I‘m Done Paying Medium for Your Stories Behind the Paywall
I want out
I have been reading and writing on Medium since 2016.
I have seen the rise of Medium stars like Benjamin Hardy, PhD, Nicolas Cole, and Tom Kuegler.
When Medium started collecting money from its readers through Medium Membership, I signed up as soon as I could. Because, why not? I am willing to pay for great content. And 5 dollars is like just a cup of overpriced cappuccino and I was sure what I’d get to read on Medium is always worth so much more than that.
And there was also the Medium Partnership Program.
It compensated the writers based on a number of things.
First there was the clap thing. I’m not certain of the calculations, but it used to be the claps of paying members. There probably have been several updates to that with details I no longer know. But the latest is about the amount of time people spend on articles. It’s like when a person spends a percentage of his time on an article, that percentage will be taken from his membership fee and get paid to the writer.
Cool, right?
I think so, too.
Medium is the best platform for readers and writers alike.
But I’m tired with how Medium works.
Medium allows you to pay the platform no matter where you are coming from. But Medium will only let you get paid, will only allow you to become part of the Medium Partnership Program IF AND ONLY IF you belonged to countries where stripe is supported. (Or maybe if you go through some complicated procedures to apply for a Stripe account.)
Now, if you were to check Stripe’s website, you’ll know that they only operate in 30+ countries. And that’s cool if you happen to belong in those countries. If not, then you are not eligible to be part of the Partnership Program. END OF STORY. And that sounds like a terminal end because Medium has not and will probably not do anything about this.
I am not really on Medium to earn money.
I was attracted to Medium because of its ad-free, high-quality content.
I have been a paying member since April of 2018.
But between March and April this year, I thought I’d end it. I thought I didn’t want to pay for Medium membership anymore. Because, well, it doesn’t allow people like me who aren’t from Stripe-eligible countries to get paid.
I know it sounds like ranting.
And I’ve never written anything like this on Medium before.
But I want out.
I no longer want to be a paying member.
I’m only a 5$ loss to Medium. Or 50 if it were annual. It can’t be felt. It’s negligible. Like all the paying members who belong to non-Stripe countries.
I’d probably still read free Medium articles once in a while.
I might also write articles that are not behind a paywall because what’s the point aside from curation which in itself is a tough act.
Notice from the picture above that I paid an annual membership just this April? It was because I was hoping there’d be changes. But maybe not. So I want out.
If Medium is giving refunds, I want it back.
If not, then take it. That’s the last of it.
I’m done paying for your stories behind the paywall.
