Elon Musk said the move would be a major win-win for media organisations and public (representational)
Twitter will allow media publishers to charge users to read their article from next month, Elon Musk said today.
Users will be charged on a “per article basis” and will end up paying more if they don’t sign up for a monthly subscription, said Musk in his latest tweak to the platform he took over in October.
“Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click,” said the tech billionaire who recently removed the ‘blue tick’ for most verified profiles who haven’t subscribed to the Twitter Blue programme.
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
“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. Should be a major win-win for both media orgs and the public,” he added.
This has raised confusion since several media publishers already use a paywall on their websites for subscription-based content.
Earlier in the day, Twitter announced creators too can monetize their content on the platform.
“Support content creators around the world in near and far away places! For many this represents a vital source of income and enables them to put more time into creating great content for you,” said Musk.
“All proceeds go to content creators, we keep nothing,” he added.
Twitter’s biggest operational change has been removing the legacy blue tick from the accounts of verified users who are yet to subscribe to Twitter Blue, a $8 monthly subscription programme.
The subscribers not only get a blue tick but also get to post longer tweets and an editing feature, and are “prioritised” on the platform.
