Transcription Platform Rev Slashes Minimum Pay for Workers

Rev, one of biggest names in transcription -- and one of the cheapest services of its kind -- opted to alter its pay structure with little warning for thousands of contractors on its platform, some of whom are furious at what they expect will be smaller paychecks from here on out. From a report: Launched in 2010, Rev made a name for itself by charging customers who wanted transcriptions of interviews, videos, podcasts, or whatever else the bargain-basement price of $1 per minute of audio. That's attracted some notable clients, including heavyweight podcast This American Life, according to the company. According to one whistleblower, a little less than half of that buck went to the contractor, while about 50 to 55 cents on the dollar lined Rev's pockets. But in an effort to "more fairly compensate Revvers for the effort spent on files," Rev announced on an internal message board on Wednesday that its job pricing model would change -- with a new minimum of 30 cents per minute (cpm) going into effect last Friday. "There was an internal forum post made two days prior, but not everybody checks the forums," one Revver who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, told Gizmodo. "A lot of people found out when they logged on on Friday. People are still showing up in the forums asking what's going on!"