Singer Kate Nash has said she is “creating jobs with my bum”, claiming her OnlyFans account has allowed her to add an extra crew member to her tour staff.
Nash, 37, said she launched the account both to make a point that the music industry is “completely broken” and for financial reasons.
She said musicians are “going to have to find solutions to fund their art”, in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Nash said on Thursday that she was launching the account to help subsidise her tour, which started in Glasgow on the same day.
The Foundations singer told the Today show: “It’s very funny, I think it is also fun to do, and my industry is completely broken, I don’t think it’s sustainable, and I think it’s a complete failure, I think it will collapse as well.“So I do think people are going to have to find solutions to fund their art.
“I think it’s quite empowering, and I’m also creating jobs with my bum now, for example, I couldn’t bring a crew member that’s on tour with me in the UK to Europe, but now I can, because of my OnlyFans website.”
Nash claimed there had been a “30.3% increase” in presenting live music from 2022 to 2024, and said she had endured a “massive increase” in the cost of accommodation, food, staff, travel and “all the things that you have to pay for when you go on tour”.
She said she had pursued a number of other jobs in order to make money, saying: “At one point I was selling Star Wars jewellery from a comic book shop on livestreams.”
The Harrow-born singer continued: “I don’t really have time in my schedule to get another type of job, and this was an idea that I just thought of, because I’ve made a record this year, I’m on three tours in a row, and that’s a massive financial strain.
“I was just kind of feeling the pressure of that, and I thought this is something that I could do.
“I think it will perhaps cause a bit of a stir and a conversation. I don’t think if I posted my tour poster and said the music industry is struggling right now, artists are struggling, support us, help me pay good wages, blah, blah, blah, I don’t think I’ll be here on Radio Four talking about it.
“I think the reason people are talking about me going on tours is because I’m selling pictures of my ass now, I’ve already been working my ass off for years, and now I’m just going to get paid really well for it, and I’m going to pay my employees really well for it too.”
Beginning her career in 2005, Nash has had one UK top 10 single, and two UK top 10 albums.
Lily Allen said earlier this year that she had joined OnlyFans to sell photographs of her feet online.
The Smile singer says she has “very strict guidelines” and is charging subscribers 10 dollars (£8) a month to view images of her feet on the platform, known for its adult content.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here