Medium
Did You Know Not Everyone Pays The Same $5US Membership Fee To Be A Reader On Medium?
Medium makes concessions for those who live outside the STRIPE payment zones, by allowing a lower rate through Google pay.
Let’s look at the different FX rates make for subscribing readers
As an Australian, I pay the full $5US each month. Directly from my AU bank account.
I am always interested in the FX rate, because it impacts on me directly in both the amount paid in AU and what I receive when Stripe pays out.
My monthly reader’s fee is around $7.50 AU each month
What About Being Outside of Australia?
An interesting discussion arose on Facebook this morning about whether Medium could be paying writers in India through a VPN, when their stories are read, because although Stripe can pay in India, their own currency laws make it too difficult. And possibly that’s the case in lots of other places, as well.
For that paying member of MPP, the monthly reader’s fee is 199 INR.
So, a MPP member in India is paying slightly less than half the standard $5US Membership Fee as a reader than those in the countries supported by Stripe.
Using Google Pay for Membership is a one way street .
It appears Google pay doesn’t have a relationship to accept money from Medium, only to pay it to them.
So, it’s not a mechanism for joining MPP and getting paid by Medium.
How 199 INR ranks as the equivalent standard membership fee for readers in other countries on the subcontinent I don’t know. Perhaps someone will enlighten me.
What do subscribing Medium readers pay in Brazil, or Pakistan, or Nigeria?
Some of my favourite writers are outside the STRIPE payment zones.
This is where the rubber hits the road, if we are genuine about supporting other Medium writers.
If I buy one $3US Ko-Fi or click Buy Me A Coffee ☕ twice a month, that money 💰 directly supports those writers by paying their membership fees as a reader and encourages them as a writer.
Knowing they don’t get paid by Medium, and knowing their MPP paid subscription helps pay me when they read my stories, encourages me to help support them.
Of course, taking the FX rate into account, that $3US will equate to almost $5AU
Is $10 a month too much to pay to support good writers, who show their commitment to their audience by being paying readers themselves?
I think it’s time a lot of us took a step back and stop looking at only what we earn through Medium, while happily consuming huge quantities of excellent writing while ignoring its origin.
Being A Reader Is What We Pay For — Anyone Can Join Medium To Be A Writer
For me, my readers are helping to subsidise the cost of my cat food for Splinter and Sophie.
$10AU is about the price of six 85g cans of Fancy Feast pate or John West Tuna in springwater (when it’s on special) We can afford that, thanks to our readers.
We Pay To Be Readers
I am determined to raise this topic again and again, because we must think outside of our own countries if we want Medium to continue to grow and thrive.
I will continue to support those writers who do
- kick the can,
- put into the pot,
- pay their way,
or whatever spin you want to put on it.
Stop griping.
Just buy them a damn coffee ☕
EDITED December 2, 2023. With the best will in the world, I can’t afford to support Medium writers outside of the Stripe zone with more than one or two coffees a month.
So, instead, I have chosen to upgrade to the new Friends Of Medium platform and I am leaving it up to Medium to create the revenue streams for those outside the current options.
If you enjoyed this story and it has made you think, follow me here. There’s lots more to come. There’s always another story.
If you would like to support me and have access to unlimited reading to 1000s of writers on Medium, subscribe here. Part of your membership fee to read helps me support Splinter and Sophie.
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Yes, they are real cats and I love them. Here’s a video.
