Audience-first publishing

Over the past century, technological advancements have massively reduced the cost and time needed to create and circulate content. Though this has liberated artists, consumers are now drowning in a virtually infinite supply of things to watch, listen to and read. The answer to a world where attention is the key constraint, not capital or distributi... See more

The pivot to paid is, in most ways, a positive development in the search for sustainable media models. That’s not to say ad-dependent media is dead, not by a long shot. But too often in the excitement around subs the attention goes to acquisition vs retention. And the latter is where the true health of a subscriptions business is gauged.

Users are slowly beginning to turn away from social media as a source of great content; a recent Pew report found that about 48% of people get their news from social media, which is a huge number but still down 5% from even a year ago. More creators are forging multi-platform, independent careers, which can make it hard for audiences to find them. ... See more

Content-first and advertising-first will break down the dominant social networks over the long run.