Publishing platform Medium has debuted a new business model for readers to pay a monthly fee to gain access to exclusive and curated content.

Bonus for a job well done

Medium will be paying participating partners with revenue shares based on the metrics of time spent reading and shared “claps” by rewarding quality content.

The new reward system was first noted by Hunter Walk for his story “Giving Visionary Women Their Due,” upon receiving $100 from Medium.

According to an email sent to Walk by Medium, “our system added bonuses to stories that our editors designate as high quality in important topic areas.”

Switching models

The previous Medium reward scheme was based on story engagement, relying on metrics recording the engagement of individual users viewing content.

This style of reward system is an effective alternative to click and share approaches, which encourage sensationalist posts and clickbait titles.

Medium is essentially paying for the content it wants to see, further seeding its content with reputable writing and rewarding talent for engaging work.

What do you think about the new share-based model of Medium? Are you happy to see an alternative model? Give us your thoughts in the comments section.