In 2020, media makers reached for independence
Audiences are increasingly willing to support their favourite projects financially. This is encouraging more and more media and artists to pursue this funding pathway
Among all the chaos and uncertainty of 2020, three notable independent media makers chose to take the leap into reader funding. Worst timing ever, or inspired decision making?
Veteran LGBTQI publisher Gay Times took a step towards independence this year by offering paid memberships to its readers, alongside music and pop culture magazine The Quietus, which racked up more than 800 members this year, each paying at least £5 per month. Meanwhile, online magazine gal-dem’s championing of women and non-binary people of colour amassed them a whopping 2500+ paying members in 2020.
Paying members encourage publishers to concentrate on what they do best
It seems like these publications asked their communities for more support at just the right moment. And they exemplify a remarkable trend: media consumers are increasingly willing to support their favourite projects financially, which in turn encourages more media outlets and artists to follow this funding pathway — despite, but sometimes also because of, all the uncertainties this year has brought.
gal-dem founder Liv Little says she sees memberships as independent publishing’s way forward. “Our ambitions are to move towards a situation where reader income covers a more significant portion of our overheads,” she says.
“As a business that is set up for the benefit of your community, where you platform your community’s voices, support those voices and work with and learn from them, to then also be funded by that community — you couldn’t ask for more. That’s what it’s all about.”
And she has a rallying call for other publishers looking to pivot to memberships:
“We shouldn’t be scared of asking people to invest in the creative work we produce, because the creative work we produce costs money.”
At Steady we are proud to offer independent media makers a platform that enables them to fund themselves through their communities. A quick look at Steady’s numbers confirms the trend described above — in just a few days we will have reached all three of the following milestones:
- More than 1,000 publishers making money…
- from 100,000 memberships…
- For a total of 10 million euros in membership fees for publishers
And the trend is only gathering pace, further evidence of a long-standing global development that VC Andreessen Horowitz calls the “enterprization of the consumer”: New platforms enable people to monetise their individuality and creativity. Experts are calling this the Passion Economy, a business that is already worth 38 billion dollars worldwide, according to Verdict.
Steady publishers and their success stories
The three publishers mentioned above are by no means the only examples of media outlets and artists who have dared to take the step into independence or self-employment in 2020.
Media makers of all sizes have benefitted from the unrelenting support of their communities this year.
Juliane Fritz runs a podcast about her big love, bouldering. Despite her niche subject, she has been able to gather 200 paying members who became her lifeline when she lost her other income during the crisis.
Interview with Juliane Fritz: “Suddenly, Steady was my main source of income”
And there’s plenty more where that came from: Read more Steady publisher success stories
