Medium to launch consumer subscription product within months
Online publishing platform Medium has shown its hand with regard to consumer subscriptions, confirming that it will launch a new product this quarter to help it diversify income away from its ‘broken’ advertising model.
Medium has been battling to shore up revenues since parting ways with 50 staff and disbanding its New York office in an attempt to make ends meet, with a subscription model seen as an obvious solution.
It marks an abrupt change from Medium’s founding business model of signing up publishers by conducting ad sales on their behalf. Now readers will be asked to pay a recurring fee to gain access to premium features with the ultimate aim of creating tailored packages for individual publishers.
It’s financial situation not withstanding Medium has enjoyed readership growth of 300% over the past year, offering it a readymade audience for paid services. Moreover by offering access to multiple titles on a single subscription people might be more ready to open their chequebooks.
The change in direction was revealed by chief exexutive Ev Williams during the Upfront Summit.