News organisations will be paid when users access their content via Float, a new app launched by social publishing site Scribd, the New York Times reports.
Float, which is now an iPhone app and will also be available for Android and iPad, is a personalised reader that allows users to turn their selection of news feeds into a magazine-like format, similar to Zite, Flipboard and Pulse.
But unlike the other three apps, Float (or rather Scribd) will share its revenue with the news organisations featured.
The New York Times article explains that Scribd will make money from advertising and subscriptions.
Scribd didn’t make it clear how much money publishers would have to share with it and how much subscribers would have to pay.
“This is the time for someone to try it, and if we get it working, then it will be phenomenal for the industry,” said Trip Adler, Scribd’s chief executive.
Scribd has talked with a number of publishers, and some have already agreed to make their material available, he said. But he declined to name any companies.
[Adler] voiced confidence in news and Scribd’s ability to make money from it. Consumers want a one-stop shop for news, not a service with a couple of nice features, he said in taking a thinly veiled dig at his company’s rivals.