Defector relies on a
subscription model for revenue. In an interview with
Slate, co-founder Maitreyi Anantharaman, while discussing how the writers worked out the logistics of starting the site, said "[e]veryone had the same priorities, which were editorial independence and worker stake, and we did come to a consensus that this model was the best way to do this thing." Anantharaman also mentioned that the site was "interested in
sustainable growth" and did not "need a million subscribers or anything to be successful". Subscriptions are mostly two tiered, at $79 and $119 a year, with the higher cost subscription enabling commenting on articles, access to staff Q&As, and subscription to the blog's newsletter. A third tongue-in-cheek subscription tier at $1,000 per year offers the chance to guest host a Defector podcast, MS Paint artwork by a blog writer, and an "annual video from a writer wishing you a happy birthday, the day after your birthday". Alex Shephard writing for
The New Republic said "Defector has slipped between two subscription-based trends, neither the atomized
Substack model nor the scale model being deployed by traditional newsrooms like
The New York Times, The Washington Post, and
The Atlantic." Shephard also praised the site for being "refreshingly, both very much like the old Deadspin and very much not like the rest of the internet." As a way of enticing readers to subscribe, the site offers multiple incentives from the ability to comment on articles to personalized birthday videos by staff. In July 2020, it was reported that
Defector had reached over 10k subscriptions on launch day and by September had almost reached 30k subscriptions. ,
Defector has around 40,000 paid subscribers. The business side of the site is run by former
Deadspin reader Jasper Wang, who worked for
Bain & Company. Both Wang and editor-in-chief Tom Ley can be removed from their positions at any time with a two-thirds vote of
Defector staff. == Podcasts ==