Dutch start-up Blendle announced it is expanding into Germany in two weeks. Sometimes referred to as the iTunes for news, co-founders Alexander Klöpping and Marten Blankesteijn launched Blendle in the Netherlands in April 2014. Germany will be the company’s first international version.Backed by The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Axel Springer, Blendle is an app that allows users to get all of their favorite digital publications in one place and to only pay for the articles they read via micropayments. Genius, right?

Blendle takes it one step further, acting as a social network where users can share articles with others, read staff picks, and follow celebrities and other high-profile curators to see what they’re reading. Currently only available in Dutch, Blendle has more than 400,000 users with two-thirds of those users under the age of 35, including many readers who have not paid for news in the past.”For publishers, it is a struggle for attention. And because of that, many newspapers and magazines publish their best stories for free. Free stories get you a lot of traffic, and traffic can be monetized through advertising. But more and more publishers realize they can’t build their business on that model,” said Klöpping. “We’re proving that people do want to pay for great journalism.”In the announcement, Blankesteijn says they have been testing the platform in Germany for the last several weeks with “overwhelmingly positive feedback.””We feel by September 14, we’ll be ready. Ready to give Germany the most beautiful and easy to use platform to read high quality journalism online without subscription,” Blankesteijn says.”For the first time, people in Germany will be able to pay only for what they read and love. For the first time, they’ll be able to get their money back, if they think what they just read wasn’t worth the money,” adds Blankesteijn. “Our mission is to make the world’s best journalism available to everyone.”Blendle Deutschland will have the most comprehensive selection of digital news available, and according to the announcement, all major publishers are on board including DER SPIEGEL, DIE ZEIT, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and others.In addition to making quality journalism more accessible, Blendle is focused on reaching younger readers and to provide niche content.Insider Take:There’s good news and bad news. First, the good news. Consumers get a buffet of digital publications in one spot, and they only pay for what they read – and like. Publishers get the opportunity to get in front of younger audiences who haven’t paid for news historically, and they get an additional revenue stream.Now, the bad news. Blendle is currently only available in two countries, so its impact on the publishing world is minimal so far. Once Blendle expands internationally, however, publishers have to consider how the Blendle journalism platform will impact existing and prospective subscribers. For example, if a reader signs up for Blendle in Germany, and he finds a publication he really loves but hasn’t subscribed to before, he does not have an incentive to subscribe now. All he needs is Blendle.In addition to Blendle testing its product in different markets, publishers need to do some testing of their own. They need to review their subscription and revenue goals to see if the Blendle model works for them and, if so, to determine the tipping point.Is a relationship with Blendle worth it if a publisher sacrifices potential subscribers, or is the trade-off sufficient to gain brand recognition and a possible upsell? Will a publisher’s lost subscription revenue be offset by revenue payments from Blendle? Publishers need to evaluate their options carefully.In the meantime, we love Blendle’s positive, entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. The founders want to enhance and promote quality journalism, not compete with it. If done right, the potential for Blendle’s success and that of its partners is enormous.[For more on Blendle, see our feature article “Micropayments: The Hot, “New” Way to Pay for Digital Content.”]~ Dana Neuts, Subscription Insider