+68%) 4. @clips4sale.com (56%) 5. @justfor.fans (+56%)
We didn't get into this in the actual post, but it's worth mentioning the five platforms LGBTQ+ creators view most positively: 1. @sextpanther.bsky.social (+74%) 2. @realloyalfans.bsky.social (+69%) 3. @fansly.com (+68%) 4. @clips4sale.com (56%) 5. @justfor.fans (+56%)
Pride was a fucking riot. Any pride that doesn't include space for sex workers isn't pride at all, it's rainbow assimilationism
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · last mo.New Pride data from SWR: The adult industry is dominated by LGBTQ+ creators. Nearly 70% adult creators say they fall somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum (including half the men in the industry.) And women make up 74% of creators. The adult industry is an industry of queer women. Where's our float?
For any overseas sex workers, if you ever come to Australia, I recommend visiting during Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras! @scarletalliance.bsky.social marches in the parade every year, and sex workers here have been involved in the celebration (and protest!) since the beginning ❤️
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · last mo.New Pride data from SWR: The adult industry is dominated by LGBTQ+ creators. Nearly 70% adult creators say they fall somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum (including half the men in the industry.) And women make up 74% of creators. The adult industry is an industry of queer women. Where's our float?
Happy Pride! Did you know that the majority of sex workers are LGBTQ+? I myself did know this, it’s one of my favorite things about the sex community 🤩🥰
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · last mo.New Pride data from SWR: The adult industry is dominated by LGBTQ+ creators. Nearly 70% adult creators say they fall somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum (including half the men in the industry.) And women make up 74% of creators. The adult industry is an industry of queer women. Where's our float?
New Pride data from SWR: The adult industry is dominated by LGBTQ+ creators. Nearly 70% adult creators say they fall somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum (including half the men in the industry.) And women make up 74% of creators. The adult industry is an industry of queer women. Where's our float?
Is There Another Industry as Queer as Adult?
Nearly 70% of creators identify as LGBTQ+. Why aren't we invited to Pride?
open.substack.com
Creators have seen this coming. Last year's State of Creator saw another consistent decline in OnlyFans share of the creator market, as platforms like @realloyalfans.bsky.social, @fansly.com and @sextpanther.bsky.social rose. swrdata.substack.com/p/the-swr-ho...
Mike Stabile@mikestabile.bsky.social · 2mo ago"Now, amid the machinations that invariably follow a billionaire’s passing, the company once again faces the question its success made unavoidable: Keep the explicit content that built its empire or sanitize OnlyFans in pursuit of the investors and eventual IPO that the porn will always hinder."
Everyone says the creator economy is collapsing. The data found one group quietly winning. 👀
The War on Porn has been devastating to adult creator incomes. But one group is faring significantly better than the rest: cammers. SWR took a look behind the numbers to see how and why creators who cam are withstanding the censorship, shadowbans and other impacts better than other creators. 🧵
The Case for Camming
While fan platforms get all the attention, data shows cams as a powerful tool for creators, especially in a hostile market.
swrdata.substack.com
"As attacks on the industry heat up, from banking discrimination to age-verification, cammers are weathering the storm better than other creators." SWR goes deep into the data on camming — and finds some safe harbors against the rampant censorship creators are facing.
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe War on Porn has been devastating to adult creator incomes. But one group is faring significantly better than the rest: cammers. SWR took a look behind the numbers to see how and why creators who cam are withstanding the censorship, shadowbans and other impacts better than other creators. 🧵
The War on Porn has been devastating to adult creator incomes. But one group is faring significantly better than the rest: cammers. SWR took a look behind the numbers to see how and why creators who cam are withstanding the censorship, shadowbans and other impacts better than other creators. 🧵
The Case for Camming
While fan platforms get all the attention, data shows cams as a powerful tool for creators, especially in a hostile market.
swrdata.substack.com
I feel like every adult creator needs to read this. The data doesn't lie and @swr-data.bsky.social has the receipts. Age verification laws are gutting our income and this article lays out exactly how: thebaffler.com/latest/papers-please-mcgrady
Papers, Please | Michael McGrady Jr.
Age verification laws have proven costly to freedom of expression for adult consumers and chill sexual speech.
thebaffler.com
They said age verification was about protecting kids. The research says it's cutting our income. Read this. If you participated in @swr-data.bsky.social surveys, you're in this story. Follow them and share:
Age-verification is hurting sex educators, study suggests
These laws aren't working to keep minors off adult sites, but they are hitting creators' incomes.
buff.ly
Are you making less money this year than last? You're not alone. New data shows how age-verification laws have hurt the adult creator economy. SWR investigates whether the boom that fueled that creator economy is really faltering.
How Age-Verification Laws Are Cutting Into Creator Income
Is the boom over? AV law take their toll on the creator economy.
open.substack.com
“While some creators are making millions selling bathwater, the average income from adult sales is closer to $5,000 a month. Sex work is work, and at the heart of the adult creator community are hundreds of thousands of small, independent creators building their businesses one clip at a time.”
SWR Data Publishes 'Creator Income' Report
Adult industry market research firm SWR Data has published a report on creator incomes.
xbiz.com
"The question isn’t just a matter of accounting or accuracy. The extremely low revenue figures equate sex work with trafficking, and are used to justify increased censorship, policing and banking discrimination. Better data is both a business and a political issue."
SWR Data@swr-data.bsky.social · 5mo agoSWERFs and religious right are have been using faked numbers to justify censorship, policing and debanking of adult creators. This year's State of the Creator proved how wrong that data is. This week, we dive into how (and how much) adult creators are earning. 🧵
"Newer creators earn around $16,000 annually on average, while that number shoots up to $74,000 for those who've been in the industry for five years. And for creators who've been in the industry for 5+ years and only work in adult, the average income is more than $111,000, according to SWR Data."
What's the average porn creator's salary?
A new survey reveals what actual performers say they earn.
mashable.com
SWERFs and religious right are have been using faked numbers to justify censorship, policing and debanking of adult creators. This year's State of the Creator proved how wrong that data is. This week, we dive into how (and how much) adult creators are earning. 🧵
How Much Money Do Creators Actually Make?
The average annual income for adult creators is close to $60,000. That's much more important than you think.
open.substack.com
"SWR’s data suggested that the rise in the importance of clips sales to adult content creators was at the expense of fan subscription sites. Sustained mistrust of OnlyFans, the world’s biggest platform for porn creator subscriptions, could help explain this."
Clip Sales Now Rival Fan Site Subscriptions as Burned-Out Creators Rethink the OnlyFans Hustle
A survey of 550+ adult creators found clip sales nearly match subscriptions as a top revenue source, with many citing burnout and declining income.
sextechguide.com
SWR's @melrose.bsky.social and @mikestabile.bsky.social sat down with @hansbuetow.bsky.social at Never Post to talk about what really draws fans — authenticity and intimacy.
🆕 Never Post! Pornhub Goes SFW
HELLO TO ALL! We've got an SFW episode for your ears. Today, Senior Producer Hans Buetow digs into the data from the 2025 Pornhub Year-in-Review, and wonders aloud to sexual wellness educator Courney ...
neverpo.st