Tumblr plans to sunset Post+, launched in 2021 to let creators charge users a subscription to access content, in January 2024
I believe #Automattic could make a small fortune if they charged users for activating #ActivityPub (at least in the beginning). … Forums: Beehaw : Tumblr sheds Post Plus subscriptions as the platform downsizes See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Post+ began as a creator subscription test that let Tumblr take a cut of paid access. Its removal follows Tumblr’s decision to downscale its ambitions and refocus on core functionality after missing its audience goals.
The move also fits Automattic’s broader reprioritization of Tumblr: Matt Mullenweg had described a future after most Tumblr staff shifted to other Automattic work. Ending Post+ narrows the set of products Tumblr must maintain.
First-order effects
- Creators using Post+ lose Tumblr’s native subscription channel, while paying followers must transition away from paid access on the service before the January shutdown.
- Tumblr and Automattic remove a monetization product and its associated operational burden, concentrating Tumblr’s near-term work on its core site experience.
Second-order effects
- The shutdown makes Tumblr less able to compete for creators seeking platform-native recurring revenue, increasing the importance of external membership and payment tools for those creators.
- It reinforces the cost of running paid-content systems at modest scale: platforms that cannot build sufficient creator and buyer participation are more likely to simplify rather than subsidize niche monetization features.
Third-order effects
- The episode points to a more selective social-platform monetization model, in which subscription features persist mainly where they can achieve enough two-sided scale to justify product, support, and payment operations.
- If retrenchment continues, creator monetization may become less embedded in general-purpose social networks and more concentrated in services built around payments or creator businesses from the outset.
The trend: Social platforms are reassessing creator-subscription bets when audience growth and operational focus do not support a durable two-sided marketplace.