Today, I am announcing the launch of Machine – a news site committed to developing a new publishing model that rewards reader loyalty and shares profits equitably, whilst ensuring that content is not locked away behind a paywall.
Digital publications face two major challenges that can be solved in the same way: building communities which share in the profits generated by that website.
Instead of a paywall, we will work towards creating a Payee Wall with loyal subscribers by sharing advertising revenues with them – and perhaps other revenues too.
Ultimately, would like to give everyone who signs up for a paid subscription with Machine a share of profits from a variety of sources – which will be split three ways between writers, readers, and the website owner (me).
That’s the ambition – but we need your help to get there.
Read on to find out how it’s going to work.
Behind the Payee Wall
The PayeeWall is designed to solve two challenges:
Loyalty: We want to build a community around Machine that has a reason to visit the site and a stake in its future.
The Attention Recession: Readers are overwhelmed with choice. We want to become a small group of people’s favourite publication, which they read on a daily basis.
We’ll start by… getting started. Please get in touch with [email protected] to join the mailing list and become a subscriber.
It will be a low-tech, zero-budget journey. I will begin by publishing content until Machine has enough subscribers and revenue to make deploying the PayeeWall feasible. Initially, I will write all of the content and will use AI where necessary until I’ve found some writers and designers to collaborate with.
Clearly, the website cannot look like this for long – so consider its current layout a work-in-progress.
The website will have to stay bare-bones until I’ve got some cash to pay developers. Read on for details about how you can help me do this.
When the PayeeWall is switched on, all content will remain visible free of charge – with no limitations. Subscribers will then be able to access a share of the advertising profits, which will be shared equally at first – the most low-tech solution.
Ultimately, we want to build a system that gives a larger share of the profits to the most engaged readers, although achieving this will require investment. We’ll make sure subscribers are involved in any decisions and will totally transparent about our finances at every stage.
We also want to give writers a place to reach an audience in any way they see fit, allowing them to choose the stories they publish, giving them sole responsibility for success and then sharing the advertising revenue generated by their content.
Again, there is a long road ahead before anything like this is possible.
The PayeeWall is an embryonic idea. Readers and writers will be able to shape its evolution and make sure it works in a way that is fair to everyone involved in the success of Machine.
Reader-centric publishing
My personal goal is simple. I want to publish anything I want – whenever I want – to an audience that pays attention. Whether that’s 10 people or 10 million – it doesn’t matter.
Then I want to give other journalists the same opportunity and pay them fairly.
Our readers will be at the core of Machine. Clearly, there is a long way to go until we are able to share advertising profits – because there is zero income right now, let alone profits.
We have no financial backing and the odds are stacked against us. The website is rudimentary and time is limited because I have to earn a living elsewhere during the launch of Machine (contact [email protected] to find out more about my content, copywriting and PR services).
Our success will be up to you, so please bookmark our homepage, sign up for email updates and start sharing this statement or our other content on social media.
Let’s go!