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That seems counter to what makes moviepass so successful. I pay a fixed monthly cost, and now the incremental cost of each movie is $0. Decoupling the consumpti

by imh 8y ago

That seems counter to what makes moviepass so successful. I pay a fixed monthly cost, and now the incremental cost of each movie is $0. Decoupling the consumption from the payment changes how I think about going to see a movie. It seems like consumers may prefer this model, at least with regards to movies in theaters (moviepass), movies and tv at home (netflix), and music (spotify).

FPGAhacker 8y ago
Moviepass is cratering. Why would you say they are successful? The are net negative on a per customer basis. They lost $150M last quarter. Their only positive income is investment rounds. Negative return on investment. It’s like subsidizing your company with credit cards. And having a business model of “apply for new credit cards”
- imh 8y ago
  Fair enough. The comment I was replying to was trying to make a point that consumers don't like a la cart models, so I think the consumer side of moviepass was the pertinent feature (they're wildly successful in terms of people loving it). It may suck for moviepass's finances, but as a consumer it's great and the $0 incremental cost has changed how I think about going to the movies. You could argue that the bulk of that happiness is that I'm just happy I'm paying less, which is hard to introspect. In that regard, maybe a profitable biz like netflix is a better example. But then I realize that artists are complaining about getting screwed by spotify, studios are jacking up prices on netflix, and even services like classpass are changing. I wonder how many (if any?) of these subscription a la cart businesses have actually reached equilibrium.
  - robryan 8y ago
    You have to question a business model which only turns a profit when customers are paying for something they don't need. Unless they can negotiate favourable deals their only path to profitability is delivering no value to a high percentage of subscribers.
- matmann2001 8y ago
  Why do VC's invest in startups with large userbases but no revenue streams?
Zanni 8y ago
On the flip side, sometimes to a service's detriment. I think this model works well for MoviePass, Netflix, Spotify, but MasterClass recently shifted to an all-you-can-eat subscription model (before you paid per class), and even though the service is the same and the price is cheaper (for me), my interaction with the service suffered. Before, I'd carefully carve out time for a MasterClass I was interested in, knowing it was a big commitment in time and dollars. Now I can just dip in and out to anything on offer, and that's exactly what I've done. My engagement has gone way down because I'm not committed to an individual class in the same way.
- scarface74 8y ago
  I've had a subscription to PluralSight off an on for years, but I recently started paying for one off videos from Udemy. I think I like that model better.

by imh 8y ago

FPGAhacker 8y ago

Moviepass is cratering. Why would you say they are successful? The are net negative on a per customer basis. They lost $150M last quarter. Their only positive income is investment rounds. Negative return on investment. It’s like subsidizing your company with credit cards. And having a business model of “apply for new credit cards”

imh 8y ago
Fair enough. The comment I was replying to was trying to make a point that consumers don't like a la cart models, so I think the consumer side of moviepass was the pertinent feature (they're wildly successful in terms of people loving it). It may suck for moviepass's finances, but as a consumer it's great and the $0 incremental cost has changed how I think about going to the movies. You could argue that the bulk of that happiness is that I'm just happy I'm paying less, which is hard to introspect. In that regard, maybe a profitable biz like netflix is a better example. But then I realize that artists are complaining about getting screwed by spotify, studios are jacking up prices on netflix, and even services like classpass are changing. I wonder how many (if any?) of these subscription a la cart businesses have actually reached equilibrium.
- robryan 8y ago
  You have to question a business model which only turns a profit when customers are paying for something they don't need. Unless they can negotiate favourable deals their only path to profitability is delivering no value to a high percentage of subscribers.
matmann2001 8y ago
Why do VC's invest in startups with large userbases but no revenue streams?

Zanni 8y ago

On the flip side, sometimes to a service's detriment. I think this model works well for MoviePass, Netflix, Spotify, but MasterClass recently shifted to an all-you-can-eat subscription model (before you paid per class), and even though the service is the same and the price is cheaper (for me), my interaction with the service suffered. Before, I'd carefully carve out time for a MasterClass I was interested in, knowing it was a big commitment in time and dollars. Now I can just dip in and out to anything on offer, and that's exactly what I've done. My engagement has gone way down because I'm not committed to an individual class in the same way.

scarface74 8y ago
I've had a subscription to PluralSight off an on for years, but I recently started paying for one off videos from Udemy. I think I like that model better.