Medium's next big idea to 'fix' the internet: $5 subscriptions

Ev Williams wrote at the start of this year that he was taking Medium in a new direction because ad-driven media on the internet was "broken."

The future? Subscriptions.

"Medium will remain the best place to share ideas that matter and to find independent voices and fresh perspectives  —  for free. For members, it will get better. For $5 per month (introductory price), you’ll get two upgraded aspects..." he wrote in a blog post published Wednesday.

Those aspects are a new reading experience that Medium has yet to roll out (and will feature a select list of curated stories), along with better content thanks to a pledge to give all subscriber money, for the first few months, to writers and publishers on its platform. After that, the subscriptions revenue will split between content creators and Medium in an undisclosed way.

The shift sheds more light on where Williams, who cofounded Twitter and is generally regarded as a forward-thinking entrepreneur when it comes to internet publishing, is taking Medium. Williams started the platform in 2012 and quickly attracted writers with its easy-to-use but beautiful website. Medium, it seemed, would be Williams' big bet that quality writing on the internet would attract the kind of money that rewarded writers and Medium alike.

Four years later, Medium remains a popular site among techno-literati, but the company just couldn't make the economics work.

Williams reiterated as much in his blog post on Wednesday.

"Media is broken. And we need to fix it," he wrote.

"We’ve come a long way since   establishing ourselves as the platform for thoughtfulness, depth, and insight from independent thinkers," he added. "But the greater challenge  —  changing the incentives that drive our consumption of media online  —  has become even more pressing. It’s time to double-down."

He doesn't stop there. Williams starts veering toward Noam Chomsky "Manufacturing Consent" territory in decrying the ad-driven media.

"It’s simple. Corporate advertising budgets become the primary funders of our information providers. No matter how skilled or well-intentioned, ad-driven publishers are rewarded on their ability to capture attention and even, at times, to weave a particular corporate-driven narrative," he wrote.

Anyone hoping for a particularly next-level or bizarre/original idea for where Medium is headed will be disappointed. It appears the website is mostly just switching from an ad-driven model to one that relies on subscriptions.

To break this cycle, Williams argues, people need to start paying for quality work.

"Through this partner program, which we’re also kicking off today, we’ll be working with independent writers and publishers to fund stories you wouldn’t otherwise see  —  on Medium or, likely, anywhere else. That’s the goal of creating a new economic model for content  —  to enable the creation of even better work," he wrote.