According to a report from adult industry analytics firm SWR Data, “nine out of ten adult creators (88.6%) say they are concerned about cultural and political attacks on the adult industry, with more than two-thirds (69.3%) reporting they are ‘very concerned.’”
The preliminary data, which has been released in advance of SWR’s upcoming 2024 State of the Creator report, is drawn from a survey of over 400 adult creators conducted in July and August of this year.
According to SWR Data, “awareness of the ongoing attacks against the industry — such as Project 2025, age-verification laws, social media censorship campaigns and faith-based attacks on platforms like OnlyFans and Pornhub — is nearly universal.” The report also noted that only 2.8% of creators surveyed say they are unaware of such attacks.
In releasing the preliminary data, SWR observed that “concern was even greater” among specific communities within the adult industry:
- Concern is highest among trans creators (93%), creators of color (94%) and gay and lesbian creators (100%)
- Concern is also high among creators also work as dancer/strippers (94%), those who create content with multiple partners (97%) and long-term industry veterans (95%)
- Concern was highest among creators working on sexting and clip/fetish platforms, such as Nite Flirt (95%), SextPanther (92%), iWantClips (90%) and Clips4Sale (90%).
“Many of us are already experiencing the fallout from the War on Porn,” says MelRose Michaels, co-founder of SWR Data. “We see it in the harassment online, the banking closures, the social media censorship, the content restrictions dictated by credit card companies and the overall loss of business. We are motivated to protect our businesses and our rights. Politicians should realize that there are millions of creators, with hundreds of millions of fans, and we’re ready to mobilize.”
SWR Data was launched by Mike Stabile (Polari Media) and MelRose Michaels (SexWorkCEO) in 2023. SWR conducts both public and private market research for platforms and organizations, using “a slate of thousands of working creators and fans to help them better understand and adapt to the needs of the rapidly evolving adult market.” SWR Data’s research has been featured in New York Times, Wired, NPR, Yahoo News and dozens of other national and international publications.
According to SWR, the firm’s full 2024 State of the Creator report “will be released this fall, with more complete data on current industry demographics, revenue, platform adoption and behaviors, as well as longitudinal data related to the inaugural 2022 State of the Creator report.” In another recent preliminary report, SWR reported that over 60% of adult creators now use AI in their work.
