Elon Musk Details Plan For Revamped Twitter Blue: $8/month, Fewer Ads, And Longer Uploads
Elon Musk finally has a solid plan for selling the Twitter Blue subscription package, and there's a lot to unpack in his latest tweetstorm. Instead of the original idea of charging $20 per month for the service that would also let verified accounts keep that blue badge, Musk says Twitter Blue will cost $8 per month.
That's a 60% hike compared to the original $5 asking price. Musk adds, "Twitter's current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark is bulls**t." It appears that the fate of a verified checkmark for accounts on Twitter is now inherently bonded to Twitter Blue. Musk recently classified the subscription model as a critical revenue channel, adding that Twitter can't solely rely on advertisers.
Twitter is yet to update the official Twitter Blue support page with more details, so we'll have to see if any more caveats have been added to the account verification side of things. For now, it seems that people will be able to get a blue check verification mark if they can cough up the $8 per month premium in Twitter Blue fee. Musk also adds that pricing will be adjusted regionally based on the purchasing power parity metric, which is also a sign that the product will be expanding to more countries. So far, Twitter Blue has been limited to the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
Putting a price on trust, demolishing paywalls
Folks who have a Twitter Blue subscription will also have their replies, mentions, and search results prioritized on the platform. This is being done to ensure that Twitter users get to see information from trustworthy accounts first, and don't fall for misleading propositions and scams. Another major change, which Musk hinted at making over the weekend, is about relaxed media uploads. Without specifying the new limits, Musk says users will now be able to post longer audio and video posts. So far, Twitter has only allowed videos lasting up to 140 seconds with their resolution capped in the HD range.
And paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
The biggest change, however, comes on the advertisement side of things. According to Musk, Twitter Blue subscribers will see half as many ads. It appears that Musk is cutting down Twitter's reliance on ad revenue dramatically by getting users to pay more for Twitter Blue. Musk is reportedly expecting over 150 million paid subscribers by the end of 2028, an idea he pitched to early backers a few months ago, according to The New York Times.
Finally, Musk is also changing the platform's relations with publishing partners. Earlier today, Twitter Blue publishers were informed that ad-free articles are going away. Now, Musk has tweeted that publishing partners can waive the paywall for Twitter Blue subscribers, assuming they choose to work with Twitter.