For the first time ever, Google will start paying publishers for their distributed content.
As part of new Google news product launching later this year, a licensing program will be created to pay publishers for “high-quality content”.
In other words, users will soon be able to read paywalled news for free, fully paid for by Google.
According to Axios, there are two key aspects to the new licensing program:
- Selected publishers will be paid to distribute their work.
- To help publishers grow audiences, free access will also be offered to read paywalled articles on a publisher’s site where available.
“We’ve heard loud and clear that we need to do more to support publications around world. Today’s news is part of that solution.”
— Google’s VP of product management for news Brad Bender