Adult Industry Content Trends Creators Should Watch

The Adult Industry is First and Foremost, a Business

With 2024 well underway, the adult industry continues its global growth. Current global revenues are estimated at $97 billion, $14 billion of which is generated in the U.S., according to online marketing company Gitnux. With over 4.2 million adult websites catalogued online and with 20% of all e-commerce sales in the U.S. tied to porn, the potential for financial growth for adult content creators seems plausible.

The adult industry is a business, and with any business, it’s important to understand the numbers and trends, be a master of your niche, and offer a product with pricing that consumers find attractive.

Based on consumer interest and demand, the way people consume porn, the role of digital technology and increasing industry regulations, adult content creators should pay attention to these industry trends:

Ethical Porn

As more industry regulations are debated and implemented and as age verification legislation comes online in multiple states, some consumers are becoming more interested in finding and supporting ethical porn content. This is porn that centers the performer’s pay, safety, and treatment in production, and it includes content that focuses on diverse body types, genders and realistic sex consensually made.

Developing content where sex workers, those working both in front of and behind the camera, are treated and compensated fairly is a practice content creators should incorporate and share with consumers.

Lesbian, MILF, and the Bigger the Better

Based on the most searched-for term on PornHub in 2023, lesbian content reigns supreme, holding its number one spot from 2022. Coming in at a close second last year is the category MILF.

Notable increases in consumer interest can be seen in search terms for content that features Big (anything!). You can use your imagine here to fill in the blank. These content topics often trend based on current events and hot topics.

Plots, Realistic Scenarios, and Stories

In the U.S., women make up roughly 29% of the porn-viewing population, but globally, the industry is seeing growth in the percentage of female viewers, coming in at 36% in 2023, according to PornHub. Gitnux estimates that porn described as female-friendly rose 1,400% from 2013 to 2017.

With the percentage of women viewers growing globally, content that centers on couples’ fantasies and the desires of women is a trend to watch. Among some of the top 5 things that interest women according to PornHub are scenes with pussy licking, scissoring, lesbian action, solo men, and transgender sex.

There's also an interest in plot-oriented and story-based scenes, depicting scenarios that could happen in real life and injected with a little bit of humor.

Technology for Creators and Consumers

Content creators would be wise to stay on top of the evolving role of technology in porn, including artificial intelligence and its impact, for good or bad, on video production. Beyond using technology to create content, there continues to be a demand for user experiences that include technology. Think virtual reality and user-generated scenes.

Algorithms and other technological tools can be used by creators to determine more profitable content and to target curated content toward users, creating a more personalized experience.

You’ve Got 15 Minutes

With so many choices in adult content, there are a lot of sites competing for consumer's time. This could make keeping consumers engaged in your content a challenge. Gitnux estimates that the average length of time consumers spend on a porn site is 15 minutes. That’s not a lot.

The popularity of short-form video sites like TikTok not only provides consumers with niche content but satisfyingly so in record time. As the social media landscape continues its evolution, sites like these could add pressure to many industries, including the adult content biz, possibly pushing them toward shorter content experiences that satisfy consumers who have short attention spans.

The ongoing global growth in porn revenues keeps the doors open for content creators to remain profitable. With the rise in subscription-based adult content on sites like OnlyFans and others, content creators have the opportunity to build direct relationships with their consumers. Developing and monetizing those relationships may turn out to be the biggest trend of them all as creators work to understand consumers’ interests and deliver relevant and satisfying content.