The Rise of the Subscription Economy

Doesn't it feel like everything is becoming a subscription nowadays? Well that's because it has. Today I'm getting into the rise of the subscription economy which we are being forced into as consumers, and some predictions of where I can see this going in the future. Let me know what you think in the comments!
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[@freedomsaoirse]

What's worse about the subscriptions are that their basic levels of streaming media have started adding back ADVERTS. The main reason to go to subscription streaming media was to get AWAY from adverts.

[@rcas350pilot8]

If they can get ads on the insides of coffins, they will do it.

[@daffyduk77]

it's a kind of insidious fraud/gouging through a technical stranglehold that legislators are either unconcerned about or in cahoots with the Big Boys, all the way to the bank

[@swampcastle8142]

The same thing was the original selling point for cable TV. No commercials, just content. They pulled the same stunt, first with internal ads, then the occasional ads, and then even more.

[@Beef_Supreeeme]

If any of my subscriptions put ads back in I'm immediately cancelling it.

[@MoonOvIce]

​@@Beef_SupreeemeBoth Netflix and Amazon are doing it. Amazon even added an extra tier with no ads which costs 2.99 more per month.

[@vir-daw]

“If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing” 🤔 Stereotypical edit: “omg guys thx for 1k likes!” 😉

[@OrdinaryMan1999-tn4hh]

I support hackers

[@miguelpatino3856]

Aye aye Captain! ARRGGHHHH!

[@VictorRodriguez-qn1kz]

It never was lol

[@daffyduk77]

Piracy never was theft, other than theft of copyright. Pirating s/w does not deprive the person whose software you copied, of that software, just the copyright-owner of revenue. And most who do it wouldn't have paid inflated prices for the s/w anyway so that's just a notional loss

[@EatMyShortsAU]

I got a pretty good repertoire of movies I have downloaded. Comes in handy my internet is down and I can't play the games I "bought" on Steam due to having no internet connection.

[@CrimsonFox36]

Society, to Blockbuster: "Perhaps I treated you too harshly."

[@amanda1500]

Public library has DVDs😊

[@narrgamedesigner2747]

Yeah but it would be hard to sell dvds when people don't even have to go out and return the dvds or the dvd in bad shape because it was borrowed.

[@Reezy884]

What baffles me even more is that these streaming services split up the seasons to different platforms. It’s absolutely ridiculous

[@swojnowski453]

sharing is caring ... for each other ;)

[@sunnysidey]

Collusion.

[@jerryjeffries6094]

Yeah…..I just noticed that shit! Effing BS!

[@melhiore]

That is where Plex comes to play...

[@ambiarock590]

And these companies wonder why people pirate

[@margaretliston8950]

I really needed to cut back on expenses recently, so I canceled all my streaming services and began renting DVDs from the library. As a millennial, it has been such a nostalgic treat to choose a movie, look forward to watching it, etc.

[@midwestpanther98]

I love going to my library and getting DVDs although I use my phone to check the IMBd for the movie. Back in the 90's we used these books called Movie Guides and they would tell you the star rating, MPAA rating and a description. I wish those were still around

[@freeman10000]

Libraries are great 🎉

[@Natta44]

I wanna do this but I gotta buy a dvd player first! I'm so tempted!

[@midwestpanther98]

@@Natta44 you can get them for around$40 at Wal Mart although a Blu Ray for a little more might be better so you aren't limited

[@richardwillson101]

"Nostalgic treat" - I'm so glad I never gave up that feeling by supporting streaming. For me its just "normal" but still enjoyable to carefully select a DVD and look forward to putting it on. I used to detest when I would meet up with friends to spend an hour on 5 different platforms trying to work out what to watch. 20 minutes in a library, shop or dvd shelf at home and we have committed to something.

[@i_used_adblock_to_watch_this]

The only subscriptions I pay for are cell phone, and internet. If more people didn't pay for the subscriptions, we wouldn't be facing the issues we have now. I'll never understand why people put up with subscription based models.

[@i_used_adblock_to_watch_this]

Microsoft gets a pass. They do offer a perpetual license option. That's a big win for us.

[@i_used_adblock_to_watch_this]

*for office

[@V3lie]

Its perpetual per device. If you change or break your computer, you need to get another “perpetual” license for the new device.

[@i_used_adblock_to_watch_this]

In my experience, that is not true. I have office 2019. I've reformatted and changed devices countless times. Never had to rebuy anything. It is tied to my Microsoft account.

[@adam3647]

Lazy normies. They can't keep getting away with it.

[@bobbi-leeeccleston1841]

I bought a treadmill 6 months ago. It was eye opening to see how many brands required a subscription to access the premium features. I chose a brand that suited my needs but the determining factor was that it didn’t require a subscription.

[@ieatredbears5163]

I'm sorry, did you say a treadmill subscription?!

[@obstacleman]

Yeah they lock all but basic usage behind a subscription.

[@Binzaa]

Even a home security camera requires a subscription! How ludicrous.

[@seleciaa]

That is unreal!

[@LisaWagner-wy5li]

Bottom line , they all want more money ! High rents , high groceries,high streaming services ,

[@phalanx9005]

And they raise those prices because they're allowed to get away with it.

[@robertd9850]

@@phalanx9005 So we should have government control of prices?

[@terrykosowick594]

Price controls are a dirty word but if businesses are going to take unfair advantage, maybe we need them after all.

[@robertd9850]

@@terrykosowick594 How do you know they are taking unfair advantage? What does that even mean?

[@aspensulphate]

It's not so much that they want more money (who doesn't?) It's that the money is becoming worth less and less due to out-of-control government spending. As the quantity of dollars becomes higher, the value of them becomes less. Product and service vendors are scrambling to find the least obvious ways to maintain profits in the wake of progressively valueless money. Obviously, this affects all sectors of the economy.

