Back Indie Media: Help Lowpass get 20 new subs

The Next Web. Protocol. The Outline. AnandTech. Motherboard. Game Informer. Multichannel News. Proto.Life. NextTV.  That’s just a few of the tech publications that have shut down over the past few years, as online media is facing significant disruptions from a decline in search traffic, shifts in ad spending and industry consolidation.

Others haven’t closed outright, but are a mere shadow of their former selves, with underpaid editors and failure-prone AI bots churning out one press release rewrite after another. Luckily, there is a growing number of independent journalists picking up the slack with newsletter publications that can hold their own against any of their web-based predecessors.

Lowpass strives to be one of those newsletters. Since launching this publication in early 2023, I’ve been able to break some major news on Amazon’s Vega OS, Sonos’ short-lived plans for TVs, The Trade Desk’s TV OS, a new XR device from Etsy’s co-founder, and more. I’ve also been contextualizing the news, reporting on startups before they make it big, and much more.

I’ve been able to do that thanks to the support of paying Lowpass subscribers and a handful of select advertisers looking to reach my newsletter’s audience of 15,000+ industry insiders. However, making those numbers work hasn’t always been easy. 

Ads from major sponsors are still far and few between — most weeks, Lowpass runs ads from ad networks that pay just a few dollars per click — and my revenue from paying subscribers has actually been on the decline: Subscriber revenue is currently down more than 5% year-over-year. What’s worse, the number of new subscribers is down by almost 60%.

That’s why I’m asking you to step up, and make a contribution.  A paid Lowpass subscription is just $8 per month / $80 per year, and includes access to subscriber-only stories, the Lowpass Slack community, an ad-free reading experience, and more.

I need 20 readers to upgrade to a paid subscription by the end of the month to meet my Q3 revenue goals. Can I count on you to be one of them?

Lowpass is running this subscriber drive together with Back Indie Media, a collection of small, reporter-driven newsletters that also include Court Watch, LA Taco and Freelance Opportunities. I encourage you to check them all out, and shift some of your media spending (for both subscriptions and ad dollars) to independent newsletter operators.

Thanks for your support!

Janko Roettgers, author / publisher of Lowpass