As Medium explores ways to mention it’s publishing platform, it has now finally introduced the long rumoured, brand new subscription tier to its platform. The company, which has been having some turbulence this year with layoffs and a shifted focus, is now hoping to leverage the huge amount of content on its platform. And hence the subscription model.
The model is pretty simple. You pay some money to receive access to premium content that would otherwise be off limits to you. This is of course, the oldest paid-subscription strategy in the world and is one which is adapted by content providers, music services and a bevy of other companies. Here, most of the content is made available for free with some of it kept behind a premium tier which you have to pay to unlock.
There are a couple of other advantages associated with a paid subscription as well. So for instance, these subscribers will be receiving early access to new updates and features Medium rolls out in the future. The company will also be reaching out to its paid users and will be asking for their feedback on its services, and taking the same into account. So in a way, the paid subscribers will help chart the future of Medium as well.
Paid subscribers will also receive access to an offline reading queue that can be carried wherever they go. The most important change meanwhile, is likely to show up in article recommendations which will be carefully curated now. The company will also be spending all the revenue it generates through the subscription program in the initial phase, to push the creation of more quality content over its platform.
The company is selling membership with an introductory price of $5. The subscription comes in a limited release mode, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself unable to sign-up just now.
