Paytime. The way millennials will pay for media.

Media content touches all aspects of our lives. It touches us so profoundly that it can literally make or ruin our day. We play music to lift us out of bed and go running. Movies make us feel as if someone else’s life and adventures were our own. Journalism empowers us to form opinions on important matters, to make choices which impact not just our own lives, but the destiny of our communities. Media helps us live a better life.

While paid models have been around, such as subscriptions to newspapers, or paying when going to the movies, traditionally, most of media has been “free.” You pay with your attention (to the advertiser sponsoring the content), instead of your money. The key is the media operator holds full control over the experience. They invite us to watch the movie or the football match, courtesy of the sponsors. But they determine when the content is available, where, and in exchange for what. Namely, your attention, to ad breaks managed by the media operator.

The internet has completely changed the way we consume our media. (Binge watching, anyone?) The mobile internet has catalysed that change. It is not just about the volume of content, but the way we consume it. “Right here” means everywhere. “Right now” means anytime, and all the time.

Our smartphones are no longer just a platform. They are our lives. Our smartphone is unique, non-shared, permanently on, and all-relevant in every aspect of our lives, be it professional or personal. Coming of age is an unstoppable desire to have full control over who we are and how we live. We want full control of our lives. When it comes to our smartphone, nothing else will do.

Consumers are reclaiming full control over the two key components of the attention economy: time of attention and personal data.

With YoY growth of 40%, there already are more than 600 million devices with ad blockers installed. And counting. The forthcoming EU GDPR will be the most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years. More will follow.

Content owners and distributors seek alternatives through subscription models. It is not just movies, music, games and newspapers that are moving into a subscription model. When even car companies join in, replacing conventional means of purchasing a car, it is time to ponder how sustainable the subscription model may be as a way of making media available to everyone.

The average yearly salary of a millennial in the US is $35K. Their average debt, $25K. And as important a role as media content plays in their lives, they still need to pay for education, housing, groceries, clothing, travel…

Will we move to a society in which only a minority has access to media, and therefore to a better life?

Paytime enables everyone to have access to the best digital content. We are building a new payment platform for media, on the tenet that consumers must have full control over their digital experience. We acknowledge time of attention and data as assets of the attention economy, and recognize each one of us as the only owner of both of them. Paytime gives those assets liquidity, so consumers may pay for the premium digital content they want, using their time of attention and data.

For instance, a $10 monthly subscription may become a price equivalent of 5 minutes per week.

Paytime creates a bridge between free and premium. As a media operator, the more options you provide your user to pay for your content, the higher the probability you will get paid. Some of your consumers will be happy to pay you in cash, to have straight access to your content. But for the vast majority who are still unwilling to pay for a subscription in cash, you will now be able to offer them an accessible alternative.

Transparency helps each partner see the value of the deal: from the advertiser, to the user, to the media operator. We use technology to enable, not to tax.

Importantly, the media operator taps into a stream of tier 1, GDPR-compliant data. Better knowledge of your audience helps you deliver just the content they want. Getting access to that data with their full knowledge and consent, fosters the trust required to build loyalty to your brand.

Paytime guarantees advertisers full return on their investment. Building a brand which commands premium price and recurrent purchases in today’s digital advertising ecosystem is just not possible. As if (lack of) brand safety and plain fraud were not enough, advertisers need do with rickety viewability standards.

With Paytime, advertisers get full attention, to the full length of their message, in full screen. This is something that can only be achieved when consumers engage by choice, not by force.

It is time for a new deal. Because media matters.

Matter is creating the future of media. It supports an informed, connected and empowered society.

Paytime offers consumers a new deal to access media, by putting them at the centre. People will have it easier to access the content that makes their lives that little bit better.

We have already conducted a market test with exciting results. Offered as an alternative payment model to purchase the subscription of a newspaper in Portugal, Paytime doubled the number of subscriptions sold. Importantly, in a country where millennials are just 8% of the population, 45% of our subscriber base have been millennials.

Paytime helps everyone get access to media. Paytime helps everyone live a better life. Now, we will help everyone have access to Paytime.