Elon Musk has announced Twitter will soon allow publishers to charge users per article “with one click”.
The billionaire has remarked the development “should be a major win-win” for media organisations and the public. The feature will be rolled out this month, he added.
“This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article,” Musk tweeted Saturday.
Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.
This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2023
Musk announced his content subscription strategy last month. The billionaire said users on Twitter would be able to offer followers subscriptions to their content, especially lengthy articles and videos that can be hours long.
Users planning to roll out subscription for their followers will be able to access the feature through the “Monetization” tab in the app’s settings. They will get to keep all the money (minus the fees charged by Android and iOS) paid by subscribers for the first year. Twitter will secure a 10 per cent cut on content subscriptions after the free period ends, however.
For the next 12 months, Twitter will keep none of the money.
You will receive whatever money we receive, so that’s 70% for subscriptions on iOS & Android (they charge 30%) and ~92% on web (could be better, depending on payment processor).
After first year, iOS & Android fees…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2023
The move is part of Musk’s strategy for diversification of revenue streams for Twitter, which has undergone radical organisational and product changes since his $44 billion takeover of the social media platform in October 2022. Twitter has already descended into chaos after news organisations and public figures began losing their blue checks last week, with imposters flooding the platform with convenient paid verification.
Musk had informed in March that Twitter would start removing legacy blue badges from April 15, drawing criticism and apprehensions from distinct voices on the platform. Subsequently, a number of news outlets, celebrities, politicians, and other public figures refused to pay to retain their badges, leaving their accounts vulnerable to impersonation.
