Part 1: What are collectors...
Collectors are Art Lovers! They don't really like to listen to music on IPhones or to stream movies! They buy High Quality remastered Japanese Deluxe CD Editions. Or Vinyl! They buy DVDs and BluRays. They watch the Special Features! They listen to Audio Commentaries. They buy Comic Books in expensive Hardcover Editions with included texts of the creative process! And to decide what the real Collectors Items are, they know very good what exists and what they want. They have opinions and are demanding towards quality! They want the BEST versions of a collectors item, or they want ALL versions of it.
Nude Art and Porn are tailor-made for collectors! Nude Art Collectors don't watch their Nude Art on smartphones. They laugh about that! And btw: the pure existence of Download buttons proves that business is aware of the existence of collectors! Collectors store away their collections on external harddrives. They will not join an OnlyFans account without knowing how to bring the content on their harddrives! Collectors know what they have in their collections! They give files proper names and they sort them in folders. They know where to find which set on which harddrive! And maybe the most important thing is: they pay for their collections and they invest money in special items! Collectors are the ones who are willing to pay a higher 3-digit amount of money (or more!) regularly (monthly!) for the good of their collections! Collectors thinking: "Money on my bank account is a photo set (or comic book or movie or CD) I don't have yet!"
They don't collect everything. They collect certain models, certain fetishes, or maybe they just collect outdoor naturism sets. But they know which content is important for their collections and where to find it, they keep being informed and they WILL already have a representative, if not complete choice of everything they need! Some sets they collected in every available version! They have rarities from very exotic sites and when they do what they do for a longer time already, THEY will be the ones who have content from closed sites, not available anymore!
Most of the time I guess it starts with a collector falling in love with one particular model. For me that was Ariel Piper Fawn! When I decided I want to have EVERYTHING of her I had to go everywhere! She still has content on EVERY site. And on the sites I joined I met Sara Jaymes, Bree Daniels, Caprice, Anjelica, finally Milena Angel and Guerlain, then Debora A and so on. And so things developed a life on their very own. Models are THE important factor in Nude Art! When people instead are looking for certain fetishes (pee, stockings, toys etc.), things may be a bit different, but not essentially.
Part 2: ...and what is their situation in the 20s?
Fact is: for a very long time, almost 20 years, business provided the fans with what they needed for their different kinds of collections! That's an interesting thought! Collectors have AND spend money! Money never was a major problem! We didn't even talk about it. Business produced collectors items and collectors paid for it! That was a very easy time! Today we ONLY talk about money and too many creatives want THAT money for themselves! "When collectors invest 500$ per month into Nude Art, I want to have those 500$ for ME! And for ME alone." But it doesn't work that way! Collecting Nude Art is NOT about money! Collectors HAVE money, they invest it and they invest it ALREADY! For years!
Collecting Nude Art is a processing thing! Even when the collections count in TBs, they wait for the next set they don't have, but belongs into it! Collecting is a hobby! It's not nostalgic like "Look at my collection! It's complete!" Collections are never complete! But parts of them (of retired models perhaps) CAN be complete. Rarities (like lost content), exclusive items (like Customs made by models ONLY for them after their own shooting ideas) and complete folders (of retired models) are the gems in collections.
So it must be said that Collectors are a reliable factor in Erotic Art! They keep collecting and they keep paying their money and they will always have some(!) money left for unexpected expenses. (But they can't double their expenses! They are collectors! The already invest the maximum!) What they are afraid of is, when in spite of the ridiculously high amount of money they are ALREADY continuously investing, or are willing to, business reacts by exhausting the deal! When business after years of peaceful collaboration all of a sudden outruns them with high prices for single items (a short hello to Patreon!), they feel exploited. Because one thing is clear: they ALREADY invest everything they CAN in their collections! Making it NOT affordable (anymore!) to collect their needed items, destroys their collections! And they WILL decide what to do with their money! When they have to put 500$ into a Patreon account (and collectors ONLY join the highest tiers! They want it all! They will not go into a 20$ tier, when there is a 100$ tier or more!), this money will NOT be invested in sites anymore! Think about that! The future of Nude Art depends on the creatives getting aware of THAT! It's the most important thought that creatives (models, site runners AND photographers) MUST urgently understand! NOW!
Collectors don't collect with their cocks! They collect with their eyes and brains! They are smart! Nude Art is not sex business for them! It's ART! They don't need 'nudes'! They already HAVE nudes in abundance! They want ART! I'm still shocked when a prestigious, popular photographer told me 2 or 3 years ago, (after I was complaining about the ridiculous prices for single sets on Patreon I got aware of): "You can complain all day! But when I give you nudes, you'll come running!" He couldn't be more wrong! His Patreon is already a thing of the past and everybody talks about his and other people's money grabber attitude! Time flies these days, and money doesn't blush.