The Adult Industry Without a Middleman

Introduction

The adult industry is one of the few industries where intermediaries have survived all technological revolutions. Digitalization has changed the way advertising, payment, and content delivery work, but it has not eliminated the fundamental problem: power is still concentrated in the hands of platforms, agents, and invisible intermediate structures that take the largest share of value, while shifting the risk onto individuals.

The 'no middleman' model in the adult industry is therefore not a fad, but an answer to systemic imbalance.

The middleman as a legacy of the past

In classical economics, the middleman had a function: connecting supply and demand, taking care of logistics, safety, and trust. In the adult industry, however, this role has degenerated over time. Intermediaries have become filters, censors, and rent-seekers, rather than protectors or organizers.

In the digital age, where an individual can communicate directly with a client, the question is pertinent: why would someone who bears all the physical, emotional, and legal risk hand over control of their work to a third party?

The answer is simple: because the system did not offer an alternative.

Without a middleman does not mean without structure

A common misconception is that a model without a middleman means chaos, danger, or total individualization. Quite the opposite. The absence of a middleman requires better structure, not worse. The difference is in who controls this structure.

A model without a middleman means:

• a direct relationship between the provider and the client,

• transparent terms of cooperation,

• clear rules of safety and responsibility,

• and collective protection mechanisms, not personal improvisation.

This is not about anarchy, but about a shift in power.

Platforms are not neutral

Large platforms like to present themselves as technologically neutral intermediaries. In reality, however, they actively shape prices, visibility, access, and working conditions. Algorithms decide who will be visible, who will be deleted, and who will be financially penalized – often without explanation and without the possibility of appeal.

The adult industry without a middleman also means resistance against algorithmic arbitrary power. It means a conscious decision that infrastructure serves people, not the other way around.

This does not mean rejecting technology, but re-owning it.

Collective instead of agent

If something replaces the classic middleman, it is not an individual, but a collective. A community that sets rules, shares knowledge, builds safety mechanisms, and enables bargaining power.

In this context, initiatives like Dobra Družba are emerging, which do not promise a solution for everyone, but offer a framework: a cooperative, a platform, and a safety net in one. Not as a substitute for the state, but as a response to real conditions on the ground.

Without a middleman does not mean alone. It means together, without a parasitic interface.

Risk remains – but at least it is no longer one-sided

Honestly: the adult industry without a middleman is not a safe utopia. Risks do not disappear. The difference is that they are no longer unilaterally imposed on the individual, while someone else collects a stable profit.

When the community has control over conditions, risk is distributed, managed, and reduced. When an individual has a voice, violence, exploitation, and abuse are harder to hide behind contracts and silence.

The future is direct

The adult industry without a middleman is not the future – it is the present, slowly breaking through the cracks of outdated models. Every time a worker demands more control over their work. Every time a community organizes itself bypassing classic agents. Every time technology serves protection, not control.

The question is not whether intermediaries will disappear. The question is who will fill the space they leave behind. If it is not the community itself, it will be filled by new, more sophisticated forms of control.

The model without a middleman is therefore a choice. Not easy, not perfect – but necessary.