discussion Is this getting ridiculous at this point?

[Tropez]

Subscriptions for everything. A few years ago it was great. People pirated less because it was easy to just pay a monthly fee and consume what you want. But now almost everything is a subscription, even cars. Yes, some new cars have a subscription to access features that used to be standard or added bonuses you can buy. It’s annoying when I may need a software like Adobe or Microsoft office but features are in a subscription when you used to be able to just buy it upfront. 
 

The other issue is the quality is declining while the prices are going up. But peoples wages are stagnating and real necessities are more expensive in comparison to incomes. People will just pirate more. The issue is young people don’t know how to pirate as it is knowledge that is dying. 

[ugo]

That's why I use shortcuts for most things and only pay the necessary 

[Illuminati]

Yes I feel like this shift to online/on demand streaming was supposed to be a solution to cable TV greediness and it just fragmented content even more. I anticipate as services start to fall off there will be more bundle offers, maybe that will be the solution

[Smarticle]

Yes, subscription / microtransaction culture is the pits

[byzantium]

I HATE SO MUCH HOW MICROSOFT OFFICE PROGRAMS ARE SUBSCRIPTIONS.  Just let me buy a copy of the software like a normal human.  

[Anthinos]

It's too much and I hate how fragmented everything is. I prefer buying movies digital. They should have that as an option for everything. Sometimes I just want to watch one show or one movie. 

[FolkLover1989]

It's absolutely ridiculous 

 

Many softwares we can't even buy nowadays 

 

From antivirus to office ,everything is subscription based

[Dear Reader]

Yes. All these corporations started by presenting a good alternative to piracy/cable tv/etc. but now they’re all just acting greedy. I fear piracy will see a rise again. 

[Kamil24]

Yes it is ridiculous.

 

Every time I get a new laptop I search through my old university emails to redeem an old version of Microsoft Office I got for free while in school... hope I can still do that next time lol, not paying for any subscriptions here

[shookspeare]

Yeah, I can afford multiple subscriptions but I refuse to pay for anything aside from Spotify, which I consider a necessity. If I want to watch something I find a pirated version on the Russian internet  Otherwise I'm lucky to have access to an amazing library where I can get virtually any book I want for free, so I'm reading much more these days 

Edited October 19, 2023 by shookspeare

[BGKC]

when I accidentally swipe left on a hot, successful looking daddy on tinder and try to go back but they ask if I want to pay for a premium subscription to activate that feature 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by BGKC

[Beyonnaise]

This month I cancelled all of my subscriptions besides Spotify (which I share with my brother) which I can still get Hulu from. I might resubscribe to HBO if my favorite shows come back. Otherwise? I'm done with it. It's just a hassle. I lowkey miss the cable era, not for the crazy costs which I never experienced as an adult, but just the simplicity.

[Winged]

I use Spotify only now because prices and content that is not even worthy watch let alone paying for subscriptions 

[Pop Art]

Agreed, it's gotten very out of hand. The saddest part is this type of model was (and could still be) a very promising solution to media piracy that made pretty much everyone in the equation happy to some degree at least. Consumers were glad to pay a monthly fee that was roughly equal to if not larger than the standard cost of buying one item (depending on the industry) to get a seemingly unlimited supply of said item and companies, though surely not as happy as seeing actual sales increase, were likely glad to see some profit growth or a reduction in profit decreases where they would have seen continued and/or growing decreases in the absence of this model. It felt like a good compromise that each party could agree on. And we can see that it worked pretty well since piracy as a whole has really plummeted in the last decade.

 

I know it's easy to blame where we are now all on plain greed, and I definitely think that's a big part of it, but I'm not sure that's the full picture. In the case of film and television, I have to wonder if there was too fast a drop off in sales and cable subscriptions and not a quick enough jump in streaming revenue to cover it that left a profit void that left companies scrambling so as to not end up in the red overall. Non-media industries getting into the subscription model does feel more like plain greed though since it really all boils down to them being able to squeeze more money from long term users by forcing them into smaller monthly payments in lieu of a lump sum purchase.

 

I feel like music streaming is the one area under the subscription model that, for now, is still in a place where everyone seems happy, though of course we've heard for years how labels aren't happy with their profits from streaming (which kind of doesn't make sense seeing how the industry is at an all time high, but I digress) and artists continue to rightfully fight for more than the pennies they often get from it.

[Kern]

1 hour ago, byzantium said:

I HATE SO MUCH HOW MICROSOFT OFFICE PROGRAMS ARE SUBSCRIPTIONS.  Just let me buy a copy of the software like a normal human.  

the way Adobe is subscription for bordeline steep price every month 

[John Slayne]

yes, there needs to be affordable bundles or something because these prices are ridiculous 

 

Spotify is the only one that's worth it as most artists are on there so it feels like good value for money. 

[Solaria]

Absolutely. I despise that everything has to become monthly subscription based. I much rather just pay 70 euros/dollars upfront to be able to use a service for a year

Edited October 19, 2023 by Love Again

[Bubble Tea]

I pay for spotify and youtube premium, the latter which is low key a sham but I love watching youtube and flicking through videos and the ads KILL me.

[UnusualBoy]

Yeah, it's beyond obnoxious tbh.

[Revolution]

imo yes

[Mania]

Between Disney supporting Israel and charging $17 and $13 for Hulu & Disney+ now while not paying their writers, I had to cancel and get a refund. 

[GentleEarthquake]

I love piracy 

[poki]

Abd now blu-ray and DVDs are about to die because stores don't want to sell them anymore. We are headed into a very sad future. Get physical content NOW before it's too late. 

[DamianSolo]

With the way the costs are ever-increasing, absolutely. It's just all due to greed. I've been canceling some subscriptions all together, keeping the few that I use regularly instead of just every now and then.

 

If they keep on increasing these prices, piracy will come back around. We learned how to do it, and so will the new generations.

[Dear Reader]

57 minutes ago, Tropical said:

I pay for spotify and youtube premium, the latter which is low key a sham but I love watching youtube and flicking through videos and the ads KILL me.

I’m starting to consider youtube premium as well… I use adblock on my computer but it’s now showing something for like 5 secs saying it doesn’t allow adblock and i have to skip it which is the same as waiting for an ad 

i hate that these greedy ass companies always win… it’s so frustrating. 

 

when netflix announced that password thing, I thought their numbers would go down but they actually INCREASED, it’s insane.