Paper Number
ICIS2025-1440
Paper Type
Short
Abstract
The digital paywall model allows creators to charge for exclusive content and is increasingly adopted on user-generated video platforms. This study empirically examines how paywalls impact creators’ content strategies. A key challenge is balancing free and exclusive content to attract members while retaining free-access fans. Using a natural experiment and longitudinal data, we find that creators engage in vertical differentiation, improving exclusive content quality while lowering free content quality. They also pursue horizontal differentiation: introducing new categories in exclusive content (category spanning) and diversifying free content beyond their main category (category prioritization). A decline in free content quality may cause fan loss, while improving exclusive content alone does not guarantee more members. However, a larger quality gap boosts membership. Category spanning increases members, and category prioritization helps grow both members and fans. These findings offer new insights into how digital paywalls shape creator behavior and content differentiation.
Recommended Citation
Ye, Xingchen; Guo, Dezhen; Gao, Chaoyue; Huang, Nina; and Hong, Kevin, "How do Digital Paywalls Impact Creators' Creation Strategy?" (2025). ICIS 2025 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2025/is_media/is_media/4
How do Digital Paywalls Impact Creators' Creation Strategy?
The digital paywall model allows creators to charge for exclusive content and is increasingly adopted on user-generated video platforms. This study empirically examines how paywalls impact creators’ content strategies. A key challenge is balancing free and exclusive content to attract members while retaining free-access fans. Using a natural experiment and longitudinal data, we find that creators engage in vertical differentiation, improving exclusive content quality while lowering free content quality. They also pursue horizontal differentiation: introducing new categories in exclusive content (category spanning) and diversifying free content beyond their main category (category prioritization). A decline in free content quality may cause fan loss, while improving exclusive content alone does not guarantee more members. However, a larger quality gap boosts membership. Category spanning increases members, and category prioritization helps grow both members and fans. These findings offer new insights into how digital paywalls shape creator behavior and content differentiation.
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