[@MrJigglebits]

Honestly what needs to change is the culture. Buying DVDs, CDS and physical games need to be trendy *to get the ball rolling back in the right direction. Just like how vinyl saw a huge bump in popularity and are now somewhat commonplace for perchase. Only then will we see changes. it wont be a 100% return to CDs/tapes and not 100% digital, it should be a hybrid of both

[@GoldenreckGaming]

I feel like that’s a step in the wrong direction, because the problem with that is, storing them! It’s like you got stuff all over the place! I can speak from experience 🤣, I much prefer having all of my content and games digitally owned not licensed btw

[@lance_374]

@@GoldenreckGamingif everybody would refuse to pay subscriptions and buy, I mean, rent digital movies and instead would buy physical, the media companies would be forced to give us what we want. Of course most people complain when something leaves but don’t do anything about it. They barely know how to use a computer, let alone set up a media server. And companies take advantage of this.

[@MrJigglebits]

@@GoldenreckGaming if the problem is storage then rip and store them in a media server. This hypothetical future wont be 100% physical, you just want the culture to return to ownership. people will buy and keep their favourites and rent/stream the rest they don't have. We are headed for a 100% digital future when it should be a hybrid of digital and physical

[@adam3647]

The vinyl craze got its hooks into me personally because of the cover art and the bigger presentation that the art gets when it's on vinyl. I ended up selling everything and went digital. That's easier with music, a lot of my favorites being grabbed straight from Bandcamp. With movies I rip everything from disc to hard drive, but if physical media releases stop being churned out, all that's left is piracy if you want to truly own what you watch and not have to worry about licenses expiring.

[@siddartha1018]

@@GoldenreckGaming I am buying dvd's and bluray's again. They are so cheap at the moment. But I immediately get rid of the boxes. They all fit (~ 200) in one box I bought from amazon for 20 bugs. It's not a problem at all.

[@JigglyPKMN]

I got annoyed when streaming services started hiking rates, cancelled mine, and started buying a blu-ray a month. Been going right down the list of things I like with the most rewatch potential.

[@wantsome-zs5sq]

Good for you. I went digital with my music in the early 2000's. When I discovered how draconian apple was with the music I purchased I had to foresight to see it happening with movies and video games. I started collecting all forms of physical media. I collect cd's movies and video games. I have a massive collection over the last 18 years.

[@Iam123-i5j]

I been doing the exact same thing. Every 15 of the month i go on a dvd/blu-ray hunt to find things i want to own

[@quantus5875]

@@Iam123-i5j Definitely. Physical media rules -- and best thing is you can buy used physical media!!

[@SodaPopBot]

@@wantsome-zs5sqI wish PC Games still got disc. Last I heard of those was a baldur’s gate 3 collector’s edition.

[@Gottaknow]

Dollar General has a lot of movies for less than $5

[@jennifern1453]

So four years ago a kids show I adored was on Amazon Prime. I got a free month subscription and Bandicammed ALL the episodes I didn't yet own on DVD. Last year Amazon Prime had removed the show, but I still have every episode now.

[@josephj6521]

I miss walking into a DVD rental store and deciding what to watch. Sometimes asking the guys working there what they recommend.

[@crude223]

You must dedicate a shelf in your home for the movie store now😢

[@spectralisation]

This is called "Market saturation". A lot of tech markets and products have reached full market saturation, essentially hitting the limit of growth. There are no more new users Microsoft can reach with their office suite, or Adobe can reach with their software, etc. So the only way forward for them in order to continue making profit is subscription, or other types of recurrent revenue like content packs. Otherwise these companies would have to severely downsize or stop further development and just push an occasional maintenance update. The way forward for users is to simply... not pay the subsriptions, and switch to other companies and products who don't do this. Simple. Yet, few people are willing to change their habits ar invest time into learning alternative software/hardware, plus some industries (like graphic design) force you to use specific "industry standard" software, so things go on further in the same direction.

[@RogerioPereiradaSilva77]

And at least in terms of software, many of these products have been available for decades and have reached maturity and more importantly feature stability to the point that all the possible needs of an average user have already been covered which thus eliminating any incentive for these users to keep on the upgrade treadmill. We're way past the point of diminishing returns and these vendors know it. And when they looked at what it would cost for them to continue enhancing these applications beyond some useless 'face lifts' here and there versus adopting the easy money that turning them onto a subscription service, it is not hard to fathom why they chose the latter. Free and Open Source software does mitigate this problem to some extent, though.

[@quantus5875]

Davinci Resolve!! -- screw Adobe.

[@spectralisation]

@@quantus5875 Can't agree more! Although I find Resolve's method of creating effects and compositing much more confusing than After Effects. There's a learning curve for sure when switching, that's why people stick to Adobe.

[@Bloodlinedev]

No, this is called capitalism and it's a god damn cancer on the world - infinite growth in a finite world, instead of creating value you force people to pay like a legal mafia.

[@swojnowski453]

in software there is always potential for growth, so no need for price competition, hence price is going up. If price is going up there is not enough competition, and there is still potential for innovation or at least that's what they're trying to sell at each update.

[@SMNFXCN]

this is why is prefer local media/backups/archival for software: open source or free alternatives piracy is preservation, and piracy is actually owning it a one time donation to an open source project means more to that person than streaming someone's song 200 times on spotify or w/e we support independent/smaller creators

[@kellychuba]

kids don't have room for stuff. Until there is housing, there's no more collecting stuff

[@SMNFXCN]

@@kellychuba true

[@quas3728]

​@@kellychubadigital collection doesn't need any space. it's just small HDD or SD card.

[@karlabritfeld7104]

You're as bought as anyone else.

