The Subscription Paywall Model Is Collapsing — Content Credits Offers a Way Out for Newspapers

Subscriptions are collapsing. Ad revenue is gone. Young readers have already left. The publishing industry isn’t struggling — it’s in crisis.

We’ve seen this before in other industries. In 2008, during one of the worst real estate markets in history, we built dotloop. It took off — not because we had perfect timing, but because the industry was desperate. When everything’s broken, people look for solutions that actually work.

That’s where newspapers are right now. And that’s why we built Content Credits.

The Paywall Model Is Breaking

We surveyed nearly 900 people across the U.S., and the results couldn’t be clearer.

Forty-five percent of readers say they’re “extremely” or “very” frustrated with subscription-based paywalls. Even among people who already pay for a publication like the New York Times, nearly half are frustrated when they hit another paywall elsewhere.

More importantly, most readers aren’t just annoyed — they leave. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they bypass paywalls entirely. They either find a different source or skip the article altogether.

Meanwhile, apps like Rocket Money and Experian are making a killing helping people cancel unwanted subscriptions. Not because people don’t want services, but because they’re overwhelmed with recurring charges — and news is low on the priority list.

Younger readers? They’ve already opted out. Forty-eight percent of 18–24-year-olds say they leave a site the moment they hit a paywall. Sixty-three percent say they’d prefer a per-article payment model instead of a subscription.

The next generation of readers isn’t just skeptical of subscriptions — they’re actively avoiding them.

Publishers Are Stuck Between a Shrinking Base and Drive-By Traffic

This is the trap: publishers need recurring revenue, so they lean hard on subscriptions. But the majority of their traffic is casual, one-time visitors — people who click in from search or social, read one article, and bounce.

Right now, those readers bring in zero dollars.

There’s no middle ground.

That’s where Content Credits fits in — as a flexible, reader-friendly alternative that finally gives publishers a way to monetize readers who would otherwise disappear.

Here’s how it works: readers load up a digital wallet (like a Starbucks card), then use it to pay a small fee — $0.25, $0.50, whatever the publisher decides — to access individual articles. No recurring charge. No account. Just a fair way to pay for what you read.

Let’s be real — most paywalls don’t work. A reader finds your article through search, hits the wall, then bounces back to Google. You lose the reader, the engagement, and the revenue. Content Credits changes that outcome.

And the upside is significant.

In our national survey:

• 77% of general population respondents said they were at least somewhat likely to pay $0.25 to bypass a paywall.
• Over 90% of New York Times subscribers said the same.
• 56% of NYT subscribers said they’d consider canceling subscriptions if a micropayment model existed.

Even if just 5% of bounce traffic converted through Content Credits at $0.25 per read, publishers could recapture millions in lost revenue.

We’re Not Chasing a Trend. We’re Solving a Problem.

This isn’t some crypto-based content play or another “pivot to video.” We’re not trying to raise a giant round, flip a company, or follow some VC playbook.

We just built something that works.

People pay by the ride. They pay by the song. They pay by the coffee. It’s time news caught up.

We’re not here to disrupt journalism. We’re here to support it with a model that finally works for both readers and publishers.

It’s simple. It’s honest. And it fits how people already behave online.

This Feels a Lot Like 2008

Back then, real estate was stuck. Deals were slow. Paperwork was a mess. People were trying to survive. We didn’t show up with a grand vision — we showed up with a tool that helped. And that was enough to change the game.

The media world is in a similar spot.

BuzzFeed News is gone. Vice filed for bankruptcy. The LA Times laid off over 100 newsroom staff in one round. Gannett is still cutting jobs across its local outlets. Print circulation is at record lows. Trust is fragile. And the economic model hasn’t been seriously updated in decades.

To make matters worse, the federal government has started pulling back. In early 2025, the State Department and General Services Administration ordered agencies to cancel all institutional media subscriptions as part of a cost-cutting effort. That decision cut off a reliable source of recurring revenue for many major outlets, including Politico, Bloomberg, and others.

The question isn’t whether the old way is working — it’s whether we can move fast enough to replace it before more damage is done.

We’re Already Testing Content Credits with Publishers

This isn’t theoretical. Content Credits is live. We’re already testing it with early-stage publishers and local newsrooms who are ready to try something different.

The early response is strong: publishers are excited about earning revenue from casual readers. Readers are relieved to avoid the subscription trap.

This doesn’t require rethinking your entire business. It’s just another tool — one that sits quietly alongside your paywall, catches the people who would have left, and gives them a reason to stick around.

And we’ve built it lean. No giant integrations. No months-long onboarding. Just a simple system that starts working day one.

If You Work in News, Let’s Talk

This isn’t a silver bullet. But it’s a shot. And it’s a whole lot better than watching things slowly fall apart.

If you’re a publisher, an editor, or someone who still believes that journalism is worth saving — let’s talk. The product’s ready. The audience is ready. And the industry doesn’t have much time to wait.

We didn’t wait in 2008. And it changed everything for real estate.

Now’s the time to do the same for publishing.

If you’re interested in learning more about Content Credits as an investor, please click here to learn more.