Google May Soon Start Paying Publishers for News Content
- A news report by WSJ claims that Google is currently considering paying news publishers a fee for using their content.
- The motive is not known, but it’s likely that Google is planning to launch its own subscription-based news service like Apple News+.
- It is said that Google is in talks with publishers in Europe, particularly France.
A new report by the WSJ is indicating that Google is considering making payments to news outlets for using their articles. This would not be a first for the industry as companies like Facebook and even Apple have their own news services with the former reportedly agreeing to pay up to $3 million a year as licensing fees to the news outlets.
In a statement to the WSJ, Google said – “We want to help people find quality journalism—it’s important to informed democracy and helps support a sustainable news industry. We care deeply about this and are talking with partners and looking at more ways to expand our ongoing work with publishers, building on programmes like our Google News Initiative.”
It is said that Google is currently in talks with publishers outside of the U.S., particularly in European countries like France. This has also given rise to speculation that the company could be working on a news subscription service similar to Apple News+. Apple’s news offering costs $9.99 per month which includes access to over 300 periodicals as well as magazines, making it a pretty worthwhile deal for everyone involved.
Given that we live in the age of the internet, not a lot of people believe in paying for content. But this method could allow publishers to fund their effort to bring the news out to the people. It is said that Google may also offer this news subscription as a free product, although there’s no confirmation on this front.
What do you make of this report?
Via: Engadget
Source: The Wall Street Journal