[@ambiarock590]

Reject Office 365, embrace LibreOffice

[@Ardroth]

I watched this video, and immediately after it finished KZbin played a sponsored ad for Hulu 😳 we truly live in a dystopian hellscape of inescapable horror and dread

[@swojnowski453]

disconnect and you are free like a bird again, we all should do this. Old times, friends, guitars, football. Nothing matches 80s and 90s today ;)

[@grishashipulina4904]

Wow, the drama 😂

[@matzieq]

Atari just released the 2600+. It's a modernized version of the original 2600/VCS, and it has all the ports and switches, except that instead of RF out it has HDMI out, and it's powered by usb-c. It can play old VCS cartridges, and they started also releasing NEW cartridges for it. The most beautiful thing in the world is that - yes, it's an emulation machine built on retroarch most likely, but all it does is play Atari games, there's no connectivity whatsoever. It's a single purpose device. And it's compatible with both old and new peripherals. I have some 40-year old carts that were collecting dust because it's hard to connect an original atari to a modern tv, and now they got a new life. It's beautiful and I love it.

[@ridethesynthwave]

Got one myself!

[@guidedexplosiveprojectileg9943]

I saw that in a book store

[@karlabritfeld7104]

And on six months there will be something else for you to waste your money on.

[@justinking3127]

I miss cable days. We didn’t have nearly as much to watch, but we were so much happier

[@interstate80.]

You still didn’t own anything, you paid your subscription fee to the cable company

[@kingofrivia1248]

I wasnt. I love streaming.

[@Mhel2023]

I miss 2(CBS), 4(NBC), 5(WNEW), 7(ABC), 9(WOR), 11(WPIX) and 13(PBS)... NYC 1970's. 7 channels. Pick something, sit down and watch. End.

[@peterkratoska4524]

Actually you still had to pay for cable and had to watch commercials, before that it was an antenna over the air and free.

[@hankhill2154]

Yh and you couldnt choose when to watch the show. You had to catch it while it was on and minimize as much distraction as possible or youll miss it. Good times

[@js2clevr]

HP now has a multi tier subscription service to own and use a home printer! They even control number of pages you can print. Crazy!

[@AdornamentDesigns]

Yup, don't even use my printer anymore. I just order online at Staples. I'll never buy another printer.

[@ambiarock590]

I cant ever justify buying an inkjet printer. For the vast majority of prints you're doing black and white so just get a laser jet. When you need the occasional color print a local library can print it for you for a small fee, much smaller than the subscription BS you'd be paying HP for. Avoid HP printers like the plague.

[@ambiarock590]

@@AdornamentDesigns If and whenever I do need one I'll get a laserjet. Avoid HP printers at all costs

[@RATED4EVER]

Thank God I got my HP PRINTER back in 2009 which doesn't require any subscription whatsoever.

[@grbbsc]

@@RATED4EVERyou’re not safe, they’ll start implementing subscriptions to the older models aswell

[@diotitus]

Honestly the most depressing thing is that most people in society are like a complacent and mindless heard of sheep. They don't evey look up to see what is going on, and instead just keep grazing and following the Shepherd wherever he goes, no matter where he goes. No one really thinks for themselves anymore and will always follow the heard mentality.

[@swojnowski453]

nah, disconnect, and stay disconnected for a couple of days, you will start thinking, even creating your own stuff eventually ;)

[@diotitus]

@@user-ip7lb1pd3n Lmao what?

[@zxKAOS1]

Nothing really surprising about this. People here complaining are just a vocal minority. The people are still voting with their wallets because some of these subscriptions still provide value to them. For example, I think buying alcohol and soft drinks is a huge ripoff, but.. the masses have spoken.

[@Window4503]

Ugh…this complaint. I know this is important to a lot of people here, but there are A TON of issues in the world where someone else is saying “you’re dumb for having your head in the sand about this issue.” Privacy, pasture-raised eggs, sharks, fast fashion, plastic cups, children’s literacy, the list goes on. You’re certainly not keeping up with all of those, so why insult others who are either focused on their own passionate issue that they’d accuse YOU of not caring about or who are just trying to get through the day because other societal issues are dragging them down? Can we please just talk about issues without this weird Gnostic mentality? It doesn’t even help, it just makes you feel superior when you have no right to.

[@vaderladyl]

I rather buy the alcohol, for the rest I have torrent.@@zxKAOS1

[@jasonleetaiwan]

Nebula had a lifetime membership fee that I paid. It was $300. That's equivalent to 6 years at $50 a year so I hope they stay in business for at least that long.

[@carlosmanuelgonzalez310]

what they don't tell you, is that they are talking about their company lifetime, maybe that's deceiving advertising? 🤔

[@robyn3747]

Financial planning is like navigation. If you know where you are and where you want to go, navigation isn't such a great problem. It's when you don't know the two points that it's difficult

[@momomego-ni1kk]

People dont understand that the prices of things are never going back down. This inflation is deeper than we think. Those buying groceries are well aware that the real inflation is much over 10%. The increments dont match our income, yet certain investors still earn over $365,000 in stocks and assets. Wish I could accomplish that.

[@uacdcalvin]

Having an investment advisor is the best way to go about the stock market right now. I was going solo, but it wasn't working. I've been in touch with an advisor for a while now, and just last year, I made over 80% capital growth minus dividends.

[@alasdekarton]

Finding yourself a good broker is as same as finding a good wife, which you go less stress, you get just enough with so much little effort at things

[@ZoltanKen]

Brian demonstrates an excellent understanding of market trends, making well informed decisions that leads to consistent profit

[@datguy82]

I'm surprised that you just mentioned and recommend Mr Brian Nelson. I met him at a conference in 2018 and we have been working together ever since.

[@user-on5nc7om5p]

Reviewing services yearly, just like budgets and goals needs to be a habit to stay on top of things. Great insights.

[@midtst0v]

i forget who said it first but if buying isn't ownership then piracy isn't theft.

