Reddit confirms an incoming paywall will be released later this year

bssunilreddy

Keymaster
Reddit confirms an incoming paywall will be released later this year [So Reddit is going to become like all OTTs that we are using right now]

The CEO of Reddit has confirmed development is underway for a new paywall expected to be rolled out across the platform sometime later this year.

Reddit has just confirmed it will be rolling out a paywall later this year, according to Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman, who dropped the news during a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA).

Huffman has suggested previously that Reddit may look into introducing a paywall into the platform, and those who feared such news have now had their fears brought into reality, as Huffman has confirmed during the AMA that paid subreddits are on the horizon and are scheduled to release later this year. "It's a work in progress right now, so that one's coming. We're working on that as we speak," said the Reddit CEO. For those who don't know what that will entail, paid subreddits will require a fee to access their content, which is that aforementioned paywall.

At the moment, the specifics of how paid subreddits will work are up in the air, but we will presumably learn more about that closer to its rollout. Reddit introducing this new feature is part of the company's overarching plan to monetize the platform as much as it possibly can. It wasn't too long ago the platform signed licensing deals with both OpenAI and Google for access to its content. Around the same time, the company axed third-party apps from its API.

"But the next question is, can you share progress on the development of paid subreddits? For example, people creating content that only paid members can see. I mentioned that one a couple of quarters ago. It's a work in progress right now so that one's coming. We're working on it as we speak," said Huffman

Source: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/1033...l-will-be-released-later-this-year/index.html
 
There is sense in news publications paywalling their content because they are paying employees and external experts to write on their platform. They are creating the content. But Reddit creates 0 content. It is paywalling content created by users for other users.
 
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So they are not happy with free data harvesting, ad revenue and charging for API access for user generated content. They have already signed over user data for training AI models.

Hope it just fails and becomes a shell of what it was originally. AI search engines are already replacing many search queries with more precise answers than some obscure reddit thread replies. If I want memes nothing beats the chaos of 4chan which still has the original spirit of being uncensored, unhinged and anonymous.
 
I wonder what will be worth paying for to be a part of.
Like many members pay for Patron/Exclusive on TE (not counting sellers)
They might introduce some new subs for quick/direct help like yahoo answers (15 years ago) or experts exchange model (25 years ago)

Reddit plans to lock some content behind a paywall​

But still its unconfirmed whats going to be behind paywall. (topics which got money spending age and are useful)
 
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Do they charge "news" sites when the report Reddit comments as news? Cuz that's potentially their biggest revenue generator. XD
 
I don't think this is a bad idea. The creator economy is growing, and there are many paid online communities. This option would probably let subreddit admins make their subreddits paid, and they would likely get a portion of the money users pay to join.
 
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I don't think this is a bad idea. The creator economy is growing, and there are many paid online communities. This option would probably let subreddit admins make their subreddits paid, and they would likely get a portion of the money users pay to join.
No normal subreddit is worth paying for. Reddit is a community and it's the members that make up a subreddit not the moderators (That's why it's a volunteer job, you don't get paid for volunteering) . Paywalling a normal subreddit would drive away most of the newcomers and it'll reduce the number of discussions and user interactions , these newcomers will then make a new subreddit and once it starts growing members from the original subreddit will start moving to the new one . I don't think reddit mods will want to shoot themselves in the foot .

I think the paywall will be for NSFW subreddits because the members actively participating in those subreddits are spending / earning money through reddit and reddit wants to earn a part of that .
 
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I don't think this is a bad idea. The creator economy is growing, and there are many paid online communities. This option would probably let subreddit admins make their subreddits paid, and they would likely get a portion of the money users pay to join.
this is how sites die, Reddit is what it is because of its engagement. the moment, you paywall it, Users will just migrate somewhere else
 
AI search engines are already replacing many search queries with more precise answers than some obscure reddit thread replies.

Reddit is making commendable amount of monies selling data access to AI companies: