Creator monetization platform Fanhouse agrees to sell to rival Passes, which only launched in December 2022, but some creators are apprehensive about the merger
if you do, it will be a secure transfer - Fanhouse will continue to run until the transition and will continue to run for some time after Lucy Guo / @lucy_guo : For those worried about their livelihood, I hear you and understand how a transition like this can be scary and stressful. Creators will get ~95% profits the first 6 months and afterwards, they'll still keep ~90%! We're proud to have the highest rev share in industry. @itsbellaxrose : this is very sad & disappointing as fanhouse is my full time job. i was given many offers this year from passes to switch and turned down every single one. i will be making a lot of changes and will announce my next platform very soon. thank you guys for allowing me to live this... Lucy Guo / @lucy_guo : @jasminericegirl ... We've fought for our creators in every way possible. A lot of people don't know this, but many creators managers will take 20% of everything they do - from their onlyfans to their brand deals to companies they start. I know this because I have a influencer manager and that was... [image] Harley / @breadwitchery : the fanhouse news is a hard pill to swallow, i was one of their first employees and it started a big bright career for me. i currently work at fansly — any creators considering it as an alternative, please shoot me a DM. our partnerships team want to help affected creators. Amanda Silberling / @asilbwrites : “It can be hard for companies that have taken VC money to align the incentives of their investors with those of their users. That system does not work for many companies, especially creator companies.” -@jasminericegirl https://techcrunch.com/... @gadgetgirlkylie : I have to say that I'm not happy about the Fanhouse merge atm, the information coming out about passes is concerning. Good thing I was already setting up elsewhere before this news came out. I will be keeping an eye on passes news over the coming weeks. @nic_spit : Passes Inc is backed by Jake Paul, numerous crypto/NFT investors, FTX investors, and the CEO is DEEP in AI Fanhouse is dead to me now @fanhouse : After careful consideration, we're confident that getting creators and fans set up with a direct, seamless, opt-in migration to Passes is the best way to carry out our mission: helping creators build, nurture, and reward their fan communities (and make a living doing so!) (4/5) @lowcotv : This Passes Fanhouse merge continues to get worse. Fanhouse ditched their most passionate creator advocate @jasminericegirl and sold our data to a soulless company. See also Mediagazer
TechCrunchAmanda Silberling
Context & Ripple Effects
Fanhouse spent its first two years fighting platform economics rather than rivals: in 2021 its founders publicly pushed back on Apple's demand for 30% of creator earnings, and in early 2022 it responded with a 50% surcharge on iOS in-app purchases. That survival mode is the backdrop for today's news: the independent, creator-first platform is handing itself to Passes, a rival that only launched in December 2022 and is reportedly backed by Jake Paul and crypto/NFT and FTX investors.
The deal lands on a creator base with reason to be jittery. Creator @itsbellaxrose, for whom Fanhouse is a full-time job, says she turned down multiple offers from Passes this year, and one Fanhouse founder has quit — while allegations circulate that Fanhouse sold creator data to its acquirer. Lucy Guo is countering with a revenue pledge: roughly 95% of profits to creators for the first six months post-transition, ~90% after.
First-order effects
Fanhouse's creators — some of whom earn their full living on the platform — now face a migration to Passes, with Guo's ~95%/~90% revenue-share promise as the retention lever and Fanhouse running through and beyond the transition.
Passes instantly acquires an established creator roster that it had previously tried to buy creator-by-creator, converting its December 2022 launch into an incumbent position overnight.
Second-order effects
Rival OnlyFans-like platforms now face a rev-share benchmark set by a well-funded newcomer willing to give creators 90%+, pressuring their own payout structures.
The reported data-sale allegations and the founder's exit put Fanhouse's creator trust — the asset the deal actually buys — at risk, and competing platforms have an opening to recruit anxious Fanhouse creators during the transition window.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, creator monetization consolidates around venture-backed newcomers rather than independent platforms, and creators' livelihoods become hostage to their platform's cap table — the same dynamic that played out when Meta ended paid deals with its 50 US news partners, leaving content businesses stranded when the payer's priorities shifted.
The trend: The creator economy is consolidating from a field of independent, creator-aligned platforms into one owned by well-funded newcomers, with revenue-share promises doing the work that platform independence used to.
I made the difficult decision to resign from Fanhouse earlier today. I started the company to help creators, like myself, who needed to provide for themselves & their families. I care deeply about creators and want to help creators in a way that will better align with my values.
