A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 8

This is the 15th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story idea: “Why would a musician join OnlyFans?”

Last fall, English singer-songwriter Kate Nash was crunching numbers in between her North American and European tours when she realized she was “essentially going into debt” touring her latest album, 9 Sad Symphonies, as she told NPR. For someone who has been making music and selling out shows for nearly two decades, that was concerning.

Nash first broke out in 2007 with her indie pop album Made of Bricks, which earned her widespread commercial and critical acclaim. Across several more records and a move into acting including a role on Netflix’s GLOW, Nash established herself as a multihyphenate, unafraid of raising some eyebrows. And in November, when she found herself with a pile of unpaid invoices, she came up with a way to make some quick cash: she joined OnlyFans.

OnlyFans was created nearly a decade ago as a social media platform where “creators” upload content that “fans” pay to access, either through a subscription or on a pay-per-view basis. Creators can set their own subscription tiers, some of which may include personalized messages and content; fans can also tip creators.

It quickly garnered a reputation as a hub for sexual content, given that it gave adult performers and sex workers the ability to create and upload content on their own terms, or at least without a production studio as the middleman. The platform takes a 20% cut and the rest goes to the creator. In 2021, the website briefly considered banning explicit content but then reversed course. In a statement shared with NPR, an OnlyFans spokesperson noted that the platform has amassed more than 4 million creator accounts and 305 million fan accounts since its inception.

When Nash opened her account, she joined the ranks of celebrities like Lily Allen, yeule and Tyga, who have all at one point or another dabbled in the website — though not all of them shared sexual content. Many artists, including Cardi B, Rico Nasty and Kash Doll, have also used OnlyFans to promote their music or release exclusive content. In 2022, rapper and DJ Shygirl became the first artist to premiere a music video on the platform.

Nash — who sang the line “Don’t tell me that you didn’t try and check out my bum / Cause I know that you did,” on 2007’s “Merry Happy” — — started off mostly sharing photos of her butt, though she also has pay-per-view feet content and recently ventured into erotic food comedy videos (one is aptly titled “Cake Nash”). She says selling sexy pics to pay off her tour invoices was like killing two birds with one stone. She named the campaign “Butts 4 Tour Buses,” and within six days, all her bills were paid. “I just thought it was funny,” she says. “My arse is always out anyway.”

Not everyone got the joke. On Reddit and Instagram, people were quick to criticize her decision.

“The only precedent you’re setting [is] telling young girls and women that it doesn’t matter how talented you are — that you’ll find more success in selling yourself as a commodity,” reads one comment on an Instagram post where Nash discussed her choice. “Your choices don’t exist in a vacuum. Choice feminism is insidious.”

Nash says she thinks most critics are threatened by her personal agency. But she also hopes the outcry over her OnlyFans is helping shine a spotlight on the conversation she really wants to have: why making a living as a musician has gotten so hard.

Don’t know anything about OnlyFans? Me either. Here’s some info: LINK. One take on a story: A comedy about a struggling musician whose butt becomes a massive celebrity online.

Then I had another take. What if Cinemax were still around? The cable network was famous for what was commonly referred to as “skin-e-max” movies, R-rated soft core films that ran after midnight.

Guess what? Cinemax still exists!

Time for a sexy thriller. Same setup: Desperate musician joins an online outfit like OnlyFans. Drunk one night and on a whim, she features her derriere. Boom! It’s a hit.

The sexier her poses, the more $$ she makes.

That’s when the stalker appears.

Like I said: skin-e-max.

There’s my 7th story idea this month. What would you do with this concept?

Previous articles in this year’s series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Here are links to previous series:

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2017)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2018)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2019)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2020)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2021)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2022)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2023)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2024)

Note: The articles from 2010–2016 have corrupted URLs. I am in the process of cleaning those up.

Each day in April, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are valuable skills for a writer to develop.

See you in RESPONSES to hear YOUR take on this story idea. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.