Web pornography and The Wall Street Journal online edition have something in common. They are among the few internet entities that can get away with charging for their content.
     A number of sites that started by charging subscription fees dropped them, notably Slate and TheStreet.com.  
     Yet the idea of paid web content persists. Yahoo of late has been considering charging for some of its content.
   Before moving ahead, portal executives might consider looking at a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association.
    Conclusion: The vast majority of internet surfers believe all web content should be free.
     Fully 77 percent of web users today oppose the idea of paying for information, according to the survey. 
     Another 11 percent say they are neutral about the issue. Only 4 percent support it.
   This is the uphill battle any pay-for-content editorial site has to face, in a nutshell.
    The issue isn't that consumers feel everything online ought to be free, as it is often framed. It's that they feel they're already paying, which in fact they are.
    Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, journalists and others involved in the fledgling web publishing industry overlook this, but ordinary people who go online are already paying some $20 a month to be there. Those who have upgraded to high-speed access are paying double that, or more.
   As far as users are concerned, they have been paying for their content since the day they logged online. And it is not a monthly bill they are quite so used to paying yet. Why should they pay more for individual sites or services?
   Users don’t report a whole lot more eagerness to pay for visual content either. Two-thirds oppose the idea of having to pay for downloading pictures, according to the survey.
    When it comes to the audio/visual content that the Consumer Electronics Association is itself more interested in, consumers were somewhat less resistant to the idea of extra fees.
   Only 51 percent say they oppose the idea of paying for music online and 50 percent don’t want to pay for games. For video clips or movies, the percentage goes down to 48, and just 43 percent say they are against paying for computer software they download.
    When it comes to multimedia content, users are receiving tangible products that they are used to paying a fair amount of money for. In this case they mind less the idea of a premium on top of their monthly internet bill.
   The web’s editorial content, on the other hand, is being used largely by consumers as a sort of vast, interactive library.
   And when was the last time you saw a library that required admission on the way in?
  

-Jeremy Schlosberg is the senior editor for new media.

Printer-Friendly Version |  Send to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact Us

© 2001 Media Life