A Medium custom domain will now cost you US$75

Just got this email from Medium:

Since launching Medium for publishers, we’ve been working hard to make our platform the best home for your publication. As part of that effort, we introduced custom domains for those who want to add their personalized touch to the Medium experience.

To continue offering this level of customization, we will now charge a one-time payment of $75, which includes your domain setup, an SSL certificate, and ongoing support for your domain on Medium.

As an early user of custom domains, we are waiving this charge for your active publications. Should you wish to create another publication using a new custom domain in the future, this fee will apply.

Thank you so much for being an important part of our Medium community. Write on.

$75 for the honour of publishing to a platform with very little financial incentive for small publishers. Nice!

I thought Medium would eventually start introducing more freemium elements, though charging publishers first is a strange move. Medium needs more premium content before they start making money, even if the fee for publishers is relatively small.