Substackers rich list | Interview with Ladbible CEO Solly Solomou
And how publishers can find new AI revenue streams by grabbing a slice of the lucrative research market
Good morning and welcome to your Press Gazette Future of Media newsletter on Thursday, 23 January.
Want to get rich out of journalism? Starting a Substack is one way to get there, but it does help a lot if you are writing about US politics.
Today we publish an exclusive ranking of the top Substack-powered email newsletters by minimum subscription revenue. (Note: Substack is a lot more than an email platform, it gives you a website and other bells and whistles).
Collectively Substack’s network of writers have made it one of the fastest-growing news websites in the world with 95 million visits in December 2024.
The top publisher on the platform appears to be New York-based The Free Press, which was founded by Bari Weiss after she resigned from the New York Times in a row over free speech. It is a bit Trumpy for my taste but illustrates how Substack has become a home for voices who feel excluded from the mainstream media.
Closer to home former GB News presenter Dan Wootton's brand of commentary was too rich for TV but has found an audience of 37,000 subscribers (including free ones) on Substack. He has yet to feature our paid chart.
Today we also have an interview with Ladbible CEO Solly Solomon in which he talks about a "transformational" 2024 which has seen the popular online publisher close in on £100m annual revenue. He says there is still money to be made for publishers from working with Facebook and explains how direct-sold advertising is now the biggest revenue line for the UK-based group of websites.
And in our latest column on AI, Paul Hood delves into the world of synthetic market research and explains why publishers should be grabbing a slice of an industry worth £9bn per year in the UK alone.
Scroll on down for links to news you may have missed on Press Gazette this week including: the newsletter which only lets you subscribe if you're running a company making more than $500m, the former editor facing a criminal conviction for highlighting explicit porn shared on the X account of a senior Labour figure and the redundancy fears of Observer journalists making the move to Tortoise Media.
On Press Gazette
More than 50 newsletters earn $500,000+ on Substack: Exclusive new ranking
The biggest publishers on Substack ranked by minimum estimated subscription revenue.
Ladbible CEO on how brand will reach £200m revenue
CEO Solly Solomou says 2024 was 'transformational' for the popular media publisher.
Why synthetic market research is an untapped AI goldmine for news publishers
AI-powered synthetic research could be better for publishers than traditional market research revenue.
This week on Press Gazette
Guardian management agrees deal with staff over Observer sale dispute
How Reach has moved from salesman to shopkeeper with launch of Yimbly
Associated Press finds growing consumer audience for ‘fact-based’ journalism
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains move from FT to niche Semafor CEO newsletter
Journalist faces criminal charge for highlighting porn shared by former MP on X
How Forbes makes money: Business title’s leaders explain diversification strategy
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Podcast 81: Super soaraway Substack, how Youtube became newstube and why Prince Harry took the cash
Bron Maher discusses Press Gazette's new ranking of the most lucrative titles on Substack, Charlotte Tobitt explains how and why publishers are currently so fixated on building their followings on Youtube and Dominic Ponsford shares his view on why Prince Harry decided to take News UK's cash rather than have his day in court with The Sun.