[@mevsol2447]

Ownership is not the "sovereign possession of". Like a home, stop paying property taxes and see who really owns your home. Every service you buy is a subscription, electric, phone, internet, water, trash, taxes are the subscription to reside in your society. So this is nothing new.

[@buckyyyb]

@@mevsol2447I don’t think that really counts for buying a physical item. If I buy a dvd, or a toy, or a bed set, there’s nothing extra for me to pay. The bed police isn’t going to come and repossess my comforter, I own it. The DVD Warden isn’t keeping tabs on me, chomping at the bit to take away my dvds. This is such a silly comparison, you know exactly what the original commenter, and everyone is talking about, stop purposely misinterpreting what people are saying you goober.

[@swojnowski453]

and cracking is not a crime.

[@Natta44]

Yeah but we don't buy we rent with streaming. However I agree with physical products like cameras, where you need to then buy the software.

[@richfrommitch]

There's a service where you can get all the films and TV. Its called piracy and the industry is forcing normal people there. The issue isn't just price anymore it os about wanting your collection to be in one place and not split across multiple providers.

[@mothbythesea]

That was my first question when deciding to move in to a bus when everyone was hounding me about what internet I'd get to stream stuff and how quickly would i get starlink. I was like....um...Pirate Bay? No streaming? Enjoy bird sound?

[@Joshman601]

We need a place like Steam, but for movies. We need them to be all in one place and DRM free so we can download them and back them up if we paid for them. It likely won’t happen because of company greed but that would be the best.

[@denelson83]

I would say the entertainment industry is chasing people towards piracy, because the industry wants to chase people away from piracy.

[@quantus5875]

No need to resort to piracy -- the solution is physical media. No need for services. If everyone went the physical media route.

[@denelson83]

@@quantus5875 And then there are people who cannot afford physical media.

[@chaii_latte]

Even knowledge is going this way. Articles online deny access without paywalls, you don't own your own books on kindle like, if you stop paying the subscription etc.. I only hope libraries can hold their ground..

[@jackthereader]

I recently bought an Amazon Fire Stick and a bunch of subs, but now I’m thinking that that was a bad idea. I reckon I’d be happier with a DVD player and a personal collection of movies.

[@swojnowski453]

I liked spotify ... until I bought all CDs of Judas Priest ;)

[@URBONED]

The only subscription I hate that I use is the adobe suite. It's genuinely insane how much they charge for it. I often think I should just crack them - if you use their software professionally and make a living off of it, I think its a fair price, but as more of an enthusiast it honestly feels like robbery.

[@quantus5875]

If you use it for a living I agree hard to get away from it -- but if you're an enthusiast dump those fools in a minute and go on to Davinci Resolve for video and something that has a perpetual license like Paint Shop Pro or Affinity's products. And Davinci blows Adobe out of the water. It is getting easier to get away from Adobe is some instances -- we have a video editor that works for our company and because he gets raw mp4 footage from us -- and does all the work -- it really doesn't matter what platform he uses -- so he uses Davinci and has no issues and doesn't pay Adobe a dime.

[@kathyann9643]

That's why I use Affinity and Photoshop elements. You can do most of what you can do with Adobe. There is no way I'm going to rent my software.

[@quantus5875]

@@kathyann9643 Yep, especially if you are an enthusiast or non-professional there is absolutely no reason to rent software. I always recommend either Affinity (Photo, Publisher, or Designer) or Paint Shop Pro as great alternatives to Adobe that offer perpetual licenses, and for video Davinci Resolve. So many people I've talked to have thanked me and moved off Adobe (especially after taking a test drive of Davinci) -- they just weren't aware.

[@love2000amglam]

I’m hanging on to my 2009 MacBook because I have the Adobe CS suite installed on it. The subscription price is unreal. 😢

[@quantus5875]

@@love2000amglam I hear you! 😂

[@Frazman72]

At the beginning, it was cheap and ad free. Now it's the opposite! Chucked it all and went back to cds, blurays, vinyl, cassettes and 4k discs, all bought second hand. Loving it.

[@frenchyroastify]

The subscription model world should be a Black Mirror episode.

[@twoshedsjackson6478]

HP will brick your printer if you stop paying subscription for their "instant" ink supplies. They doubled my subscription so I cancelled it and bought after-market ink. Even though I disconnected it from the internet by blocking its MAC address in my router it soon stopped working when it couldn't phone home. Luckily I had an older printer on hand.

[@markh351]

I am very lucky in that I have built up a pretty decent physical media collection for music, games, TV shows, and movies over the past 20+ years. I have seen people around me get rid of their collections in the past few years, a big mistake I think. That said, not everything is worth owning and streaming allows you to watch something without doing blind buys which is great. I usually only subscribe to one streaming service at a time and am diligent about knowing how much I spend each month.

[@kellychuba]

we had to rent die hard because no one wanted to go to the attic to look for it. :)

[@quantus5875]

@@kellychuba 😂I have all my DVDs under my bed in binders. Each binder is a genre -- so takes me about a minute to find any DVD -- and they take up almost no space. One day -- I will get around to digitizing my DVDs -- but system works great. Long live physical media!!

[@peterbedford2610]

Business knows that the subscription model is by far the most profitable. Wall Street rewards them very well for it. This will be the economic battle of our time. Observe how the right to repair is under siege.

[@mich.cachia]

I'm happy to say that I never once in my life bought a subscription of anything. The only thing I pay for each month is my internet.

[@londomolari5715]

You can always check your local library! In most cases though you'll get a DVD though.

[@coffeebux]

But a library doesn't solve the problem in the video.

[@Soosheon]

I need every item I buy to stop needing an account for something. I have to have an account to use the software for my headset. There is no point of that, because that software doesn't use any online features at all for anything. Just ads. I also want everything to stop having WiFi. I can't find a Blu-Ray player that just plays Blu-Ray. It has to have WiFi and smart features/streaming box stuff. It's getting out of hand.

