The advertisement-free, video hosting app Portal has introduced subscription payments to its platform, the company announced Thursday morning.
Launched in November with funding from Mark Cuban, Portal is a social media app akin to Instagram where creators can post videos that populate in a vertical feed that users can scroll through and engage with.
With subscriptions, Portal creators can now collect recurring monthly payments from their followers with Portal taking a 4.5 percent cut. The feature is similar to the offerings of Twitch and YouTube, where eligible creators (such as those with 30,000 subscribers in YouTube’s case) can make money by charging a subscription fee to view their channel. Portal, on the other hand, has no eligibility requirements.
“Anyone can collect recurring monthly payments directly from their followers on Portal,” CEO Jonathan Swerdlin told TheWrap. “We’ve completely democratized it where everyone, regardless of audience size, regardless of level of experience, can instantly start earning with subscriptions.”
Swerdlin said the new addition completes Portal’s three-part monetization model, which already included “Tips,” which puts a tip button on every video ($0.10 to $100) and allows a value exchange with every view; and “Paywalls,” which allows users to add a price to their videos ($.01 to $100) and claim their value for the specific video.
Founded with the belief that advertising is the “biggest scam on the internet,” Portal has completely cut out ads from its platform. The company’s self-described mission is to create a destination that allows creators to cater to fans, not brands.
“You’re getting ripped off. Pharmaceutical companies, McDonald’s and bulls–t political advertisers decide how much you and your ideas are worth,” Thinx co-founder and Portal investor Miki Agrawal said. “They can refuse to pay you and hide your work if you’re too ‘controversial.’ Disrupt that! Portal is where we take the power back. Just you and the people you make great sh-t for. Portal is the best place on the Internet for creators to become entrepreneurs.”
“Portal is killing the attention economy by creating the most powerful platform for content creators to earn money,” added Swerdlin.
To date, Portal has raised $4.2 million in funding from investors including entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Day One Ventures, Social Start, General Assembly co-founder Matthew Brimer, Daybreaker co-founder Radha Agrawal, and Thinx co-founder Miki Agrawal.