The ongoing struggle between newspaper publishers and aggregators has been widely publicized. Often outspoken internet-entrepreneur-turned-NBA-owner Mark Cuban is often quoted for having called aggregators vampires and calling on content creators to grow a pair and start charging the parasitic crawlers for the privilege of republishing. It’s not quite that simple. Unlike Bram Stoker’s vampires, content producers (who generate most of their revenue from online advertising) actually need aggregators to stay connected to the search-driven web.
Recently, several online newspapers have implemented paywalls (WSJ) or announced an intention to start charging consumers for content (NYT). However, why would a consumer purchase an online subscription if the articles could be accessed via Google. Until recently, the aggregators were in the drivers’ seat. But things are changing and publishers are taking bold steps to grow online subscription business.
Recently, Google announced it would provide a modified version of its First-Click-Free scheme whereby it limits the number of free articles a reader can access per day. Google is actually implementing something similar to a metered pay model the NYT will be rolling out next year.
While the aggregators certainly have the upper hand, it is likely that content providers will have more victories over the coming years. After all, what is a search engine without content?
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