[@user-rw7mf4oo1h]

If you buy a PlayStation 3 it will read Bluray without connection

[@swojnowski453]

buy a guitar

[@rebeccanater]

I want a laptop with a dvd player, cant find them anywhere

[@inquaanate2393]

A device not being able to connect to the internet is now a big plus for me.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

OMG, *yes!*

[@jazzkatt7083]

You’re right. That’s why I have the physical media in my home. CDs vinyl, blu-rays etc. it’s superior in playback and you own it. 😮

[@mrbatarang3223]

You've convinced me to start buying music CDs. I've only got one so far, but I also made my brother dig out his old iPod video from 2008 or something - I'm working on modding it with a better battery and increased storage, but I hope that in time I will cancel my Spotify and use the iPod primarily. It also helps with conscious consuming of media. I often just listen to the last few liked songs on Spotify. The songs that I really loved at one point and probably still do love, are all the way at the bottom of my liked songs and when I'm in a rush, I don't bother to dig for them. Love your content man, it's changing my perspective on where the world is heading and how much power we give on both our minds and our money. Who knows how much subscriptions will cost and be implemented for everything in 30 or 40 years?

[@Anonymous-wb3nz]

Same here! Collecting physical media is very satisfying.

[@DawnietotheMax]

I'm glad I still have my grandfather's record collection everything from the 1920's to the early 1990s. And I still have my old VHS with a dual VHS/DVD recorder. Some things I knew not to give up.

[@doomtomb3]

Ya’ll don’t need to be buying DVDs and VHSes like it’s 2000 to combat subscriptions. Just set up your own streaming server. Literally flash drive or hard drive and a raspberry pi or computer and some software is all you need. Plex or many others.

[@quantus5875]

Both are good options -- I have a ton of DVDs in binders under my bed that take up very little space -- one of these days I will get around to digitizing my stuff -- but the main point is "own" it -- either physical or in digital form like you describe -- own it!!

[@vylbird8014]

And then pirate all the things.

[@JayCasinoOfficial]

Most people are lazy and won’t go through all this unfortunately

[@quantus5875]

@@JayCasinoOfficial Yes, I've still held out doing the digital server thing, because it's a chunk of work up front. 😊 Will do it sometime -- one of my problems is my binder method works so well -- that the incentive to do a digital server is not huge. My binders are by genre and then alphabetical within that genre -- takes me about 30 seconds to find any video. Star Wars IV -- just slide out the sci-fi binder and "s' -- found! 😂

[@simple_networks]

Agreed 100% I canceled all the streaming subscriptions at the beginning of the year. I’m sticking to DVDs, Blu-ray’s, and the Free Roku Streaming App if I’m looking to watch something different. Same with music, CDs, Vinyl LPs, and my small iPod collection gets the job done right!

[@Anonymous-wb3nz]

Same here! Videogames, too.

[@Anonymous-wb3nz]

I dumped all of my subscriptions on this year. I buy physical media, which includes games, music, and movies.

[@quantus5875]

That's another thing - used CDs are so inexpensive -- great way to build up an audio library!! Keep it up -- physical media is where it's at.

[@tonybryk3312]

​@quantus5875 it's most definitely not cheaper for anybody listening to a lot of music. And some of us don't want to become hoarders over the course of our lives..it's not a good thing to receive gratification from your physical possessions

[@quantus58756]

@@tonybryk3312 I agree that it depends on your use case, yes if you are ok with being a renter (versus what you call a hoarder) and you watch a lot of different music, then your approach IMO is a good one. Many of my CDs I purchased used for $1 or $2 each, and I like replaying my content (what I like) a lot -- so in my use case physical media is definitely cheaper than renting. I also supplement my audio listening with free ad-based Internet radio and free ad-based Spotify.

[@yoshimansxl]

Marketing analyst/sociologist here. Rent everything models, it is to the advantage of those who own the content. And people will pay for it anyway. There are a lot of nasty psychological mechanisms and trickery we use to force you to pay for it and keep paying for it.

[@KesGaming]

Really enjoyed the video sir. You have a great speaking voice and a clear, direct way of presenting to your audience.

[@donventura2116]

I like to subscribe to only one platform at a time for whichever show I like to watch after work. This also keeps me purposeful with what I consume and prevents me from selecting mindless slop and vegging out.

[@us5freaak]

Finally someone is talking about this. THANK YOU!

[@RussellAllert]

I have been collecting physical media (DVDs & CDs mainly) for a while now and have cut the cord on any subscription services. I want to *own* what I spend money on. I also only play really old computer games so that doesn't matter 😊

[@quantus5875]

I always buy older PS4 games usually used on physical media for like $20 each -- which is totally worth it. Another reason physical media rules!! Screw -- subscriptions.

[@RussellAllert]

Agreed. I am still playing my PS2. Heaps of cheaps games in thrift stores.

[@quantus5875]

@@RussellAllert Very cool! Yes -- PS2 is an awesome platform!! Wouldn't be able to do that without physical media.

[@user-xx2qb4hw2z]

I’m glad you brought up Microsoft! I don’t want to pay monthly for it either, I looked up how much the one time purchase was for the software and it’s like $100 (but you don’t get all they offer - that’s okay with me). No offense to KZbinrs but sooo many are asking for Patron ugh.

[@quantus5875]

Yep, MS offers a perpetual license for Office. Also, if you're active military they offer military discounts -- so I pay $20 for a perpetual license to MS. Hats off to them for offering military discounts to the military.

[@zeitgeist5134]

Regarding movie streaming services: I get DVDs from the public library. They don't have everything, but they do have thousands of DVDs to choose from. Thanks to the library, this year I have discovered that TV series can often be superb (Breaking Bad!!). I will never pay for a streaming service. No need for it.

