I agree Medium shouldn't be pay-to-play (or pay-to-write-and-earn), but with the extension of the Partner Program to many more countries, it seems an unavoidable measure to mitigate the risk of spammy behaviors.

I wrote about it in more detail here if you're interested. I would be happy to hear your opinion on the topic.

Cheers.

https://medium.com/all-about-m/consequences-of-the-partner-programs-extension-to-more-countries-85895ed6e85d