Glam: An evil plan?

Mainstream media companies are often accused on being evil and protectionistic by the new(er) kids on the block. But if TechCrunch is to be believed, new media can be evil too.

TechCrunch have a story about American advertising network Glam, which have recently cut substantially in the fees it pays the publishers in its network. According to Glam this is a move to provide more options for publishers instead of relying on lower yielding house ads. According to TechCrunch this is a move to effectively kill revenue streams.

The argument from TechCrunch is that by eliminating house ads and thus in effect cutting back on fees paid, publishers in the network will face a liquidity crises, which will make them ripe for a take over by Glam, who will then in essence be able to acquire quite interesting media properties for very small fees.

If this is indeed the plan it’s as clever as potentially evil. It reminds me of the golden rule of drug sales: Provide the first fix for free, and when people get addicted jack the price up. Whether this is the case remains to be seen. The fact is that Glam recently closed a major round of funding, so no matter what the plot are, the coffers are there to support the execution of the plan.