Dutch digital payment kiosk to follow Piano's tune
Jinfo Blog

By Penny Crossland

Abstract

Where news for free on the web is not commonplace, such as in non-English speaking countries, it may be possible to make readers pay by creating a joint paywall with other news organisations. This is how Slovakian-based Piano Media are currently succeeding, with other countries potentially adopting this strategy.

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One of the arguments used by opponents of news paywalls is that ultimately they will not work since consumers can always find the news they want for free elsewhere on the web. This is particularly the case in countries with high quality public broadcasting organisations, such as the BBC in the UK.

However, in smaller, non-English speaking countries this argument does not necessarily apply and if the major news organisations join forces in creating a joint paywall, then consumers will have little choice put to pay for news.

This is Slovakian-based Piano Media’s strategy, which launched a single payment kiosk for Slovakian subscription-based news publishers in May last year. As reported by LiveWire, since the beginning of this year, the payment system has expanded to Slovenia, where eight publishers joined the kiosk. The system seems to have been successful enough for Piano Media to increase its subscription fees in Slovakia by 25%, using the philosophy that once you have hooked a customer you can charge them more for your services.

The editorsweblog reported at the time of Piano Media’s launch that the company was keen to expand to other small countries in Europe, notably Denmark and The Netherlands. Being small and having a language that is not widely spoken elsewhere is the key here, since it is less likely that consumers can access news from "uncontrolled" sources.

Piano Media may be too late for the Dutch market, however. Journalism.co.uk reported last week on plans for a Spotify lookalike digital kiosk in the Netherlands, which will allow subscribers to customise their own newspaper with a mix of content from seven Dutch publications. Newspapers participating in the common digital platform include De Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad and Parool. While details of the pricing structure have yet to be finalised, it is believed that subscribers will be able to select articles for a fixed monthly fee.

The success of these types of payment systems will depend on the kind of content offered. Just like the most successful subscription-based individual publications, the key will be to lure customers with either niche content or special offers.

At any rate, the proposed Dutch common digital payment platform is being hailed as a “very promising business innovation” in the Dutch media sector.

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