Why the Washington Post thinks micropayments can finally work

Podcast: The Business of Content with Simon Owens · Simon Owens

Opublikowano: 2026-08-19

My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ For years, micropayments have been one of those ideas that repeatedly resurface in the publishing industry without ever seeming to gain much traction. The theory is simple: instead of forcing every reader into a recurring subscription, let them pay a few dollars for a single article or a short period of access. But previous experiments have often struggled with payment friction, weak economics, and fears that cheaper options would cannibalize subscriptions. The Washington Post has spent the past two years trying to solve those problems, running more than 30 tests t...