[@glynnjohnson3531]

Your money is their money. You’re just an obstacle in the way that keeps them from getting it.

[@FoOtFoOt542]

I started listening to my vast cd collection again. Went to goodwill found a receiver for $15 set of decent speakers $12 and a cd player that needed some cleaning for $15.

[@PenkoAngelov]

This is what happens when marketing and sales get in charge of a company... - Subscriptions provide a predictable, steady stream of income. Accounting wise and especially for publicly traded companies, predictability of profits and costs is everything. - Subscriptions also shield your products from piracy. - Small regular (virtual) payments are psychologically easier to ignore or forget from the customer's side. Rather than big chunks of money in cash. - When selling physical products, you will eventually will run out of customers. This planet has finite number of people on it. You'll need to keep making and selling new and different physical products to be profitable. Subscriptions force those finite customers to constantly continue to pay for the same product. - You won't have to constantly pay to advertise and promote your new products. - And most importantly - subscriptions bring waaaay more money over a longer period of time.

[@ethanbernard7671]

Sales and marketing have always ran the companies😂 You can have everyone else but without marketing and sales you have a bunch of people sitting around with no sense of direction, no engagement, no customers, revenue... No business essentially

[@PenkoAngelov]

@ethanbernard7671 No, it wasn't. Good companies were managed by people with both technical and sales/communication skills. Now, on top, there are only people who barely have skills in MS Excel. We call them "Excel masturbators". If the Excel was right - They are the ones awarded. If the Excel was wrong - Someone else is to blame. You can't have a company centered around just sales... Your direction will always lead to failure. You need good products too.

[@RetroEdUK]

I was lured in early on with the low prices. For Spotify I figured that the monthly price was about the cost of a new album and, at the time, I was buying a lot of new music. Several years on I find I’m listening to fewer new bands and mainly return to the same bands I’ve always loved. By now I could have bought their albums several times over and have the physical discs without the need for a subscription. Spot on regarding tv and films, it’s way too distributed across various sub companies. As you know I’m now on a crazy u-turn to physical dvds 😄 Another thought provoking and interesting video. Nicely done Spencer 👍👍

[@spencers-adventures]

I’m right there with you about the long term cost/benefit or subscription cost vs buying the music outright over time. Spotify seems like a deal month to month, but over years you’re missing out on building a much more intentional collection with that money. Glad you liked the video buddy!

[@FurbyMolly]

I definitely listen to more new music because of Spotify so definitely works for me as intended

[@carsenhunt9471]

your videos inspired me to cancel all my streaming services! I bought an mp3 player for my music and any movie or show i cant find physical i will "otherwise legally source" them ; )

[@PayneKilla94]

Any assistance or advice you can give to source shows or movies

[@kevinwong_2016]

​@@PayneKilla94 pirating:🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿

[@PayneKilla94]

I don't know how ​@@kevinwong_2016

[@nickimillennium]

I woke up when there was a controversy about a beat that was looped into one of the songs on Beyoncé‘s Renaissance album and they changed the song literally the next day to exclude the beat. It really hit home that they can change content at any time and leave not a trace of the original content behind. So going forward there’s content that I really like I always buy a hardcopy. I also started rebuilding my DVD collection and some rarer VHS.

[@rezcellent]

You will own nothing and be happy

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

Honestly, all this felt like a ‘good deal’ because I thought less clutter and things ending up in landfills until that digital product that I bought can be taken away at any point without warning!

[@yeetmcskeet9533]

There's a simple solution to all of this matey. Ready the sails and prepare for a life of plunder on the seven seas.

[@CZsWorld]

I use virtual burner cards for anything subscription based so that they can't continue to charge me more than once. Or I can set it up so that I'm notified every time it charges. The pay to use your own camera idea that you mentioned is already happening with printers by the way.

[@alexclifford2485]

I bought some big hard drives and am collecting and downloading all media I like. I use stacher for downloading KZbin videos. Deemix for music downloads and Spotify stuff. Torrents and Usenet for tv shows and films. I still buy software, steam games, albums and kindle books of creators I like and donate. But í will be giving as little as possible to the corporations. The middle men steal value from their creators especially mainstream films and tv. I also recently withdrew all my photos from Google photos for offline backup because I didn't want to be paying them for cloud storage. Also downloaded and withdrew my Gmail for the last 15 years. Maybe a bit petty and a lot of work, but ideological I want to get out of big tech. The only thing I did think in your video I think is OK to pay for is web hosting and domains as that had a cost. Those services are services. They have support people and those servers will need maintenance. Its pretty cheap normally too. Some services are not worth the long learning curve to figure out how to do it yourself. Thanks again for a great video

[@spencers-adventures]

Thanks for the comment buddy! I agree with you about web hosting - they’re okay in my books. I think that with so many services taking a few dollars here and there from our wallets it’s easy to have a knee jerk reaction to want to cut everyone off from that trickle. But you’re totally right that some skills are worth outsourcing and paying for maintenance etc. I love the cutting out clouds services you mentioned doing, that’s another great example of something that with a little time we can take control of ourselves and ditch the recurrent costs. Moving away from Gmail is a good play too. I switched over to Protons free mail recently, testing new options while I look for a more permanent solution. Security is an important consideration with these things too, not just cost. Hope you’re well!

[@trimeal]

*He’s a Pirate* plays softly in the distance, slowly growing louder.

[@TechDave]

every time one of ur videos show up on my feed, uve gone up another 1k subs, smashign it, well done man! ps: this kind of thinking led to me cancelling £70 worth of subscriptions a week or so ago. its grim how easy it is to not noticed the money go!

[@thebestoffools]

I'm living an analog life in a digital world. Never been happier.

