AdBlock Plus (ABP) is teaming up with startup Flattr to allow people to block ads while paying publishers for the content they read, watch, and listen to. In addition, the ad-blocking company has  announced it has made an investment of an unknown amount in the Sweden-based micropayment company.    

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The two companies' new product is named Flattr Plus. Like the original version it allows users to set aside a monthly budget to pay online publishers. However, they will not be required to click a button in order to "Flattr" a website but the software will instead automatically track their browsing activity then dish out money based on their favorite sites, according to Tech Crunch.

The system would be somewhat like the way Spotify gives out subscription fees to musicians. However, Flattr Plus would not be limited to musical artists on one website or app

 Another issue would be the metrics used to calculate reader engagement. For example, users probably would not want to reward a bad article that has been left open and unread for hours.

AdBlock Plus' Ben Williams leads its communication and operations. Williams told Tech Crunch the new product is still being beta tested. It will test different combinations of engagement factors such as scroll activity and time spent before launching the product later this year.  

Publishers must register with Flattr Plus before they get pay days. In the case they fail to take that action AdBlock Plus will inform them about the amount of money they gave up.

Williams shared that the goal of the new product is to add $500 million in revenue for publishers in 2017. If a small percentage of ABP's users who have made 500 million downloads chip in, the money could add up quickly.    

In is interesting that Williams reports ABP's customers who block all advertisements have been the most forthright about new ways of blocking ads while supporting content creators and online publishers.  

In related news, Medialets is the first ad server to receive Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation, according to PR Newswire. It is also the first ad server that was built for mobile.

The company's ad-counting method only includes ads that have been downloaded and used on a mobile device.

This video answers if ad-blocking is "wrong":