Bundling -> Unbundling -> Bundling
“Gentlemen, there’s only two ways I know of to make money: bundling and unbundling.” - Jim Barksdale
The Evolution of the Media Industry
Thread 👇
“Gentlemen, there’s only two ways I know of to make money: bundling and unbundling.” - Jim Barksdale
The Evolution of the Media Industry
Thread 👇
Newspapers & Magazines (Bundling)
• Distribution was owned by print media companies
• Writers needed these companies to distribute their writing
• Without their distribution (delivery trucks, printing facilities, etc.), writers had no audience
• Distribution was owned by print media companies
• Writers needed these companies to distribute their writing
• Without their distribution (delivery trucks, printing facilities, etc.), writers had no audience
Blogging (Unbundling)
• When blogging began, writers could have distribution without relying on the print media company
• The internet democratized writers by allowing them to have a platform with anyone who had an internet connection
• When blogging began, writers could have distribution without relying on the print media company
• The internet democratized writers by allowing them to have a platform with anyone who had an internet connection
Newsletters & Social Networks (Unbundling
• Newsletters and social networks further democratized writers by allowing them to collect email addresses and "followers" to own their distribution channels
• Writers could maximize their celeb status in new ways
• Newsletters and social networks further democratized writers by allowing them to collect email addresses and "followers" to own their distribution channels
• Writers could maximize their celeb status in new ways
Substack (Unbundling)
• One path to monetization was paid newsletters eg. @stratechery and @benthompson
• Eventually, Substack came along and provided a platform for any writer to monetize
• One path to monetization was paid newsletters eg. @stratechery and @benthompson
• Eventually, Substack came along and provided a platform for any writer to monetize
SuperFan (Unbundling)
• The issue with Substack is the SuperFan concept coined by @shishirmehrotra
• A SuperFan will pay a la carte pricing and will actively seek out the good to purchase it
• Substack only allows a la carte pricing
• What about "CasualFans"?
• The issue with Substack is the SuperFan concept coined by @shishirmehrotra
• A SuperFan will pay a la carte pricing and will actively seek out the good to purchase it
• Substack only allows a la carte pricing
• What about "CasualFans"?
CasualFan (Unbundling)
• A CasualFan is someone who would value the good if they access to it, but lacks one of the two SuperFan criteria
• A SuperFan might only pay for X writer or Y writer, but not both
• By bundling, they now expand their audience
• A CasualFan is someone who would value the good if they access to it, but lacks one of the two SuperFan criteria
• A SuperFan might only pay for X writer or Y writer, but not both
• By bundling, they now expand their audience
The Everything Bundle (Bundling)
• @danshipper & @nbashaw realized this problem and bundled together
• "Bundling produces value for both consumers and providers by giving access for (and revenue from) CasualFans." - @shishirmehrotra
everything.substack.com
• @danshipper & @nbashaw realized this problem and bundled together
• "Bundling produces value for both consumers and providers by giving access for (and revenue from) CasualFans." - @shishirmehrotra
everything.substack.com
Why Media Will Rebundle? (Bundling)
• We have seen bundling begin to take place at scale with the @TheAthletic
• They took the best sportswriters in each market and bundled the writers together to create a new media product
• Substack is beta testing a bundling feature
• We have seen bundling begin to take place at scale with the @TheAthletic
• They took the best sportswriters in each market and bundled the writers together to create a new media product
• Substack is beta testing a bundling feature
The Future of Bundling
• The right bundle maximizes revenue for producer and gives consumers access to products that were CasualFans of
• Ultimately, the rebundling of the media industry will increase the Total Addressable Market (TAM) of the industry
• The right bundle maximizes revenue for producer and gives consumers access to products that were CasualFans of
• Ultimately, the rebundling of the media industry will increase the Total Addressable Market (TAM) of the industry
