Salon.com Launches Premium Subscription Service
Posted on April 27, 2001
Salon, an Internet media company, announced the launch of Salon Premium, a paid subscription service which is mostly ad free and provides access to some premium content including erotic art and photography. Salon will continue to provide free content separate from the Salon Premium website. Salon's decision to launch a subscription service is seen as somewhat of a desperation move because the company faces both a high burn-rate and a weak advertising market. The company also recently terminated 25 employees in December, 2000 and announced it would cut salaries for some its staff by around 15% in March, 2001. Shares of Salon.com have been trading under $1 since February, 2001.The Salon Premium section costs $30 per year. Some of the premium-only content provide include: "Bushed!", a round up of exploits and mishaps of George W. Bush and his administration; an expanded Friday edition of Amy Reiter's popular ``Nothing Personal'' column, synopses of reality TV shows and galleries of erotic art and photography. Other features of the premium edition include an option to view new Salon content without exposure to most banner and pop-up ads and one month of free service to The Well, Salon's online chat community.
Michael O'Donnell, CEO and president of Salon.com, said ``We're very excited about the launch of Salon Premium. It closes the loop in our mission to provide our readers with two compelling options with which to enjoy Salon -- on a free basis with prominent advertising, or a largely 'ad-free' version of Salon with an annual subscription. The Internet is all about flexibility and we're delighted to provide these options to both our advertisers and our readers.''