This has been a very long time coming, but I’m glad it’s finally happened.
Bo Sacks sent this article out to his list last night: “The New York Times is selling audio subscriptions through Apple and Spotify,” by Sara Fischer. (Link below.)
A lot of publishers have thought about putting a paywall in front of their podcast content, but so far it’s been hard to do. The assumption has generally been that podcasts are free, supported by ads. Many podcast platforms don’t have any means for authentication, and when they do, the listener is authenticating with the platform, not with the publisher. That’s a problem.
Publishers have been selling subscriptions through 3rd party platforms for a long time in a lot of different ways. Even in the early days, it was possible to buy a magazine subscription through Amazon. But there was always an important catch when it came to access to digital content. The subscriber authenticates with the platform – Amazon, Spotify, Apple, etc. – and not with the publisher. This means the platform gets the subscriber information.
That’s been the state of affairs for a long time, and as I’ve explained repeatedly over the years, that’s not the right model, and publishers shouldn’t go along with it. They should demand access to the subscriber information – not only because the subscriber information is valuable, which it is, but because it enables the publisher to create bundles and regulate access across platforms.
In order to do this effectively you need an ecosystem where one set of credentials, controlled by the publisher, regulates access everywhere – on the website, in the app, with the podcast, etc.
This has been technically feasible for years, but the platforms have resisted this idea.
The good news in Sara’s article is that the resistance is cracking. Here’s a quote.
…[subscribers] will need to authenticate their subscription through Apple or Spotify to access The Times’ shows on those platforms.
I’m taking “their subscription” to mean “their subscription with the New York Times.” That is, Apple and Spotify will have to connect to the NYT credentialing system.
If Sara’s article is accurate, and if it says what I think it’s saying, this is very good news for publishers. It means the publisher can offer a bundled subscription that includes what they offer on their own site and also their audio content on a podcast platform.
That’s a huge step forward and opens up lots of doors for publishers.
Links
The New York Times is selling audio subscriptions through Apple and Spotify
