How does the subscription economy benefit me?

mrochester · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:09

The subscription economy seems to be based on the notion of extracting ever more, regular income from users, and removing the concept of ownership where we could previously buy once and enjoy many times.

Products that once used to be tangible things we owned and used are being turned into disposable services, and at every turn this new model costs more than the old way of doing things.

So my question is, what benefit does this new subscription economy have on me? I end up paying more and when I stop paying, I have nothing to show for all the money paid.

robfosters · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:13

mrochester said:
The subscription economy seems to be based on the notion of extracting ever more, regular income from users, and removing the concept of ownership where we could previously buy once and enjoy many times.

Products that once used to be tangible things we owned and used are being turned into disposable services, and at every turn this new model costs more than the old way of doing things.

So my question is, what benefit does this new subscription economy have on me? I end up paying more and when I stop paying, I have nothing to show for all the money paid.

I know the feeling, it’s annoying for me, but the fact is, I couldn’t afford to own some stuff without subscription. I certainly couldn’t afford to buy Lightroom and photoshop outright. It opens up avenues in that way.

asim18 · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:18

Yeah the current subscription models are just sad. It's preying on the same debt culture of not being able to afford things "outright". People think they can "afford" it this way, but they actually end up paying more than if they simply saved up and bought it outright. Same as interest and credit etc. Bad culture tbh.

manic111 · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:21

asim18 said:
Yeah the current subscription models are just sad. It's preying on the same debt culture of not being able to afford things "outright". People think they can "afford" it this way, but they actually end up paying more than if they simply saved up and bought it outright. Same as interest and credit etc. Bad culture tbh.

I must listen to 10+ albums a week on Spotify, many of which I'll never listen to again. If I bought them outright, I'd be spending circa £300 a month. I could afford that, but there's no way it makes more sense than a subscription service.

asim18 · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:21

Actually pretty much exactly the same as finance because you don't actually own the product any more, half the cars in the UK don't belong to the driver. Now software doesn't belong to the user. Even windows has gone downhill.

manic111 said:
I must listen to 10+ albums a week on Spotify, many of which I'll never listen to again. If I bought them outright, I'd be spending circa £300 a month. I could afford that, but there's no way it makes more sense than a subscription service.

Well the problem is you get an increase in **** music. You say yourself that you will never listen to these albums again lol.

FloppyPoppy · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:24

robfosters said:
I know the feeling, it’s annoying for me, but the fact is, I couldn’t afford to own some stuff without subscription. I certainly couldn’t afford to buy Lightroom and photoshop outright. It opens up avenues in that way.

Interesting way of looking at it! I never thought of subscription for things like that.

It would be nice if they worked like a mobile contract.

You subscribe for X months and after that up you can stop paying but keep the software.

asim18 · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:24

You can still hear music before you buy the LP

robfosters · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:25

harry5522 said:
Interesting way of looking at it! I never thought of subscription for things like that.

It would be nice if they worked like a mobile contract.

You subscribe for X months and after that up you can stop paying but keep the software.

My thoughts entirely. You wouldn’t even need any credit checks as the software is simply deactivated if you miss payment.

With a subscription though, you get updates. Some of those can be very expensive for certain software.

Eurofighter · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:27

The simple answer to this is to have some kind of reward for loyalty. So a few free months after you have been with them for a year or something.

manic111 · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:33

asim18 said:
Well the problem is you get an increase in **** music. You say yourself that you will never listen to these albums again lol.

Not necessarily - when you go to the cinema, how many of those films do you decide to watch again? Or to a gig or a football match - do you watch them back again and again? Even reading a book. A lot of media is consumed once and a subscription service makes absolute sense for it.

When it comes to (eg) leasing a car, I agree, it makes no sense and you're better off buying one you can afford, but I don't think the same holds true of media.

cheesyboy · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:34

I went about 10 years without buying an album, and probably about 5+ years without watching a series on TV.

Now I get to listen to ** Star out all swearing ** of music, new and old, and watch tv whenever it suits me, for very little monthly outlay.

