News publishers I used to read for free now require a monthly subscription. Software companies I used to pay once (to own their program forever) now charge monthly. Newsletters offer a paragraph or two for free and bill monthly for the rest.
Bible apps can’t be purchased and owned. “Pay us monthly” they say. Sites where I used to buy music discourage downloading one song at a time. “Subscribe to our monthly service” they insist. And football matches can’t be ordered by league or by team or by match. I must “order the full package” and pay monthly.
I believe everyone who provides something of value should be paid. I’m not in favor of anyone working for free. And I’m not a freeloader. I don’t ask for unlimited free stuff. Anyone who does should be embarrassed.
The “everything is free” internet era was a net-negative for publishers and developers. Their work should have been for sale all along. I’ve been banging my spoon on my high chair about this since the late 1990’s. With that being said, the monthly subscription craze also has drawbacks.
We can start with advertising. An industry publication I used to read on a daily basis has always made money from display ads – a lot of display ads. In fact, their site design and usability suffered because of those ads.
Recently, they announced a subscription service too. Display ads remain, but readers also pay monthly. And the ad real estate has not decreased. I know this because they give me one article a month for free. The almost-always useless and out of context banners and boxes remain.
I used a free service for podcasting at one point. They had three plans. The paid plans were too robust for my needs, so I chose their “forever free” option. You can predict what happened next. Forever free became monthly paid – from zero to $22 per month. When I protested via email, I remember saying “I wasn’t the one who called it ‘forever free!'”
Thirty day trials are common. I was ready to pay for a new streaming account, but wanted to try it first. Just a few days into that trial period I deleted the account because certain items were blocked on Guam. A couple of months later, I discovered a mystery expense on my credit card. I was being charged for an account that no longer existed.
Customer service explained: “you deleted the account, but didn’t cancel your service.” To do so, I had to email an address that wasn’t provided in my (now deleted) user profile. This didn’t make sense. Without an account it was impossible for me to watch their streaming content! How could I be expected to pay for a service I could never use?
I blame myself for this. It was a rookie mistake. I should have known the cancellation process would be cumbersome and concealed. And I should have known giving them my credit card number was a risk. It’s a mistake I won’t make again.
We could talk about services that offer something free “to build a user base,” only to begin charging monthly when they have it. Or “industry standard” software packages that include titles many users never open. And don’t get me started on the companies charging monthly for “ad-free” service that eventually becomes a “service with limited ads.” They are the worst.
Could I propose an alternative? Choose a business plan wisely from the beginning. If advertising is the answer, carry useful and high quality ads. If a user fee is the way to go, charge one that gives your organization room for expansion. And offer a yearly option.
When promises are made, they should be kept. If changes are possible in the future, tell us changes are possible in the future. Make subscription options clear. And give everyone an easy way to cancel.
No one wants to deny employees a fair wage for their work, but users need honesty, clarity, and consistency. We know the world is not perfect and we know circumstances change. When they do, have the integrity to explain and to break whatever bad news is necessary. We can deal with it.