In the last 20 years, we’ve seen the decline of owning physical copies of media and the rise of subscription-based streaming services and digital licenses. Was this a positive change? Maybe not, but first let’s explore what these terms are and what it means to you.
Subscription-based Streaming services started with the rise of Rhapsody (later known as Napster) a music-based streaming service made in 2001 with a monthly fee to use its service. It was groundbreaking as it was one of the first of its kind to establish an online based subscription service. It was a convenient and affordable way to listen to music and soon built a dedicated fan base. With the rise of Napster, other companies took notice and soon after we saw Spotify and iTunes take the market for music streaming.
Evolving right next to Napster we saw Netflix. Starting as a DVD rental service, Netflix was different from others by mailing the DVDs straight to your door. In 2007 Netflix changed models and built itself up as an online based-on-demand streaming service.
In the 2010s subscribing to streaming services like this was a no brainer. But now? The services you may be subscribed to have decreased in quality the last few years. There has been a significant decline in the number of movies and series available on Netflix because of competition from other streaming services. And because you’re paying for a service rather than the actual movies you have no say on what you’re paying for. This means that the movies you may want are no longer available on Netflix and are now only on Amazon Prime, or only on HBO. To get access to the digital library you may have had a few years ago you now have to subscribe to multiple streaming services instead of one.
This puts the cost efficiency of streaming services into question. According to a recent report the average American spends 924$ on subscription services yearly. That’s 77$ a month for these services. Even with competition and lowering quality of subscription services the prices are continuing to rise. In 2022 Apple TV went from 4.99$ to 6.99$ a month, with other services right behind it. Disney Plus went from 7.99 to 13.99 in one year! With constant price hikes and lowering quantity and quality of content makes the choice between other options like simply buying DVDs and cable more and more debatable.
Much like streaming services, a digital license is what you get when you buy a movie or game online from services like Amazon Prime or steam, giving you the rights to use the material rather than actually owning it.
Any game bought or downloaded off Steam you don’t own. There is no perpetuity to digital licenses meaning they can be removed or revoked from the company it was purchased from at any time.
Just this October California passed one of the first laws in the USA targeting companies who sell these licenses rather than ownership of digital media. Effective January 2025, companies have to disclose if you’re buying unrestricted ownership or just a license to use digital media, including books, movies, music, games ect… All this means is that they have to make the terms of your ownership of the media clear.
Hopefully with the passing of this law and the rising prices of subscription services it will become clear how important owning your favorite media is, and you can start building a personal media library that you ACTUALLY own.
/originaly posted on medium/
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