Blendle sells news by the article — the 'iTunes for journalism' backed by the NYT

In the early 2010s Dutch newspapers kept most content offline for fear of cannibalizing print, and the articles online sat behind registration forms and paywalls. Two former journalists, Alexander Klöpping and Marten Blankesteijn, founded Blendle in 2013 as a neutral kiosk that could sell any publisher's articles individually.

Sell journalism like iTunes sells songs: one digital kiosk where readers pay a few cents per article, get a refund if they dislike it, and never touch a subscription.

Blendle launched in the Netherlands in spring 2014 with practically all Dutch newspapers and magazines in one app. Publishers set each story's price — around 10 to 30 euro cents for news, up to 80 cents for long magazine pieces, averaging about 20 cents — and kept 70 percent of each sale while Blendle took 30 percent. A one-click refund button returned money on any article readers disliked; refunds ran around 3 percent.

The service passed 130,000 registered users within months of launch, and in October 2014 The New York Times Company and Axel Springer invested €3 million in what TechCrunch called a 'Spotify for journalism,' betting pay-per-article could convert young readers who would never take a subscription.

Blendle was founded in 2013 by two former Dutch journalists, Alexander Klöpping and Marten Blankesteijn, who were frustrated that reading a single article online meant registering on a dozen sites or buying a full subscription. Their answer was a digital kiosk: one app where readers could buy individual articles from any Dutch newspaper or magazine.

Publishers set the price of each story — around 10 to 30 euro cents for news and up to 80 cents for longer magazine pieces, averaging about 20 cents — and kept 70 percent of every sale, with Blendle taking 30 percent. A prominent refund button let readers get their money back if an article disappointed, and refunds stayed around 3 percent.

The service launched in the Netherlands in spring 2014 and passed 130,000 registered users within months. In October 2014 The New York Times Company and Axel Springer invested €3 million; the founders kept more than 75 percent of the shares, and the pitch was explicit: make paying for quality journalism as easy as buying an app.

Per-article pricing converted readers who would never commit to a subscription, the way iTunes converted song buyers.

Publishers set their own prices and kept 70 percent, so Blendle looked like extra revenue instead of a threat.

The refund button removed the risk of paying for a story blind; abuse stayed negligible, around 3 percent.

One wallet and one login replaced dozens of registration walls, making the act of paying for news nearly frictionless.

Remove the commitment and people will pay: per-article pricing with a refund button converts readers who refuse subscriptions, but only works if the payment is as frictionless as the reading.

The model never scaled into profitability: Blendle shut down its Dutch micropayment service in 2019, pivoted to subscriptions, was acquired by bundle platform Cafeyn in 2020, and closed the remaining German and US micropayment services in September 2023, citing a 'very limited user base.' Cafeyn's CEO summed up the lesson: paying news consumers expect Spotify-style all-access bundles, not small per-article purchases.