Category Archives: micropayments

Guardian PDA blog: What Apple can do for journalism

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Mercedes Bunz suggests that establishig iTunes as a payment mechanism for micropayments could be the most significant aspect of an Apple tablet for publishers: "Payment has to be simple and elegant. Click and run, and don't think about it. Apple can offer that: there are more than 100 million iTunes accounts with credit cards already. If the transactions are batched so that the fixed cost is amortised across multiple articles, iTunes can offer readers a simple and elegant way to pay, and readers like that."

Paul Graham: Post-Medium Publishing

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"There have always been people in the business of selling information, but that has historically been a distinct business from publishing. And the business of selling information to consumers has always been a marginal one. ... People will pay for information they think they can make money from. That's why they paid for those stock tip newsletters, and why companies pay now for Bloomberg terminals and Economist Intelligence Unit reports. But will people pay for information otherwise? History offers little encouragement."

Nieman Journalism Lab: Google developing a micropayment platform and pitching newspapers: “‘Open’ need not mean free”

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"Google is developing a micropayment platform that will be “available to both Google and non-Google properties within the next year,” according to a document the company submitted to the Newspaper Association of America. The system, an extension of Google Checkout, would be a new and unexpected option for the news industry as it considers how to charge for content online."

The Media Business: The Transaction cost problem of newspaper micropayments

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Robert G. Picard: "A widely inclusive [cooperative news micropayment] system would encounter the problems of small payouts that have plagued collecting rights societies for authors, composers, and performers. Those systems have found that the costs of managing transactions, accounting and auditing, and conveying funds to rights holders incur higher expenses than the payments due many rights holders and that such a system is possible only when the rights holders and content that generate the most transactions subsidize those that generate the least. ... Making money from online journalism ... will require fundamental rethinking of the value chain, what content is offered, and how it is produced. It will also require significant thought about what's in it for consumers--something that is glaringly missing from current discussions of starting online payments."

Roy Greenslade: Exclusive interview with Financial Times chief executive

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"Perhaps his most startling revelation is that the paper's digital income now accounts for 20% of all its revenues, up from 14% in 2007 ... Sales of the British FT have dipped in recent months, down about 6% year on year ... Meanwhile, subscriptions to FT.com went up by 18%. The paper now has 117,000 individual subscribers on annual deals. It has also sold 650 lucrative licences to corporate clients. ... He revealed that the FT is also looking at the possibility of introducing micro-payments, but as an accompaniment for subscriptions, not their replacement."

MediaGuardian.co.uk: Financial Times editor says most news websites will charge within a year

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"Lionel Barber, has predicted that "almost all" news organisations will be charging for online content within a year. Barber said building online platforms that could charge readers on an article-by-article or subscription basis was one of the key challenges facing news organisations."