It's been great.

Tefal · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:40

mrochester said:
The subscription economy seems to be based on the notion of extracting ever more, regular income from users, and removing the concept of ownership where we could previously buy once and enjoy many times.

Products that once used to be tangible things we owned and used are being turned into disposable services, and at every turn this new model costs more than the old way of doing things.

So my question is, what benefit does this new subscription economy have on me? I end up paying more and when I stop paying, I have nothing to show for all the money paid.

Have you got a specific example?

For me I'd say netflix or Amazon prime video is a great example of it being good.

It would cost tens of thousands to buy all the box sets let alone the storage space that's available for a tenner a month. (Especialy if a few of you ahare/swap subscriptions

MacRS4 · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:45

I was a little horrified to see what I was spending on monthly subs

Third of that (Big Yellow) I wasn't sure what it was, but now I know it's a storage unit I have....So I suppose it's reasonable to discount that.

adolf hamster · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:45

when it comes to software it makes sense insofar as you'll get software updates/upgrades as part of the subscription

i don't mind it being an option, but it should never be more than that, there needs to always be the option to buy outright.

reminds me of when mother dearest was after a new laptop and the salesman tried to tell her there was no such thing as subscription free office these days, it's shocking that that's the way it is.

likewise the last time i went to buy a phone the amount of bull faeces i had to go through to pay money and walk out with a product, it was all "we have to show you these contract deals"

for some things it works, like software and services, but for products it's just a money spinner.

Puzzled · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:47

I subscribe, therefore I am? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44829976

Read this the other day which brings up some of the same points you raise.

For non essential things I don't mind subscription but when they all add up it can get very expensive and potentially leave you with nothing if you can no longer afford it.

Property rental is one of the more established models and that leaves people reaching retirement with some real issues.

mrochester · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:57

adolf hamster said:
when it comes to software it makes sense insofar as you'll get software updates/upgrades as part of the subscription

i don't mind it being an option, but it should never be more than that, there needs to always be the option to buy outright.

reminds me of when mother dearest was after a new laptop and the salesman tried to tell her there was no such thing as subscription free office these days, it's shocking that that's the way it is.

likewise the last time i went to buy a phone the amount of bull faeces i had to go through to pay money and walk out with a product, it was all "we have to show you these contract deals"

for some things it works, like software and services, but for products it's just a money spinner.

A phone on contract is fine because you get to keep it once you’ve finished paying.

Something like Spotify, when you stop paying you have nothing. They could at least let you keep the music you have played

Malevolence · 17 Jul 2018 at 17:02

Doesn't bother me, the only subscription I pay is the £8 per month for my internet. My EVE Online sub is paid for via in game currency.

adolf hamster · 17 Jul 2018 at 17:05

mrochester said:
A phone on contract is fine because you get to keep it once you’ve finished paying.

Something like Spotify, when you stop paying you have nothing. They could at least let you keep the music you have played

maybe it's just me, but i dislike getting locked in for 2 years to a sim contract which might be decent now but will be rather poor value for money by the time it's over.

although i do agree at least you get something tangeable, but it makes much more sense to simply save for 2 years and buy outright then enjoy the flexibility of being able to chop and change sim deals/networks at your leisure.

Kenai · 17 Jul 2018 at 17:07

mrochester said:
Something like Spotify, when you stop paying you have nothing. They could at least let you keep the music you have played

On the flip side though, while you do pay you have access to a music library it would cost you millions to buy.

mrochester · 17 Jul 2018 at 17:07

adolf hamster said:
maybe it's just me, but i dislike getting locked in for 2 years to a sim contract which might be decent now but will be rather poor value for money by the time it's over.

although i do agree at least you get something tangeable, but it makes much more sense to simply save for 2 years and buy outright then enjoy the flexibility of being able to chop and change sim deals/networks at your leisure.

That only helps if your needs change enough for it to be worthwhile you chopping and changing so much. I certainly don't need to constantly change the number of mins, texts and amount of data I get.