July 21, 2020
Journalism, Subscriptions, and Podcasting | Li Jin and Nathan Baschez on Venture Stories
Check out the Venture Stories Podcast Page
Key Takeaways
- The two waves of media:
- Consumers want curation, contextualization, and recommendations
- “Like how do they sort through all of the information that’s out there and have a trusted resource to guide them through that deluge of information” – Li Jin
- Subscription newsletters have taken off because they provide readers with curation, contextualization, and recommendations
- “Like how do they sort through all of the information that’s out there and have a trusted resource to guide them through that deluge of information” – Li Jin
- Journalists spend years developing sources, building expertise in a specific domain, and can help readers contextualization what is going on in the world
- Just like how investors put their money into VC firms to invest their money, people need journalists to make sense of information
- Many journalists will join the passion economy and work for themselves but you’ll also have journalists who prefer a steady income and working under an established organization
- Not every writer is economically driven to optimize their income
- Some writers appreciate the prestige and social status of working for a famous media company like the NYT
- Going independent requires the writer to accept tremendous risks and uncertainties
- It’s difficult to create a subscription service to monetize a podcast because there are so many podcasts that deliver lots of great content for free
- However, in other markets and countries where English isn’t the main language, we could see podcasts pop-up that can thrive on a subscription model
Intro
- Li Jin (@ljin18) is the founder of a new firm called Atelier
- Nathan Baschez (@nbashaw) is a writer and studies strategy at divinations.substack.com
- Host: Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg)
About Nathan & Li
- Nathan worked at Gimlet media and Substack
- At Substack, he got to see how journalists and creators build their own businesses
- Nathan now writes a paid business newsletter called divinations.substack.com
- At Substack, he got to see how journalists and creators build their own businesses
- Li used to be a reporter for The Harvard Crimson
- She eventually went into venture capital and worked at a16z
- She now has her own Substack newsletter
- She eventually went into venture capital and worked at a16z
The World of Media
- The two waves of media:
- The first wave was fueled by cheap audience acquisition from social media companies like Facebook which created BuzzFeed and UpWorthy
- The second wave is the subscription wave
- More media companies are shifting their business model to subscription and some companies, like Substack, are completely focused on the subscription model
- When it comes to investing in media, Li likes to work backward from the end consumer
- Right now, people need a better way to filter for the most important information. Social media and the internet are great because they gave everyone a voice, but it has also flooded the web with information
- Consumers want curation, contextualization, and recommendations
- “Like how do they sort through all of the information that’s out there and have a trusted resource to guide them through that deluge of information” – Li Jin
- Subscription newsletters have taken off because they provide readers with curation, contextualization, and recommendations
- “Like how do they sort through all of the information that’s out there and have a trusted resource to guide them through that deluge of information” – Li Jin
- Consumers want curation, contextualization, and recommendations
- Right now, people need a better way to filter for the most important information. Social media and the internet are great because they gave everyone a voice, but it has also flooded the web with information
- Even if you build a media company a ton of users love, it doesn’t necessarily translate to revenue
- Another great lesson: Have a direct relationship with your audience
- If you rely on Facebook for traffic and FB changes their algorithm, you’re in deep trouble
- Another great lesson: Have a direct relationship with your audience
- In the future, expect to see the bundling of newsletters
- Just like how Spotify bundled different albums, a new company may emerge that bundles different writers
- Bundling generates more revenue for creators and more value to consumers
- Bundles are most effective when people have a wide range of interests
- Bundling generates more revenue for creators and more value to consumers
- Just like how Spotify bundled different albums, a new company may emerge that bundles different writers
The Future of Journalism
- Journalist still have value and will be around for the near future even though right now there’s a higher supply than demand for them
- Journalists spend years developing sources, building expertise in a specific domain, and can help readers contextualization what is going on in the world
- Just like how investors put their money into VC firms to invest their money, people need journalists to make sense of information
- Journalists spend years developing sources, building expertise in a specific domain, and can help readers contextualization what is going on in the world
- Many journalists will join the passion economy and work for themselves but you’ll also have a journalist who prefers a steady income and working under an established organization
- Not every writer is economically driven to optimize their income
- Some writers appreciate the prestige and social status of working for a famous media company like the NYT
- Going independent requires the writer to accept tremendous risks and uncertainties
Thoughts on Substack
- Why should writers use Substack if they take a percentage of their earnings?
- It saves writers the headache of building their own website and handling payments
- Unless you’re one of the top writers who is earning millions of dollars a year, it’s probably not worth your time to create your own site
- Substack is also working on building distribution to help writers reach more readers just like how YouTube helps creators find more viewers
Thoughts on Podcasts
- It’s difficult to create a subscription service to monetize a podcast because there are so many podcasts that deliver lots of great content for free
- However, in other markets and countries where English isn’t the main language, we could see podcasts pop-up that can thrive on a subscription model
- Ben Thompson is one of the few examples of building a successful paid podcast
- However, in other markets and countries where English isn’t the main language, we could see podcasts pop-up that can thrive on a subscription model
- Trying to create a private RSS feed is a hassle. If you’re going to enact a paywall on your podcast, it would be wise to do it through your own app.
- E.g: The New York Times could share their podcast through their app and allow only paying subscribers to listen to it
- If you build up a large audience through an ad-supported business, it’s difficult to have them switch over to a subscription model business
Additional Notes
- Journalist and sources shouldn’t have too much of a cozy relationships; there should be some tension between both
