By Tien Tzuo, CEO
Today, Zuora is thrilled to announce the launch of Z-Business for Media, a solution focused on helping media companies transform their business to the Subscription Economy.
Most people are aware that the past decade has been a tumultuous one for the media industry. The digital age and the explosive growth of online content has driven advertising revenue off a cliff and caused many premier publishing titles to severely lower print circulation or cease production altogether. Larger publications such as The New York Times have introduced paywalls in an effort to stabilize balance sheets and stem the bleeding. Yet, many publications are still online and free.
Today, there is a great opportunity to reinvent and rebuild the media industry. There are signs of hope. So where should media companies go from here? Beyond survival, the secret to future success lies in moving beyond simple paywalls and developing a clear strategy that enables them to own, monetize and maintain customer relationships.
We call this strategy Paywall 2.0. It is focused on implementing 5 key capabilities to help extend and monetize customers’ subscription value over time. As media companies shift their business model to support this strategy, they must consider upgrading their systems and operational processes, since their legacy systems are not capable of supporting this transformation. These companies will need robust and capable technological power to keep their billings and subscription plans running at their maximum potential.
Zuora Z-Business for Media is a relationship business management (RBM) solution that enables companies to deliver a Paywall 2.0 strategy and support critical business processes across commerce, billing and finance. It is production-proven in large media companies like Fairfax Media, News International, and Pearson, who have begun the transformation to Paywall 2.0.
We at Zuora are honored to play a role in the media industry’s quest to reinvent itself and are optimistic about its future. Often regarded as the “fourth estate,” journalism needs to continue to exist and thrive as a backbone to a democratic and just society. We’re at the early stages of this revival, and Zuora stands ready to do our part. The time is now.
Learn more about our recurring billing, subscription commerce and subscription finance platform.