According to a new report from adult entertainment industry research firm SWR Data, clip sales are “increasingly replacing fan site subscriptions as the main revenue driver for creators.”
In the latest edition of SWR’s “State of the Creator” report, SWR asserted that “the importance of clip sales and clip platforms has grown dramatically as creators confront widespread social media deplatforming and burnout.”
“The number of creators reporting clip sales as their primary source of revenue rose 24% year-over-year, according to SWR’s most recent survey of 550 adult creators,” the firm said in describing the findings of the new report. “The percentage of creators reporting fan site subscriptions as their primary source of income fell 20%.”
MelRose Michaels, co-founder of SWR Data, said that creators are “tiring of fan site hustle culture.”
“Faced with social media instability and the constant need to find new fans, they’re increasingly looking for income sources that are more stable,” Michaels said. “While subscription sites really launched the fan site revolution, we’re starting to see creators question the trade-off for having to be on 24/7.”
According to the statement, SWR surveyed over five hundred working adult creators in the fall of 2025. The anonymous survey covers a sweeping range of subjects that are “essential to the booming creator economy, including demographics, income trends, work habits, platform sentiment and revenue challenges,” SWR said.
Founded by Michaels of Sex Work CEO and Mike Stabile of Polari Media, SWR Data was created to offer “timely market research to creators and platforms.” The now-annual State of the Creator survey has been running since 2022.
“The data points to a potential shift in the creator economy,” Stabile said. “We’ll be diving into the data more over the coming weeks and months to help creators and platforms navigate this new world.”
SWR Data’s most recent report “What’s Behind the Rise in Clips?“, is available now on the SWR Substack. To subscribe to the SWR Data mailing list to receive updates on the firm’s latest findings, click here.
