Have you heard the news?
In case you missed the memo, it was announced on December 1st 2021 that AVN Stars, which has quickly become the subscription based platform of choice for Femdomme and Findomme creators/models, will be removing payable content features on January 1st, 2022.
Although creators will be able to continue to post free content on the social media styled platform, they will not be able to sell any items on their profile. AVN Stars, in my opinion, has the best features and usability of similar platforms, including allowing verified users to sell clips, photosets and audio files, wholly integrated free and paid content in the main feed and paid messaging options.
This has already triggered an exodus of models from the site, as the pressure to relocate to another suitable platform before the ability to make money from their content on AVN Stars is taken away in a matter of weeks. From watching my Twitter feed since the announcement, the platforms Fansly and LoyalFans seem to be attracting the most new models who are needing to build subscription based services away from AVN Stars.
So what happened?
AVN stated that the decision was made due to banking discrimination, an issue that has put strain on the adult industry since Mastercard and Visa froze card use on Pornhub in December 2020. Under the guise of protecting human trafficking and child sexual abuse victims, the war on porn has targeted a new front in order to gain more control over what adult content can produced and sold on the internet.
Platforms and creators have had to perform sophisticated acrobatics in order to continue to be able to stay on the good side of Visa and Mastercard and ensure customers can continue to pay for their content. This has proved to be a mammoth task; all the platforms I use already had age and identity verification of performers in order to operate accounts,and PornHub was pretty much the last bastion of unverified content. But additional methods of verifying that creators are sharing their content willingly and that content rules set by the big banks are being followed, have needed to be designed, tested and rolled out by all platforms who want to keep their businesses running.
Easier said than done
When it comes to models being able to upload a single piece of content (a video, for example), additional swathes of red tape for creators to navigate have been added to adult sites. In my opinion the target is not the eradication of non-consensual and illegal content, but the eradication of porn and the legitimate occupation of online sex work, full stop.
But let’s talk about the impact on sites. The content verification measures differ from site to site, as some platforms cover all imaginable bases (eg having performers upload identity identification documents, attach those documents to each piece of content, having performers agree that each piece of content is in line with ToS, monitoring clip descriptions to ensure banned words are not used, and then a human manually reviews each clip) and others do just enough to make sure they scrape through (removing banned words from tags and descriptions and improving identity verification requirements for multiple performers).
It is irrelevant if sites choose to have all the bells and whistles of verification and review or the bare minimum to appease the banks, this still takes a lot of work, people, resources and MONEY. And this isn’t a project that can be put off until next financial year; these changes need to happen YESTERDAY, before the banks drop the hammer on the sites and literally paralyze them. Oh, and in the middle of a global pandemic too. Don’t forget that one either.
Looking at a cost-benefit analysis, Tony Rios, the CEO of AVN had to make a difficult decision; invest in verifying mechanisms on the relatively young AVN Stars platform, or drop all payment facilities and focus on the unique things that AVN does that don’t involve being involved with Visa and Mastercard. It is disappointing and frustrating for a lot of people, but it is kind of a no-brainer.
Where to from here?
For a proportion of models, this will mean moving their content to another subscription based site.
For me, however, I have been using ManyVids VIP FanClub (previously known as MV Crush) since I began on the site. I have used it in exactly the same way as I have used AVN Stars, sharing exclusive XXX content, behind the scenes clips and pics and messaging features. So I suggest you follow me over to ManyVids and let’s pick up from where AVN Stars ends.
However, until January 1st 2022, I am selling my clips on AVN Stars for a cheap and nasty price, and including a buy 2, get 1 free deal. So head over and let’s give the site the send off it deserves.
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
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