Elon Musk outlined on Saturday an idea for his Twitter platform that would let media producers charge users with a simple click for each item, as captioned by Entrepreneurng Report.
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The billionaire businessman explained on Twitter that this allows readers who wouldn’t sign up for a monthly membership to pay a higher per-article price when they want to read an infrequent item. He also added that this “should be a major win-win for both media organs & the public.”
He stated that the scheme will start the following month but gave no specifics on cost or the percentage cut Twitter would receive. The news came as Musk was battling to make Twitter profitable amid ongoing turmoil.
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Since readers have grown accustomed to getting news for free online, media companies have struggled to create subscription plans that cover their operating expenses.
The Musk proposal raises concerns about just how he intends to succeed where others have failed with the micropayment strategy.
“The Columbia Journalism Review article by British writer James Ball outlined several issues with micropayments, which he claimed have “definitely occurred to major publishers across the planet.”
When confronted with a paywall, many readers would simply click away, he observed. Additionally, publishers “vastly” prefer to sign up long-term subscribers because they generate much more money from advertising than they do from the roughly 20 cents per article that are sold.
Again, other concerns were made by several Twitter users. They argued that the per-article strategy may promote the growth of “clickbait,” which might favor large publications over small ones, and it is uncertain whether authors, rather than merely newsgroups, would benefit financially. However, some Twitter users responded favorably.
Greg Autry wrote on Twitter, “Great idea.” As a frequent contributor to magazines like Forbes, Foreign Policy, and Ad Astra, I get annoyed when my writing is put behind a paywall and readers aren’t willing to pay a subscription. The best course of action is this.
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Additionally, Carlos Gil, a marketing expert who has written a book, tweeted: “Finally, a pay-per-view for news that won’t make you feel like you’re buying an exorbitant stadium beer. Get your items à la carte and maintain your budget.
Source: Punch
