Re:Sovereign writers and Substack
by coolgeek on Thursday March 25, 2021 @12:59PM
(#26582635)
> That's not true of the overwhelming majority of Substack writers
The majority, then, are writers who can't get a job in paid media - either because they're not good enough, or there aren't enough paid slots available to accommodate them.
IOW, Substack is the 2020s version of Blogger, except that it has a payment/compensation system built in.
As with "content producers" on YouTube, "influencers" on InstaGram, etc, there is vastly more supply than there is demand or available compensation.
I'm not saying that there aren't good, original voices on Substack. I'm saying that the vast majority of writers on the platform are categorically similar to, and subject to the same system constraints as, other media/attention platforms.
The majority, then, are writers who can't get a job in paid media - either because they're not good enough, or there aren't enough paid slots available to accommodate them.
IOW, Substack is the 2020s version of Blogger, except that it has a payment/compensation system built in.
As with "content producers" on YouTube, "influencers" on InstaGram, etc, there is vastly more supply than there is demand or available compensation.
I'm not saying that there aren't good, original voices on Substack. I'm saying that the vast majority of writers on the platform are categorically similar to, and subject to the same system constraints as, other media/attention platforms.