---
id: "quote-fee-not-strategy"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶3"]
tags: ["supplier-sentiment", "frustration"]
related: ["claim-rmn-as-a-tax"]
speaker: "Authors"
speakers: ["Remko Van Hoek", "Stephanie Thomas", "Rodney Thomas"]
quote: "Some now describe RMNs as a fee they are forced to pay, not a strategy they choose to invest in."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/09/the-importance-of-trust-and-transparency-in-retail-media-networks"
source_title: "The Importance of Trust and Transparency in Retail Media Networks"
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-foci-71-retail-media-networks-trust"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/09/the-importance-of-trust-and-transparency-in-retail-media-networks"
sourceTitle: "The Importance of Trust and Transparency in Retail Media Networks"
---
# RMNs viewed as a forced fee

> Some now describe RMNs as a fee they are forced to pay, not a strategy they choose to invest in.

— The authors (¶3). This line crystallizes growing supplier frustration and is the anchor for [[claim-rmn-as-a-tax]] and a direct symptom of [[concept-coercive-monetization]].