[@aarhurd]

Great video and big fan. Microsoft does still offer Office licenses in one lump sum though, so that's good.

[@59thSurvivor-of-VHS]

Regrets I do not still have my Windows 98 install disks !!!!! Had 2 of em at one point

[@gvetech]

I feel you. Recently, I have started going back to physical media.

[@PayneKilla94]

I’m getting a t mobile flip phone a sonim xp3 plus, I’m recently getting rid of my wrestling subscriptions and few other ones and learning ways to archive my music playlists, pics etc. I also found a few record stores where they sell vhs, dvds and more they even fix record players and vcrs if I’m not mistaken. Frugality is saving me a lot and the personal ownership experience is my life. Plus my mom while she pays all the subscription costs for apps hell I’ll just piggyback off that if she gets rid of my profiles I already collected what I collected. I also agree with a lot your saying, I saw another video of yours where you talk about various other ways to support music artists directly and I’ve been making my wishlist on there to get those products. This was a mouthful just thank you man. Ps I fucking love Joe dirt favorite movie of all time

[@r9delta104]

Subscriptions in their early days did an amazing job of pulling me away from pirating. They were high quality, convenient, and cheap. Like a complete no brainer to use something like Spotify or Netflix. Now the landscape has gotten so bad, they've literally pushed me back into piracy. Great job.

[@spencers-adventures]

You’re spot on with this. The greed with these companies is just pushing more people toward those types of alternatives

[@skywalkerhunter95]

3:33 i felt something is off when Disney does not have all of their movies available on Disney+. many of the Wonderful World of Disney titles are not available there. Disney movie not available in Disney's own platform? i find that quite peculiar... 😅

[@sparty837]

I don't sub to any streaming services. I don't pay for social media. I don't get cable tv. Instead of office I use Libre which is free. I buy my music and download it. I never use the the cloud and give my content to another company which can cancel me anytime. There are alternatives. Also, you have negotiate internet and phone service every year just like car and homeowners insurance.

[@kevinwong_2016]

Pirating:🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿

[@depressedkermit5337]

It’s because these companies are getting greedy. I refuse to pay subscriptions for things like Word when 10 years ago it had the same features and a one time cost. Greed is what lead us here. Vote with your wallet people. Refuse this kind of bs.

[@spencers-adventures]

100% with you Kermit!

[@quantus5875]

In Microsoft's defense they do offer a perpetual license for MS Office.

[@adamwragg4606]

Yeah it's definitely becoming a problem, can't believe they charge monthly or whatever for Microsoft office!! That's mad!! Paying to use features on cameras is ridiculous as well

[@spencers-adventures]

Yeah buddy, it’s all getting out of control! I’m always looking for one-time fee alternatives, or open-source free software. Thankfully there’s some good options out there

[@adamwragg4606]

@@spencers-adventures it really is! It will definitely come to a head eventually I think, people can't afford them all. Ah is there, for tv and stuff or just computing and tech?

[@blackpearl9504]

I remember when Microsoft came free with every Microsoft computer. When I bought myself a new laptop like 8 years ago. And not only did it tell me I had to pay to use Microsoft Word. I wasn't even allowed to use my computer without creating a account on Microsoft to log into my laptop. I was heated. Then I found out through someone else, that I would have to pay a subscription to use a home printer if I wanted one. So if I bought the printer and the ink, and brought it home, but didn't go on Microsoft to pay for a subscription. It would just be a useless printer. I was MAD as hell... This makes NO sense what soever. Since when do you have to pay monthly to use Microsoft Word since when do you have to pay to use your own printer?? Don't bill gates got enough money??? He's a multi-billionaire for crying out loud. What foolery next?? You can buy a flat screen tv, but you have to purchase a monthly subscription to actually be able to use it?? Will the next computer I buy need a monthly subscription in order to just turn it on and use it?? Find new ways to give people more bills. Then when people pop and say they can't keep track of it all. They'll have a solution for that. Google, since every damn thing is linked to your Google account now. All your bills will be linked to your Google account, and will become one massive big Bill at the end of every month for you to pay.

[@LobsterFusion]

I mean, I do like saving shelf space on media. I am okay having a Netflix subscription because the majority of the content I watch on it I am okay knowing that its just a rental. There are a few movies I love that I purchased on the itunes store. I know those are also not ownerships, its just a liscene to view, but the cost is low and i get my moneys worth. For the few movies I make a habit of watching yearly (Lord of the Rings as an example) i have physical copies. It really depends on the content itself and the value I place on it personally. Another great video! This is definitely a topic that needs to be brought up more and more.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

I use cardboard sleeves and IKEA boxes to store my DVDs/CDs (save for boxed sets). The original boxes go up into the attic.

[@jamila2957]

I am mindful of what streaming services I have and cancel when I finish the shows I watch. I also have all my subscriptions on one credit card to keep track. The BMW made with laugh because it's insane to pay for a car and still have a subscription for heated seats. Having a subscription for a camera is next level...

[@JulianThursday13]

torrents forever!!!

[@MrJigglebits]

In the future we will be selling copies of movies and games from a server.

[@alexclifford2485]

If the internet ever goes down, we the archivists will be incredibly valuable people... and probably have other bigger problems to deal with, lol

[@MrJigglebits]

@@alexclifford2485 better keep those servers in bullet proof enclosures

[@vaderladyl]

This is why I have backed up my media digitally and have physical media as well. I have two Ipods and all my music and favorite TV/movies on CD. Might be cluttered but I own it.

[@MikeSparksMusic]

6:22 My 2004 Honda Accord has heated seats that came with the car!

[@yanni_]

Cancelled all my subscriptions including the gym during a season of unemployment. Haven’t looked back, for exercise I do long distance running with old sneakers 💕

[@stevemuzak8526]

Soon our freedom will be subscription only. Wake up, people!

