So you notice a pervasive trend in the US economy. Any biz big or small has somehow got to switch to some form of a DIY subscription economy. It's the latest twist in our capitalistic vogue survivalist tactics.

Medium's annual or semi-annual jiggering of the magical and made-to-sound Holy algorithm is always, without fail, a mechanism for keeping the bottom line, as in ANY US business, above or treading the economic waters. Whatever is said about the latest genre of cost policies, (algorithm?) is basically noise for those who wish to believe something else. IMO.

As far as the readership goes, sure, actual subscribers might make the usual quarter percent of cost suppressants which was at one time (those days when ads pulled 3/4 of the annual income stats) close to standard publishing stats, or how pubs endlessly droned on as justification for writer cost, or compensation.

So after the implementation of the latest policy changes for the business, the usual drama ensues and then later Medium hopes for all of that to come out in the wash. After all, it's how our fucking capitalism works, the higher-up/owner class must make their seriously unbalanced haul of excess wealth annually, or else, they figure, why? This could include their most valued biz asset, in Medium's case, it's the writers.