Thoughtful Words From Indra No. 1 - How we pay for content + media
Welcome to the first edition of this newsletter! I've been thinking about making one for a little while, but I put it off for a couple of months because I couldn't think of a name. So, when the idea came back to me recently, I just decided to screw the name and just come up with something that could work for now. Obviously you all didn't mind it 😬
For now, I plan to structure these newsletters like this: thoughtful words on some topic I've thought about a lot, links to any Medium articles I've written recently, and general updates on what I've been up to. These thoughtful words will be a lot more freeform than my usual Medium fare--this newsletter is really meant to be a more candid outlet where I care less about appearance, virality, audiences, and such. In other words, a true translation of my thoughts to words on paper/pixels. It'll be much more stream-of-consciousness than my other writing.
Without further ado, something I've thought about recently: how we pay for content and media.
--
How We Pay For Content and Media
I've personally had a tricky relationship (as I imagine many people do) with paying for content. There are some things where I'm in the minority (ex. my willingness to pay for Medium's subscription service), but by and large I generally try to avoid paying for content. Largely, it's based on this perception that this thing should be free, or it's not worth that much because there's something else out there that's similar enough and is free. That description extends to many movies, most news articles behind paywalls, some games, and Netflix and similar services.
Would I want to live in a world without any of that? Of course not. Would I be willing to shell out $13 a movie, $6 a month for the New York Times, or $14 a month for Netflix? Ehhh...probably not. And so begins that tricky relationship.
Certainly, there are things that I make exceptions for. I do pay $5 a month for Medium--is the content really that great? If I had to be honest with myself...it's not really worth it. But I justify the cost because I believe it helps support writers like me, especially the ones who do it full time. It's this feeling of altruism that creates my willingness to pay. I get more value from the feeling of giving back than I do from the actual knowledge I should get from reading premium Medium content.
That's one part of an answer to a question I've thought a lot about: why do we not like paying for most content and media, and what are the implications of that growing trend?
Like it or not, money has to come into the equation at some point. Somewhere, a content creator is producing something that a lot of people derive value from, yet don't actually pay for. Maybe the money comes from ads, yet most people don't really like ads (there's also a host of privacy concerns in this day and age that makes advertising a trickier business). But if the money doesn't come from ads, which has been the revenue driver of the vast majority of content/media organizations, then where does it come from?
Enabled by the Internet and tools for content production, the perceived value of content has decreased dramatically in recent years. Fortunately, ways for paying for different types of content and media have evolved as well. Things like movies and tv shows shave founded safe havens in models like bulk subscription services. Small niches have developed in more premium content types like The Information and paid newsletters in different verticals. Services like Patreon offer opportunities for independent artists, creatives, and content creators to fund their own services through community support.
What I worry most for is written journalism. A once incredibly profitable newspaper industry has dwindled to a space surviving on life support. Publicly funded journalism has been hit hard, with local community news organizations taking the hardest hit. Our answer has been to privatize news companies and papers--a short term solution that doesn't really solve the core problem. In my opinion, there's an inherent conflict between profit maximization and independent journalism. Topics that drive clicks and make sales will eventually be prioritized over potentially important topics, and biases in the parent organizations of newspapers and media affect quality as well.
Like this paper on alternative models for independent media funding suggests, I think the answer may lie in a blended funding structure that combines private and government money. I could go on, but that'd take much longer than I'm afforded in this newsletter.
--
General Life Updates
Started a personal newsletter after procrastinating for months
Working hard and enrolling students for my wacky school
Watched Detective Pikachu and now I'm hoping for a Pokemon cinematic universe
Tried out this new audiobook subscription service called Scribd, and it's actually pretty good--solid selection of books, and I've already read Hard Things About Hard Things and am about to start The One World Schoolhouse by Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy
Recently watched the trailer for a film premiering at Sundance called The Farewell, and I can't wait for this story to be told already (now we get to see Awkwafina playing a serious role)
Actually visiting Boston right now to meet up with old and new friends--at the writing of this email, I've already hit up my favorite burrito place in Boston, Felipe's 😍
--
Recent Medium Articles
One Interesting Year — A Tale of Startups, Navigating Life After College, and More
If you ever wanted to know what the journey's like at an early stage startup, you'll find a pretty good picture of it through this article I wrote. How we started Sora Schools, the ups and downs in the process, how we pivoted, and where we're at now. All in loving detail :)
--
I hope you all enjoyed this first edition! It'll be an iterative process for me as I figure out what reads well and how my voice sounds in this medium, but I hope you'll stay with me. I love thinking about these types of deep topics without an exact, clear answer. If you ever want to suggest any to me or have any comments, you can reach me through my Twitter.
Or, if you know me personally, just DM me :)
Cheers,
Indra