Why a Creator Platform Just Launched a Print Magazine in 2026

There's something almost rebellious about launching a print magazine in 2026. Newsrooms are shrinking, glossies are folding, and every media strategist on LinkedIn will tell you the future is short-form video. And yet, since June 11, a brand-new erotic magazine called BestFans Insider has been sitting on newsstand shelves in Germany — published not by a legacy media house, but by a creator platform.

BestFans, often described as Germany's answer to OnlyFans, sees the quarterly magazine as more than an editorial side project. It's a strategic play: print presence gives the platform's creators an additional stage to grow their reach and their income. To understand the thinking behind it, we spoke with Germaine, Account & Talent Relations Manager at BestFans — and herself an active creator — about nostalgia, feminism, the Playboy comparison, and why good stories never go out of style.

Germaine, let's start with the obvious question. The entire media industry is racing toward digital. Why is BestFans going in the opposite direction and printing a magazine in 2026?

I believe that despite digitalization, many people still love things they can actually hold in their hands. A social media post or a story often disappears after a few seconds — a magazine stays present much longer. A print magazine also lets you tell stories, interviews, and background features in a completely different way. You take more time with it, and you often discover things that would get lost in a short online format. For me, print and digital aren't mutually exclusive at all. Quite the opposite: they complement each other very well. That's exactly why I find it so exciting that we're connecting both worlds with the BestFans Insider.

When people hear "erotic magazine," most immediately think of Playboy. Was that a role model for you, a benchmark — or precisely what you didn't want to be?

The comparison is obvious, of course. But our approach is different. For me, the BestFans Insider is first and foremost about the people behind the profiles. Who are the creators? How did they get to where they are today? What drives them? Erotic content is naturally part of it — it's part of the industry, after all. But we want to show more than just beautiful pictures. We want to tell stories, introduce personalities, and offer insights you usually don't get. So Playboy was less a template for us and more proof that people have always been curious about the stories behind familiar faces.

Classic erotic magazines were made by men, for men. On creator platforms, the creators — many of them women — decide for themselves how they're presented and what they earn. Does that make the BestFans Insider a feminist magazine, even with nudity in it?

I think the most important thing is self-determination. Creators today decide for themselves how they want to present themselves, what content they publish, and what is or isn't okay for them. That's exactly why the people behind the profiles and their stories are at the heart of what we do.

Who is the magazine actually for? The traditional erotic-magazine buyer, the creators' existing fans — or a new, younger, perhaps female audience that grew up with sex positivity?

We're addressing a much broader audience than many people might assume. Of course we're happy about our creators' fans, but we're just as happy about people who are simply curious and want to learn more about the people behind the profiles. The industry has changed enormously in recent years and has become much more diverse. That's why I wouldn't reduce the magazine to a specific gender or age group. We want to tell compelling stories and offer insights — and those can be interesting to very different kinds of people.

Which creators made it into the first issue, and how did you choose them?

When making the selection, we didn't just look at reach. It was important to us to create a good mix of different personalities, stories, and topics. Every creator brings their own community, their own journey, and their own story. That's exactly the diversity we wanted to show in the first issue. In the end, the magazine should introduce interesting people and offer insights you often don't get on social media. So personality, authenticity, and compelling stories were just as important to us as fame.

OnlyFans dominates the market. Is a magazine like this also a way to stand out in the competition for the best creators?

A magazine naturally helps make the BestFans brand more visible. But at the same time, it's not just about winning new creators. We wanted to create a platform where we can introduce the people behind the profiles and tell their stories. If that helps us stand out positively from other platforms, we're obviously happy about it. But the real idea was to give our community an additional stage and make BestFans tangible outside the digital world.

How will you measure whether issue one was a success — copies sold, new sign-ups, media coverage? Is there a concrete target?

Of course we're happy about good sales figures. But that's not the only measure for us. What's also exciting is how readers, creators, and the media respond to the magazine. Which stories are read most? Which interviews spark conversations? And what feedback do we get from the community? The first issue is an important start for us. So we're looking at the overall picture, not just a single metric.

Is the Insider a one-off project or the start of a series? What's the plan — a fixed frequency, subscriptions, maybe international markets?

No, the BestFans Insider is definitely not a one-off project. It currently comes out once per quarter, so we can publish four issues a year. That gives us the opportunity to pick up on current developments, introduce new creators, and tell exciting stories from our community. At the same time, we can develop the magazine further with every issue and respond to our readers' feedback. We're naturally watching how the magazine evolves and what opportunities arise from it. But right now, the focus is on establishing the BestFans Insider as a permanent part of our brand and running it successfully for the long term.

Let's think ten years ahead. Are we witnessing a small renaissance of the erotic magazine?

I think what we're experiencing is less a renaissance of the classic erotic magazine and more an evolution of it. The way people consume content has changed. Today, many people aren't just interested in pictures — they're interested in the personalities and backgrounds behind them. That's exactly what creator platforms offer, and exactly what we want to capture with the BestFans Insider. Whether there will be significantly more erotic print magazines again in ten years, I obviously can't predict. But I do believe that high-quality print products will keep their place in the future — especially when they offer something you can't get online. People will stay curious about other people. And good stories will never go out of style.

Germaine is Account & Talent Relations Manager at BestFans and the central point of contact for the platform's creator community. She supports creators on their way to greater reach, better revenues, and a sustainable position in the digital space. As an active creator herself, she understands both the business and the creative side of the creator economy. The first issue of the BestFans Insider has been available at German newsstands since June 11