Are subscriptions the answer to content creators financial woes?
Axios writes:
"Amid a weak ad market and the threat of AI, media companies are shifting their strategies to depend more on readers' dollars and less on ads. There's just one problem. Who's going to pay?"
Media companies like The Washington Post and Vox are introducing membership models.
But these models ignore the law of supply and demand: They're trying to charge for content in a world where consumers have access to more content than they know what to do with.
They'd be better off charging for something that is in short supply even though consumers desperately want (or need) it.
What could that be?
The World Health Organization has declared loneliness a global health threat that leads to stroke, anxiety, dementia, depression, suicide and more.
Last year, the Surgeon General declared, "Mental health is the defining public health crisis of our time, and for many Americans, loneliness is at the heart of that crisis."
People need connection.
Instead of creating a subscription for access to content, media companies (and all content creators) should create a subscription for access to connection.
Build spaces -- in-person events, virtual events, and online groups -- and create a paid subscription for access to to those spaces.
In short: Build community.
https://lnkd.in/gqKG_Pyt
#mediaindustry #communitybuilding