It solves the "how do we make non-ad-supported content palatable for consumers." Federation ensures that there's a big enough pool of content that you won't sa

It solves the "how do we make non-ad-supported content palatable for consumers." Federation ensures that there's a big enough pool of content that you won't say "I don't know if this is worth $20 per month" or "I'll subscribe for one month and binge-consume everything, then cancel." Yes, it involves customized billing and account infrastructure, but if you set things up properly, the cost of the infrastructure should be less than the revenue it provides. If the federated content creators, in turn, fund a "captive" development and maintenance team to supply things at cost, it may well be cheaper than leasing off-the-shelf solutions.