We knew Snapchat was a hot commodity — publishers often build entire teams to create content for Snapchat and have likened competition inside the section to “The Hunger Games.” But a new report from The Information found that publishers, including Vox Media (which owns this website), are actually forking over money to Snapchat in order to join the app’s Discover section.
Some publishers are reportedly paying to join Snapchat’s Discover section
Media companies really want to be on Snapchat.
Larry Busacca / Getty Images
The report by Tom Dotan says some publishers are required to guarantee money for Snapchat up front, regardless of whether they make money selling ads against their content.
One thing missing: We don’t know how much these publishers are asked to guarantee. Dotan just says “a guaranteed minimum amount of money over a specific time period.”
Much like Facebook, Snapchat and CEO Evan Spiegel really do set their own agenda. The fact that publishers are willing to pay to hand over their content — content that disappears after 24 hours, remember — certainly speaks to how important it has become to be associated with Snapchat and its teen-heavy audience.
Snapchat declined to comment.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