@jasminericegirl I just had the unfortunate experience of talking to the head of Passes and this is a dangerous app now. Not even because of AI things posted, but they do not have any content guidelines for creators. Fanhouse at least had VERY clear guidelines but there isn't any…
It's been an honor to grow alongside creators and their fan communities, and we're so grateful to our creators who have allowed us to be a part of their lives and to the fans who have supported creators on Fanhouse. We're excited for you to continue your journey on Passes. (5/5)
This is actually insane. Fanhouse merges with Passes, a company that is working on a feature where fans can pay to generate ai images of the creators they follow (if enabled). Creepiest way I've seen a company try to make money from it's creators. Yuck. [image]
All accounts will be migrated with their existing content for fans and creators. Creators who have switched to Passes from other platforms have 2-15x'd their monthly income with a near 100% success rate. Really excited to help creators deepen their relationships with their...
All creators have to do is login to Passes with their Fanhouse info and their page will already be set up and ready to go (with a ~95-5 split!). (And did we mention all *fans* also get Passes accounts, keeping their active subscriptions and unlocked posts?) (3/5)
We know there's a lot of questions about our merge with Passes. - Passes will not pull any of your content until you login to Passes and claim w/your FH account - You'll get a special ~95-5% split for 6 months - Your subs can migrate and keep sub status and unlocked posts
We want creators and their fans to have a truly seamless transition if they decide to continue on Passes. All accounts for those who choose will get keep their fanhouse content and community.
Today we're excited to announce that Fanhouse is merging with Passes ( https://passes.com/)! In a few weeks, all creators will be offered a seamless transition over to their personalized Passes page. Fanhouse will keep running during this transition and for a period after(1/5)
Any fanhouse creator that wants to play with the platform early, we're happy to provide a creator account early. Some fun things we have: ✅ Daily payouts ✅ Watermarks + DMCA ✅ Multiple subs ✅ Livestream ✅ Paid FaceTime calls ✅ Smart vault ✅ Analytics per post/message ✅...
We found out The Information (a tech based news publication) was going to leak the story last night and wanted the community to hear it directly from us. We had just a few minutes from when they planned on publishing so everything was extremely rushed.
I got to talk to @TechCrunch and @asilbwrites about the importance of creator companies staying true to their mission of serving creators, and how that can be hard when those with more control have different incentives. Creators deserve a platform that protects them and cares for…
Hey I've spent past day reading comments and talking directly with creators - I want to unequivocally acknowledge and apologize for how the Fanhouse x Passes merger was announced.
To clarify a few points: - This is an opt in program for creators, Passes won't get any data/content or make you a page unless you opt-in — if you do, it will be a secure transfer - Fanhouse will continue to run until the transition and will continue to run for some time after
For those worried about their livelihood, I hear you and understand how a transition like this can be scary and stressful. Creators will get ~95% profits the first 6 months and afterwards, they'll still keep ~90%! We're proud to have the highest rev share in industry.
this is very sad & disappointing as fanhouse is my full time job. i was given many offers this year from passes to switch and turned down every single one. i will be making a lot of changes and will announce my next platform very soon. thank you guys for allowing me to live this.…
@jasminericegirl ... We've fought for our creators in every way possible. A lot of people don't know this, but many creators managers will take 20% of everything they do - from their onlyfans to their brand deals to companies they start. I know this because I have a influencer ma…
the fanhouse news is a hard pill to swallow, i was one of their first employees and it started a big bright career for me. i currently work at fansly — any creators considering it as an alternative, please shoot me a DM. our partnerships team want to help affected creators.
“It can be hard for companies that have taken VC money to align the incentives of their investors with those of their users. That system does not work for many companies, especially creator companies.” -@jasminericegirl https://techcrunch.com/...
I have to say that I'm not happy about the Fanhouse merge atm, the information coming out about passes is concerning. Good thing I was already setting up elsewhere before this news came out. I will be keeping an eye on passes news over the coming weeks.
After careful consideration, we're confident that getting creators and fans set up with a direct, seamless, opt-in migration to Passes is the best way to carry out our mission: helping creators build, nurture, and reward their fan communities (and make a living doing so!) (4/5)
This Passes Fanhouse merge continues to get worse. Fanhouse ditched their most passionate creator advocate @jasminericegirl and sold our data to a soulless company.