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Mark Ankcorn's avatar

I suspect the paid subscriber problem is due in large part to Apple’s restrictive iOS TOS. But reader apps now have the ability to have a link to send the person out to the Regular Web and do the subscription there. I’m sure it’s on Substack’s app dev to-do list

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Matt Pencer's avatar

As much as I love a new platform committed to free speech, the business model is absolutely terrible. Bundling exists for a reason: a simple economics lesson shows it benefits both the suppliers and the consumers.

I can't justify paying $50-$100 per year for one writer when for that price I can get The Atlantic or most of the cost of NYT/WSJ. All my favorite writers are on substack but I don't pay for any. We live in an age of abundance; just as you won't spend 10 seconds to subscribe for free to a new blog, I won't pull out my credit card when there are hundreds of great free articles in my inbox, and thousands with my subscriptions to NYT/WSJ/Atlantic.

If someone does pay, it's because they're obsessed with you and already agree with everything you say. Paywalling articles therefore reduces your reach and influence to almost zero. It's sad how many great articles are now being read by so few because of paywalls. Fortunately you realize this and operate on a patronage model, but that's not viable for most.

The solution already exists: a magazine (gasp!). I would happily pay $200/year or maybe more to get access to 20-100 excellent substack writers, some of whom I mostly agree with and some I do not. Substack could offer an "unlimited" plan (not sure how/if that would work) or writers could bundle themselves like The Dispatch.

The problem is not independent subscriptions, but free speech. Andrew Sullivan got fired and you would too if you worked for a mainstream publication. All we need is a quality magazine committed to diverse viewpoints, not a whole new business model.

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