Variety to start charging for content in 2010

Just about every major periodical is pondering a move to paid digital content, but most are taking an oh-so-gingerly approach, trying to figure out how to coax some fresh revenues out of readers without taking a big hit in traffic and advertising. Not Variety, though.

The Hollywood trade paper is going whole hog with a commitment to adopt an all-paid Web model at some point in 2010 -- even if it means excluding most of its current readers. "We believe our content is valuable and it should be paid for," says publisher Brian Gott. "The world is migrating online. If we don't create a paid strategy for our digital products now, when that migration is over, we won't have a paid model anymore."