It’s not exactly news that while people have been stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s been a spike in porn traffic of all kinds. Free Speech Coalition spokesperson Mike Stabile recently told the New York Daily News, “Industry-wide traffic is up about 20% since the shutdown began. People are stuck at home, looking for a connection to pass the time.”

But even as consumers are whiling away the hours watching adult entertainment, traditional studio-filmed pornography production has been halted. Since the FSC called for a production halt on March 18, new porn shoots have been nixed—and there’s no end in sight to the industry shutdown. That leaves a lot of performers who made their names shooting traditional porn out of their usual work. 

But many performers are working from home for themselves—and for their fans online. Performer-created content like OnlyFans, Premium SnapChat, webcam platforms, and more have proved invaluable for these performers. Some of them recently offered their thoughts on switching to producing their own content, as well as advice to newcomers to the world of online sex work.

jessica drake, a long-time contract star for Wicked Pictures, has taken to OnlyFans to keep her audience satisfied. “The thing about being accessible on…my OnlyFans is that people are getting the kind of attention they can’t download for free right now [through porn websites],” she told Global News. 

Asa Akira, an industry legend and Pornhub contract star, uses Pornhub’s FanClub platform as her direct-to-consumer content platform. “It’s my biggest moneymaker,” she told attendees of an FSC-hosted webinar last week. “Personally, [I’m] not a talker. I am very bad at small talk. I have never cammed.” But with a robust audience of millions on Pornhub and more traditional social media, she’s been able to transition successfully.

“[Business] has definitely shot up because of quarantine,” said Wolf Hudson, a 14-year industry veteran who has also been using his OnlyFans account connect during lockdown. “I’m almost seeing the future of porn because of this,” he told Global News. “Now, studios are a bit on the desperate side and are buying from content creators, and I think that in itself is changing the industry.”

Meanwhile, Small Hands, who helps his wife Joanna Angel run Burning Angel, told Global News, “This is a fantastic time for performers who are already established because…customers can pay them directly.”

“I feel for the new girl who didn’t start doing content [earlier], and they’re used to doing the studio shoots, and now they’re like, ‘What do I do?’” said Emma Hix, who’s shooting solo content from her home in Las Vegas for her OnlyFans account. “Actors are starting to realize how much money they can make doing their own stuff…Everyone who used to judge OnlyFans sex workers—[but now] everyone’s jumping on the boat.”

Romi Rain, who co-hosted FSC’s webinar last week, told viewers, “Sometimes people think that they always have to be naked and sexual…For a new person on cam, start slow, don’t give it all away too fast. Get to know what you’re comfortable with.”

Here’s to hoping newcomers and veterans alike can find their way forward with the new normal in shooting porn for themselves!