The licensing landscape is evolving rapidly. Users are turning to more platforms than ever for content. Search traffic continues to decline.

The constant in today’s media industry is change, and the publications best positioned to thrive will be pivoting toward new industries and away from traditional buyers such as other publications.

Being strategic about where you license your content can introduce new audiences and drive them back to your owned-and-operated platforms.

Potential of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)

One promising area is the integration of content into AI models, particularly retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which makes content sets more valuable to aggregators and licensees while improving discoverability and accessibility.

When paired with agreements that ensure proper citation and link backs, these partnerships can channel new audiences and traffic to publishers.

This does not mean paywalled publishers should allow unrestricted AI use or distribute articles indiscriminately to third-party platforms. Subscription revenue remains the foundation of most media businesses, and all efforts should be made to avoid cannibalisation.

Instead, licensing professionals should evaluate each opportunity on its merits: Who is the audience? How will the content be used? What is the revenue potential? This more nuanced approach is a departure from the rigid refusals often defining licensing negotiations.

Adopting this mindset can unlock new revenue streams.

For example, The Washington Post historically did not license content to quantitative trading firms. However, by engaging with investment organisations and analysing usage patterns, we discovered our reporting can serve as a strong financial signal, making it highly valuable to hedge funds and related firms.

Similarly, other publishers may find value in sectors such as education or risk management — industries where trusted, high-quality journalism can serve as an essential input.

Three key steps

To summarise, publishers can follow three key steps to maximise revenue and expand reach through licensing:

1. Redefine the licensing mindset: Instead of rigid yes/no rules, publishers should treat each licensing opportunity as a business case. This requires assessing the audience (for example, whether the deal extends reach beyond typical subscribers), fully understanding the use case, and weighing revenue potential against strategic risks.
2. Embrace new technology channels: AI-driven models, aggregators, and vertical-specific platforms represent fast-growing opportunities. Publishers should evaluate ways to make their content accessible in these environments while maintaining control over brand value and revenue protection. Contractual safeguards, such as attribution requirements and tiered access models, can ensure long-term value.
3. Prospect beyond traditional buyers: Most publishers still focus on clients such as other media outlets, libraries, and archival services. To grow, licensing teams must identify where their journalism adds the most value and actively prospect into industries where reliable information is a premium asset.

Follow the money

Ultimately, success in licensing requires a willingness to “follow the money.” Target industries capable of paying for content, identify where your material holds the greatest value (especially with non-traditional clients), and weigh each deal on its own merits.

While licensing — like all areas of publishing — faces headwinds, a dynamic syndication strategy can be a powerful revenue driver for years to come. When done well, it can also help offset the pressures of declining search traffic and create new forms of content discovery.

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