The problems and unfairness of the copyright system are so manifest that many would like to adopt alternative approaches. But that’s a big step, and one that undoubtedly requires a certain courage.
In the first three months since dropping the paywall, the newsroom welcomed 1,254 new donors who hadn’t previously paid to access their coverage. From December 5, 2023 to March 15, 2024, the Forward received nearly $583,000 in donations under $5,000 — a 37% increase over paid subscription revenue during the same time frame the previous year. In December, the month the Forward removed the paywall, the nonprofit saw a 103% increase in reader revenue under $5,000, compared to the same time last year. That includes 176 new monthly recurring donors, averaging $16/month. Previously, an annual digital subscription brought in $51.21, just over $4/month.
Wow! Let’s hope this becomes a trend for other newspapers.
The Guardian (based in the UK, though with editorial operations in the US and Australia) made this decision some 10 years ago, and has stuck with it. So far, they seem to be going well.
Wish being able to make trivial donations for good articles was easier. Would be nice to donate a buck on a single click of a button with no hassle. But I’m not going to spend like 15 minutes on each of dozens of sites when I read a good one.
A little niche I think crypto might be able to fill at some point. Just too low of adoption, no browser support, and currency fragmentation makes things way harder than they need to be.
You basically described Brave and their crypto wallet/token integration.
Too bad Brave is garbage.
