Yahoo Raises Music Subscription Fees, But Will Anyone Notice?
from the anybody-out-there dept
Yahoo has raised the prices of its portable music subscription services, basically doubling the cost to $9.99 per month for users that pay for a year in advance, or $11.99 per month for those that pay monthly. Users that want to just listen to music on their PC won't see any increases, though. Yahoo execs didn't say a whole lot about the success of their music offering during a recent earnings calls, leading to speculation that takeup hasn't been too high. If people weren't buying it at $7 a month, why would they at $12? The whole "rent stuff" business model is supposed to be hot right now, but it doesn't seem like people think it's such a great idea for music. It's great to have access to a huge library, but it's not so great to lose that access if you quit paying. Even RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser has downplayed subscription services, and his company has one.
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I prefer subscription plans
For $7mo, I have access to 100,000+ songs. While I will probably never be able to hear them all, there is a good chance that I'm going to be able to listen to what I want to listen to. If I had to purchase every track that I want to listen to, there would be no way that I could have the kind of library that I would actually enjoy listening to.
Likewise, being a sound engineer, it is wonderful to be able to download songs to my laptop that will accomidate the evenings show that I will be running (yes, we are licensed to do this). Just a few years ago, I was limited to the 500+ CDs that I had in my private collection. Now for only a few $ each month, not only do I have access to that collection, but I also have access to anything else that is out there. Virtually guarenteeing that i will have the right song for the evning.
And we can't forget the fact that there are lots of new albums that come out each month, that if I had to buy even just one track off of each album, I would spend way more than $7!
Now there is a place for the purchase programs. People want to download and burn to CD, but CDs eventually get old and die. Not to mention the fact that CD medium is becoming more and more worthless every day (my subscription service allows me to transfer music to a portable MP3 player too). But those kinds of programs have no place in my world.
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There are different types of subscription services
Rob Glaser was specifically referring to portable subscription services, not subscription services in general when he said they were more hype than substance.
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No Subject Given
At least live radio has DJ's with a possibility for entertainment, and if commercials are necessary evils maybe there's a product I care about -- fat chance.
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Re: I prefer subscription plans
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Re: I prefer subscription plans
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It doesn't affect me...
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Re: I prefer subscription plans
Yes. That's why they are sound engineers and not DJs. Most music selections I've heard at concerts pre and post show usually suck.
Anyway, what is going to stop someone from figuring out how to record online streams into files (like streamripper for shoutcast stations) using the lower priced subscription fee?
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No Subject Given
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Re: I prefer subscription plans
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Re: I prefer subscription plans
You may like the deal, but you are in breach of contract.
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Re: I prefer subscription plans
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Re: No Subject Given
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demand
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All I want...
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