[@mooseymoose]

Your freedom paid for Bezos’ trip to space and Zuck’s private Hawaiian island.

[@buckyyyb]

That doesn’t really make the most sense.

[@balthus9105]

It already is, taxes.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

​@@balthus9105Taxes are what you pay for civilisation. If you prefer anarchy, move to Haiti.

[@WalkWithWallace]

Well said, totally agree. I’m holding onto to an aging laptop because I don’t want to give up the editing software that I paid outright for.

[@i_used_adblock_to_watch_this]

Instead of worrying about what type of media to consume. People should pay attention to much more important topics that are going on in today's world.

[@pancakedragon_21sanchez97]

Media propaganda and pop culture have always been important to real world politics and is very important to pay attention to

[@ProJatior]

@@pancakedragon_21sanchez97Media propaganda warps important topics and makes it more difficult to talk about them because we’re up in arms about what the solution should be.

[@benadoeffects]

I just came across your channel and watched a few videos, and you are "SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE," if you know what I mean. 😎 Great stuff, keep them coming.

[@traingirl09]

Currently, I work for a company that digitizes physical records. This varies from your court records (deeds, marriage licenses, criminal records) and school records, etc. My company uses scanners from Kodak to digitize them and they even require a subscription. When I asked my supervisor this she told me how else where they to make money regularly. It is crazy how much everything wants an insane amount of money for basic services on expensive products that you bought of theirs. These scanners arent cheap and the software should be apart of the device.

[@mariaboivin1840]

YOU ARE SOOO RIGHT this is the reason l still have all my collection of music and movies and not declutter them. The streaming service is a mess and is charging way to much and to boot commercial are back [why] ❤

[@dimitriberozny3729]

SO TRUE!! Even theme parks nowadays because the tickets are so EXPENSIVE,they want to take your theme park passes out on monthly payments!! Not going this route,because if they have another COVID lockdown,you will lose your payments and if you break the contract,you could suffer from collections companies ruining your credit!!

[@kevinhansford3929]

Couldn't agree more! Good work and keep getting this message out there 👏 👍

[@CDash162]

I’m back to buying CDs and I make mix tapes for my Walkman. You feel like you own your music with that.

[@tymarls]

The irony of getting a Hulu ad in the middle of this video had me laughing out loud. The only subscription I have left is prime. And I’m considering getting rid of it.

[@ltltornado3337]

Just discovered your channel recently and really enjoy it! (And completely agree with the things you say) Keep up the great work!

[@spencers-adventures]

I’m glad you’re enjoying it - appreciate the kind words!

[@richh650]

Excellent video that EVERYONE needs to watch.

[@Iesous27]

I built my own media server last year around September or so with an old computer my friend didn't want and gave me... I have 3 4TB drives (planning to buy more) in there, set up CentOS 8 with software RAID5 and jellyfin, samba, ssh, etc... I backup all of my media to it (music, movies, tv shows, docs, etc..). I also bought an iPod classic 6th gen used for $80 and I'm also planning on getting rid of my smartphone and plan on getting a dumb phone to get away from all the distractions of news, youtube, mobile games, etc... It's becoming too much and I want to focus on my life with my family. I grew up in the 90s and lived my teenage years in the mid 2000s where tech was simple, but with the introduction of the iphone and blackberry, you knew stuff was going to get out of hand soon.

[@zachg9065]

I hate subscription based software that requires an internet connection. Only reason why is so they can check if you have paid the subscription.

[@quantus5875]

Yep the worst. That's why I absolutely refuse to use anything like that.

[@healthlovewealth]

Because of your very well done informative and critical video I did cancel a subscription I had not used for a long time … yet they charged me every month! 💵🤨 Thank you! 😁👍🏼

[@spencers-adventures]

Good on you for canceling! Glad you enjoyed the video too!

[@brabiz67]

I work in retail, and per season, we cut down our movie section drastically, now it’s just an end cap of a few new releases. I’m not sure why because we always sell out of everything. So more than anything, i think the shift to streaming and pushing out of physical is deliberate rather than a necessity

[@rodgerlang884]

It’s absolutely deliberate, the studios don’t have to pay manufacturing, shipping or storage costs nor do they need to share profits with distributors and retailers

[@nslouka90]

The thing i hate about movie streaming is that when you are subscribed to one and a huge chunk of movies will vanish overnight only to find out the production company just started their own streaming service and now want you to subscribe to them! More Money!!!

[@JoaoSamouco]

You know the solution! Piracy, everything is conveniently in the same place and everything belongs to you.

[@doombga]

Literally every video game DVD VHS and cassette tape I have ever owned is no longer in my possession. I have zero desire to carry that crap around with me. I would suspect that the majority of people are like me.

[@Purosky]

I've been working on cutting off all subscriptions that I currently have and I'm now down to 3 that I use every day. KZbin Premium, Apple Music, and iCloud+. After cancelling all of my other ones I realized how little I actually used them and was paying for nothing.

[@mystoreysofstories]

I don’t have any monthly music or movie streaming currently, but something that I’ve done in the past is pay for one service for a few months and watch all the shows I want and then cancel it. Then pay for a different service and watch all the shows on that platform that I want and then cancel it. That way I’m never paying for more than one at a time, if at all.

[@cecilsshadetreegarage7408]

Hello, thanks for this video..well done and it seems like you are reading a lot of peoples minds. The last few years I've started collecting physical media as well...along with a lot of other ( obsolete ) objects ;-) You just never know what item that will not be available at some point. Cheers!

[@MetalSamantha]

I kinda strongly agree with you on a lot of this I’m considering cancelling all my subscriptions and then just buying all my favourite movies and music through my AppleTV without Apple One. I’m not even sure if they let you do that now. I could find out. I think I’ve enough too, now, and I may as well start somewhere