Fees for online content proliferating, but will users buy?

Computerworld - As the Internet matures, businesses continue to try and entice new users to visit their Web sites while also devising ways to generate revenues to pay for the sites.
And though the idea of paying for content online may still be foreign to many Web surfers, some well-known companies have quietly been making it work since the mid-1990s.
Dow Jones & Co. has been selling an online version of The Wall Street Journal since November 1996, with all of the content of its daily print edition. The site was launched in 1995 and was free, registering some 650,000 readers, said Todd Larsen, general manager of consumer electronic publishing at New York-based Dow Jones. By the end of 1997, about 172,000 readers paid to subscribe online -- just 26% of the number who had originally registered when it was free.
"We took some real heat for a couple of years" when the online subscriptions were established, Larsen said. "The company has been completely dedicated to the pay model since we started charging. There was a very strong belief within Dow Jones that consumers are willing to pay for high-quality content that adds real value to what they do."
Today, the online Journal has about 664,000 paying customers; only six traditional print newspapers in the U.S. have higher circulation figures, Larsen said. A one-year online subscription costs $79, or $49 for print subscribers.
The online operation recently reported that it's profitable, he said, and has an established and healthy revenue stream.
In retrospect, as the economy has made business tough for many companies, the Journal's decision to charge for content has put it in a good position, Larsen said. "The last year and a half has made a lot of businesses take a hard look at their business models and at their opportunities," Larsen said. "I think for us it's shown that we're moving in the right direction and have a long-term substantive business model."
Consumer Reports, the magazine of the nonprofit Consumers Union, has been charging for its online content since November 1997, when its Web site was launched. The online edition has searchable archives going back four years for product tests and other consumer information, as well as free content for nonsubscribers, including general consumer safety information and mortgage calculators.
John Sateja, vice president of multimedia publishing at Yonkers, N.Y.-based Consumers Union, said the online magazine has more than 1 million paid subscribers, including about 25% who subscribe on a monthly basis and 75% who sign up on an annual