It’s much easier to reach the audience he wants to share with using his Substack than either Twit-er, er, I mean “X”, or Facebook:
Below I look at some surprising ways Substack has changed the media (and social media) landscape.
This gives me a good excuse to recommend the new Substack app. It’s now my go-to source for informed writing — providing access to a smarter and more diverse group of authors, thinkers, and creators than I’ve found anywhere else.
I’ve now been on Substack for 30 months, and the improvements in the platform during that time have far exceeded my expectations. I didn’t know any music writers on Substack back when I launched, but it now boasts a better roster of critics than any newspaper or magazine. By the way, I’m also subscribing to writers in a dozen or so other fields (culinary arts, economics, literature, finance, technology, psychology, etc.).
I’m a heavy user. I must have signed up for almost a hundred Substacks.
Substack has also added a lot of new features during those 30 months. I especially like Notes, which is similar to Twitter but with extra IQ points. And I’ve also benefited from cross-posting, recommendations, and many other new features. I also applaud options I don’t currently use (like chat and podcasts), because they empower writers and readers.
The reality is that Substack is innovating faster than I can keep up with. But I like it that way. It’s creating an interconnected and independent media ecosystem here.
Best of all are the core values behind all this:
- Substack supports writers — who receive almost 90% of subscription revenues. This is the exact opposite of the traditional publishing model, where royalty rates of around 10% are typical.
- I don’t need to attract advertisers, and this frees me from the conflicts-of-interest advertising brings to other platforms.
- There’s no surveillance or selling of users’ private information here.
- I share my articles directly with readers, and no algorithm or gatekeeper intervenes to prevent our direct connection.
For these and other reasons, I’ve been an advocate for the platform. And that’s a good introduction to my subject today.
