What vexes me are the companies that sell physical products for a hefty, upfront fee and subsequently demand more money to keep using items already in your possession. This encompasses those glorified alarm clocks, but also: computer printers, wearable wellness devices, and some features on pricey new cars.
Subscription-based business models are great for businesses because they amount to consistent revenue streams. They’re often bad for consumers for the same reason: You have to pay companies, consistently. We’re effectively being $5 per month-ed (or more) to death, and it’s only going to get worse. Industry research suggests the average customer spent $219 per month on subscriptions in 2023. In 2024, the global subscription market was an estimated $492 billion. By 2033, that figure is expected to triple.
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Welcome to late stage capitalism. When planned obsolescence isn’t enough and you’re running out o slave labour, resort to rents.
If Civilization II taught me one thing, it’s that ongoing payments are an absolute scam… Unless you’re planning to declare war anyway.
All those products have one thing in common. It’s what we call gourmetization in my country, which is a concept I believe the people should be aware of globally. It’s basically the process of making you believe that the simple, cheap, realiable and lasting stuff you already have lacks something, and then marketing an “improved”, refined and more expensive version to you. This process goes hand-to-hand to what you call enshittification, often being a catalyst for it.
Companies do it because customers continue buying the products, if sales dropped significantly due to the subscription then they would be forced to change.
Personally I will not buy anything that relies on the cloud or a subscription to keep running. My only subscriptions are Tidal and a couple more independent streaming services.
How do you like tidal? I’ve been considering it.
