Around 2010, I upgraded my computer and was very disappointed that I had lost my Photoshop CD. I was even more disappointed when I went to the store and remembered how expensive it was. Reluctantly, I bought Photoshop.
If I could somehow transfer files from my old computer to the new one that would be great. This, if you think about it now, is actually one of the great perks of the digital sales and subscription model. There is no CD and your applications are connected to a single online location. I know getting a new phone every two years is almost a pleasure for me as I check which apps I want to download from my Google Playstore account.
Problems with (lots of) subscriptions
But then the other side of this is the sheer number of subscription services available. I remember the first time I got Netflix. How great is that? Very! All those movies and shows in one place for a small price per month.
Cue a few more years, and all of a sudden, it switched to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, etc. I had to make the deliberate decision to only have one or two subscriptions at a time and rotate them around to get the most out of it. most of them by watching shows on a particular platform.
For photography alone, I have a monthly Adobe subscription, in which I use Photoshop and InDesign quite often. I also use Premiere from time to time. I also have a Dropbox subscription for backups, Rounding for invoicing, Formatting for my website, and Milanote for mood boards.
It all adds up, so much so that around the new year, I cancel all my cards and get a new one from my bank. And then, when I received an email notifying me that a particular subscription could not be charged, I was prompted with the option to consider updating my payment details or requesting to cancel the subscription.
What prompted this article was Capture One’s decision to inadvertently switch to a potentially controversial subscription-based model. I understand from the developer’s point of view that this results in more revenue; if consumers pay a certain amount often instead of when they want, it means the company will continue to be profitable. However, it’s not always for me.
The system is working as intended
I don’t know if I have a specific solution for consumers (or even developers). Maybe, the consumer’s immediate solution is to be like me and be more aware of what you’re buying and how.
Or perhaps, that’s the point: this subscription model, which aims to provide a streamlined means of access to consumers, no longer just does that. Instead, it’s now a vehicle for developers to have a cash cow type of consumer that consistently brings in revenue.
The system is working as intended: not for the benefit of the consumer.
