Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced yesterday that the social media platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per-article basis with just one click. The feature will be launched in May, and will allow users who do not want to sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per-article price for when they want to read an occasional article. Musk called it “a major win-win for both media orgs & the public.”
This move could provide publishers with a new way to earn from their content, beyond the typical recurring subscription option. The cost of access to individual articles will be higher than what it would amount to with a subscription, but this feature is meant for those who want to read the occasional story from a specific outlet. Therefore, each article would not cost as much as a monthly subscription.
At this point, details about the upcoming feature remain vague. Musk only said that it will start rolling out next month, and it’s unclear what kinds of accounts and media outlets will be able to offer per-article charging. In addition, Twitter’s owner didn’t say how much the website would be taking as commission. When the company officially replaced Super Follows with Subscriptions, Musk announced that it won’t be taking any money from creators for the next 12 months. After the year is up, Twitter will be taking a 10 percent cut on subscriptions.
Twitter has been introducing more and more paid features to boost revenue, under Musk’s ownership. Its verification badge now comes as a perk for its $8-a-month Blue subscription, and the company shut down its free API to launch a new one that users would have to pay for. It would cost enterprise customers almost $50,000 a month to access the new API, so some organizations and companies such as NYC’s transport authority had chosen to end Twitter integration or to leave the website instead.
Since taking over the social media firm in October, Musk has been bringing in changes to try to boost revenue at Twitter. The platform saw a drop in advertising income last year in the run-up to his on-again-off-again acquisition that closed. Under Musk’s ownership, Twitter has reduced its workforce from 7,500 people to about 1,500, leading to fears that moderation standards and its ability to comply with upcoming European standards would suffer as a consequence.
Twitter has been repeatedly warned that it is not ready for a new European Union regulatory regime for monitoring digital platforms, with breaches risking a fine of 6% of global turnover and, in the most extreme cases, a temporary suspension of the service. Under the rules for large platforms, they must carry out annual risk assessments outlining the risks of harmful content such as disinformation, misogyny, harms to children, and election manipulation. The moderation systems and measures put in place to mitigate those risks will also be checked by the EU.
Platforms will also be banned from building profiles of child users for companies to target them with ads. Those platforms that can be reached by minors must also put in place measures to protect their privacy and keep them safe. Users must also be able to report illegal content easily.
The per-article charging feature on Twitter could be a game-changer for publishers, as it offers a new way to earn revenue. As Musk takes the reins at Twitter, it remains to be seen how the platform will navigate the ever-evolving demands of the industry while tackling issues related to moderation and regulatory compliance.
