They say that anyone who has access Internet he also has access to big money, he just needs to find a way to get it. Guided by this idea, a group of young people from Serbia embarked on an atypical journey to a piece of the digital cake. And he's already making good money.
At the beginning of the year, stories began to spread among young people about companies that employ so-called "fours" - people who correspond on the Internet - for OnlyFans models from the USA and Europe.
The job description involves corresponding with subscribers on behalf of the model and sending explicit content for which subscribers pay handsomely. Referral, knowledge of English and communication skills are required to draw the pair.
"We sell you content," a former member of one of those organizations, whose name we will not mention here, introduced us to the story.
That's what he confirmed for "Vreme" - when you think that on the other side is a model or a famous porn actress, it's actually not, but a man like our interlocutor.
How does OnlyFans work?
OnlyFans is a platform for selling erotic or pornographic material. In practice, he is more than that.
It's similar to Instagram, only provocative pictures, videos and chats require a wallet. In addition to the basic subscription, there are also "gratuities" with which the user unlocks only selected content. The more he is willing to pay, the more "exclusive" the content.
Most of the models, that is, the authors of pornographic content on OnlyFans, operate independently. But, behind those with bigger appetites and audiences, there is a whole business machinery. The interlocutor of "Vremen" explained to us how it works.
It all starts with the signing of the contract between the model and the OnlyFans company. The model then, like an athlete, hires a kind of management agency that takes care of something.
One of the most important things is the so-called "sexting", i.e. "dirty correspondence". Since more "serious" models are followed by thousands of people, four companies enter the game, which are hired by model managers mainly in countries where the cost of labor is lower. Serbia is part of that global network.
"People think they are corresponding with a model, but in fact they are corresponding with a Filipino, an Indian. Or with me," laughed our interlocutor.
Those four companies do not exist physically, everyone works from their home as a freelancer. But there is a clear hierarchy. "A classic chain of command where everyone has their responsibilities. Just like in any other company," says our interlocutor.
At the bottom of that hierarchy are the four themselves, who perform work "on the ground". Recruitment of new members is mostly by word of mouth, and every new employee must pass training and tests.
Working day of the week
Being a good model on OnlyFans means being available at any time of the day or night. Or at least that's what the subscribers think, who have no idea that there's a whole team on the other side covering 24 hours a day. Every lost hour would mean a missed earning opportunity.
"People sometimes ask us, 'do you ever sleep,'" says the former foursome.
Before taking over the profile of the model on whose behalf they will correspond, employees must familiarize themselves with her biography, communication style and the general impression they should leave on fans.
"There are fazons to pull on. As I gradually unlock their content, they shoot more and more steam," recalls the four.
The illusion of authenticity is maintained through the clips and photos themselves, which must always be fresh. The management company for each client delivers the material to the four company, and the four's task is to lead the conversation in the direction in which the subscriber will reach for the credit card and buy a new video made "just for him".
"We have pre-recorded content for every occasion and every request. Whether it's day or night. The subscriber has to believe that he is corresponding with the model in real time," says the former four.
And subscriber requests are sometimes too dirty even for OnlyFans.
"There is everything. From making pancakes to some actions that involve the use of feces. It's just that, due to business policy, such things are prohibited. At any mention of pedophilia, necrophilia, incest, violence, racial insults and similar sensitive things - and that happens - we stop the conversation immediately," he says.
How much money is there?
Earnings depend on the popularity of the model, through contracts with managers, and all the way to internal distribution in the four-party company.
That company collects between 10 and 20 percent of the model's earnings, while the four themselves get 2 to 15 percent of the money the company receives. It is up to the company whether they will take the amount of the subscription or the performance during the shift into the calculation of those percentages.
The four can earn substantial figures if you consider that 7,2 billion dollars were turned over through OnlyFans last year - similar to, say, the GDP of Montenegro
It happened, recalls the former four, that subscribers left more than 20.000 euros in tips during one shift. From such fruitful shifts, the four can come out with a clean $1.000 to $1.500 earned in just eight hours.
"Everything starts from ordinary things..."
And all based on some kind of fraud. Because OnlyFans differs from traditional pornographic platforms in that the user has the illusion of a personal relationship with the author, explains our interlocutor.
"There is a personalization of the relationship with the fan. On OnlyFans, they have the ability to search for content made just for them. In that delusion, they are willing to pay big bucks," he says.
He adds that the models are not obliged to highlight the warning about the possibility that other people correspond with the user instead of them.
"These are their official, verified profiles. They really receive all these messages. Only they rarely do it themselves. One model I worked with, for example, has a specific time of the day during which she personally takes over the chat. Companies are then instructed to withdraw," says the cheter.
The success of OnlyFans can also be explained by the fact that it is an extension of classic pornography. And the tendency or even addiction to pornography is well paid here because it is a "stronger dose".
"In the brains of those people, everything starts from ordinary things. For example, from a normal relationship with a woman. Then it progresses progressively. Models from OnlyFans first pop up on social networks. There they show exactly as much as is allowed and entice people to continue. Then you go to the link in the description, enter and see that the basic package is only five dollars. When you get fed up with that, you want to correspond. And then you come to us," explains the former foursome.
"You get calloused over time..."
It is hard to ignore the pathological dimensions of that work. The interlocutor of "Vremen" told us that one subscriber wrote to him that he had spent his entire savings.
Four get used to it. "After a while, you google it, but the first shifts are depression. No one should wait for an answer for more than a few minutes. You have to think quickly and systematized. We have scripts, but sometimes I have to think about what I should write. I have to be authentic, to hit the right vibe," says the "Vremena" interlocutor.
On top of all the weird stuff, employees are left with the usual problems that other workers face as well. From night shifts, to bosses standing over your head, to the desire to be as good as possible at work and thus earn as much as possible.
But that, they would say, is a small price to pay for the one road the kids of digital technology have found trying to get a piece of the internet pie.
