3 ms·

The problem is pricing psychology. Netflix feels like a good deal because it is a ton of content for 10 bucks. Spotify feels like a good deal because individual

The problem is pricing psychology. Netflix feels like a good deal because it is a ton of content for 10 bucks. Spotify feels like a good deal because individual songs are 1 buck, yes, but mostly because 10 bucks is worth not having to listen to the annoying ads. Most internet content is just plain free. So people value it that way. You can probably get people to subscribe to a WSJ/NYT/Local Paper subscription. But people probably won't pay for anything but the highest quality stuff they've long been conditioned to pay for. "Vox? Sorry but, I'd pay for blogs"

jacques_chester 10y ago
A microsubscription system (my own madeup name for the genre) needn't have 100% to be successful. There were free newspapers before the internet, alongside the cover-priced ones. Bundling content is a proved business model at this point, except on the open web.
exergy 10y ago
There's also an issue of trust. I had an NYT subscription. NYT has always (more than) leaned left, but never in such a biased manner as in recent past. Their coverage (or lack of it) of Bernie's campaign for example. So with a subscription, I'm not really subscribing to a rigorous and diplomatic institution that is helping me develop into a more knowledgeable person, or indeed, filling any useful role in my life. Instead, I'd be subscribing to further some numpty's propaganda pieces. And that would make me feel gross.
- dhimes 10y ago
  Well substitute a more trusted source for you than NYT and we still have a problem to solve. I don't read NYT much, but Bernie was left of Hillary, FWIW- so I would have expected them to cover him more than her if they leaned heavily left. But whatevs; neither here nor there.
nojvek 10y ago
I pay for high bit rate and download in Spotify. Yes ads are definitely annoying but that alone wouldn't justify 10 bucks/month. Regarding publishers, I'd happily pay 10 bucks/month for a bunch of publishers giving me a clean portal with focus on readability

jacques_chester 10y ago

A microsubscription system (my own madeup name for the genre) needn't have 100% to be successful. There were free newspapers before the internet, alongside the cover-priced ones. Bundling content is a proved business model at this point, except on the open web.

exergy 10y ago

There's also an issue of trust. I had an NYT subscription. NYT has always (more than) leaned left, but never in such a biased manner as in recent past. Their coverage (or lack of it) of Bernie's campaign for example. So with a subscription, I'm not really subscribing to a rigorous and diplomatic institution that is helping me develop into a more knowledgeable person, or indeed, filling any useful role in my life. Instead, I'd be subscribing to further some numpty's propaganda pieces. And that would make me feel gross.

dhimes 10y ago
Well substitute a more trusted source for you than NYT and we still have a problem to solve. I don't read NYT much, but Bernie was left of Hillary, FWIW- so I would have expected them to cover him more than her if they leaned heavily left. But whatevs; neither here nor there.

nojvek 10y ago

I pay for high bit rate and download in Spotify. Yes ads are definitely annoying but that alone wouldn't justify 10 bucks/month. Regarding publishers, I'd happily pay 10 bucks/month for a bunch of publishers giving me a clean portal with focus on readability