Times needs to avoid fungible content
The New York Times has decided it’s time to end the speculation and say they are definitely going to a paid model for their web site about a year from now. According to the WSJ, paper execs say that core readers are ready to pay.
The plan calls for a limited number of free reads per month for everyone, then you’ll have to pay to gain access. Subscribers to the print edition will have full access.
The key is to avoid fungibility. Too much of news is fungible, i.e., it is easily exchanged for another similar product.
AN EXAMPLE is wheat stored in a silo from a variety of farmers. The exact kernels are interchangeable — what matters is the number of bushels each farmer has stored, not which individual kernels are his.
Too much of news is fungible, i.e., it can be substituted for by others’ news quite easily, so why pay for it? The NYT, and others who will inevitably follow, needs to create content that is unique, that cannot be found by going elsewhere.
How they do that is up to staff creativity and hard work. But who better to show the way than the Times?
The Times is basing its decision largely on the success of the iTunes music and app store. What is the secret of that store’s success? It’s content isn’t fungible. It cannot be gotten elsewhere.
When readers are cornered they will pay. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
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