Elon Musk has hinted at a new feature on Twitter that, according to him, will let media publishers charge users for individual items they view behind a paywall.
‘Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click,’ Musk tweeted on Saturday.
‘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 & the public,’ he added.
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
The new capability would probably give big news outlets the choice to bill Twitter users per item through an integrated payment function as an alternative to charging monthly subscription fees for access to their online publications.
The amount of the per-article costs and the percentage cut Twitter would receive were just two of the many aspects of the proposal that were still unknown.
Musk has announced and executed a number of new features and product modifications since assuming control of Twitter in October, many of which are geared at increasing income for the cash-strapped social media firm.
Elon Musk’s Previous Announcements for Twitter
Musk had previously stated that he intended to allow Twitter users to charge their followers for access to content, such as lengthy texts and hours-long videos.
Users who provide the subscription—a option they can access through the settings menu’s “Monetization” tab—will initially receive all of the money members pay, less any fees that platforms like Android and iOS impose.
Musk said earlier this week that Twitter will not take a cut for the first 12 months but will after that take a 10 percent cut.
In order to increase revenue at Twitter, Musk has implemented modifications after the social media platform’s advertising revenues fell in the year prior to his $44 billion acquisition.
Since taking control, Musk has made a number of quick organizational and product adjustments.
The company reduced its workforce by around 80% and launched its Twitter-verified blue tick as a premium service.
In a recent Twitter Spaces interview, Musk stated that the social media company was “roughly breaking even.”
Musk’s attempts to generate income have not all, however, been well received by institutional Twitter users.
New York’s transit system announced earlier this week that it will stop sending out service warnings to Twitter because the service provider requested $50,000 per month in exchange for access to the interface that enabled it to do so.
The use of Twitter’s application programming interface, or API, which is accessed by accounts that frequently send alerts, such as transit and weather agencies, will now be subject to a fee, according to a new pricing scheme that was revealed last month.
‘The amount that is being posed is astronomical,’ Shanifah Rieara, the MTA’s acting chief customer officer,’ told the Associated Press. ‘We are all about bringing ridership back. We should not be paying to communicate service alerts to our customers.’
To read our blog on “As Microsoft pulls Twitter ads, Musk threatens legal action,” click here.
