The future of subscription media

Some four years ago, I was dead sure that subscription was the way to go for media companies. Then at some point, I became a critic of that model.

How can journalism be paywalled if the idea is to serve the public interest? I argued then.

But the growth of some subscription products including The Information and The New York Times and The Ken have made me rethink. It seems to be working.

I do see one challenge though. One hunch that I have is that the middle layer, which makes it easy to launch subscription-based products easy to launch (think Substack), will make it easier for individuals to launch their own publications with relative ease.

A signal that I've factored in is the massive amount of funding announced by Substack (Read this) Patreon earlier this week (Read this). The funds will help them expand internationally and solve better for writers, creators.

At some point, expert writers (or even evolved reporters) will want to work for themselves rather than a brand. With products like Substack making it easier, the hurdle to monetize expert writing will be removed.

This is something most subscription products will have to factor in as they grow. I'm not spelling doom for them because reportage, good packaging, and intellectual honesty is not something you can always get from experts.

Also, nothing really stops subscription media from building and selling their own tech or expanding into events and such.

Thoughts?

Also see what I think about ad-funded media models and what could: A practical guide to fixing the journalism crisis