LOS ANGELES – AVN Media Network announced Wednesday evening that the AVNStars.com and GayVNStars.com platforms will “discontinue all monetization features… effective at midnight on January 1, 2022, because of banking discrimination.”

In its statement, AVN added that creators “may continue to monetize their content through subscription fees, pay-per-view clips, private messages and tips through Dec. 31, 2021 — however beginning on January 1, AVN and GayVN Stars will only make content available that is free.” The company said that both platforms “will continue creator payouts as normal through this transition.”

“We’re in awe of the amazing community of creators that have made AVN and GayVN Stars such vibrant platforms since we launched over three years ago — and it has been our pleasure to provide an adult friendly space where creators can monetize their content,” said AVN Media Network CEO Tony Rios. “Unfortunately, AVN and GayVN Stars has not been immune to the banking discrimination that so many of our industry friends have also encountered recently. We have had numerous corporate accounts shuttered in the past year alone.”

Rios added that the move to discontinue monetization features on the platforms will allow AVN to “devote more of our resources to the core offerings that we do best such as the annual Adult Entertainment Expo, Adult Novelty Expo and the GayVN and AVN Awards Shows.”

YNOT reached out to request additional detail from AVN as to the nature and character of the banking discrimination referenced in the statement, but has not received as of the time this post was published. If the company offers comment or additional context for the decision, YNOT will update this post accordingly.

You can read the AVN Media Network statement in full here.