Kate Nash joined OnlyFans in 2024 to pay for touring, and two years later, she says it’s still not enough. The English singer-songwriter, 39, says she expects to lose about $16,000 on her North American run, which hits Chicago, South Pasadena, San Francisco, and San Diego this November, and plans to keep posting content to help cover the shortfall. “I’m set to lose about 16,000 dollars and I’m going to be putting my ass on the internet a lot to try and cover the cost of that,” she said in a new video. “So, let’s have some fun.”

This isn’t new for her. Earlier this year, Nash revealed a £26,000 loss from her recent European tour, on top of a £13,000 loss from her UK dates. She’s been touring for nearly twenty years, and when she looked at the numbers behind 9 Sad Symphonies, she found she was selling out the same venues as seven years ago and getting paid about the same, even as the cost of touring has climbed. Nash says she’s losing money partly because she tours with a human band and a small crew instead of backing tracks. “I think that considering the cultural impact that my music has made, and the fact that I have millions of streams and I sell thousands of tickets, means that I should be able to have a band and a crew and pay them,” she said.

Nash started her OnlyFans account and the “Butts 4 Tour Buses” campaign because she “needed to make money fast” and wanted to “save Christmas” after having to let a crew member go before the holidays. By her account, she made enough in the first six days to cover her bills. Since then, she’s offered pay-per-view feet content and recently launched an OnlyFans TV channel for vlogs about life on the road, saying she “really enjoys vlogging.” She’s also spoken to MPs about the issue. She frames it as a larger problem than her own bank account. “We are seeing a select few in the industry become millionaires or even billionaires from touring,” she said, while “the majority of musicians and artists are struggling to be able to afford to actually play shows.” The industry, she says, “has been structured really poorly for artists, but very well for millionaires that want to just treat music as content,” and “the doors are quickly closing on who can access a career in music.”

She’s not wrong. The Black Keys, Animal Collective, and Santigold have been forced to cancel or postpone tours because of costs, and festivals like Coachella and Governors Ball have seen slower ticket sales than in earlier years. What Nash did differently was refuse to cancel.

She’s far from the only musician using the platform to fill the gap. Lily Allen, who’s been on OnlyFans since June 2024, once answered an X user who sneered, “Imagine being one of the biggest pop stars/musicians in Europe and then being reduced to this.” Her reply: “Imagine being an artist and having nearly 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify but earning more money from having 1,000 people subscribe to pictures of your feet. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Cardi B, Rico Nasty, Kash Doll, yeule, and Tyga have used the platform at one time or another. Some post explicit content, while others use it to promote music or release exclusive material.

Rising artists are leaning on it as well. Folk singer Lizzie No, who toured her third album and was featured in Rolling Stone’s “Future of Music” issue, said she was barely getting by. After 10 and a half months of nonstop work, she said, “I came home with nothing in my pocket and a lot of good press about me.” She turned to OnlyFans, where she’s building a following of longtime fans and new ones who found her through the platform.

Creators across entertainment, from athletes to actors, are turning to direct-to-fan platforms to cover costs the traditional industry won’t, and it’s an uncomfortable example of how little music’s economics leave for the people who make it.