The Flaws of "Subscription Fatigue", "SVOD Fatigue", and the "Streaming Wars" — MatthewBall.co

This behaviour has been greatly exacerbated by the advent of a new and even more disruptive digital music technology: on-demand streaming. While iTunes was technically innovative, its business model was not.

Subscriptions are unbelievable. You have recurring revenue that, ideally, compounds month after month. Nothing else matters because you have growing subscriptions. And then it stops. Suddenly, you report a loss in subscribers. And panic ensues. Suddenly, you ask: should I have been so anti-ad all these years?

In short, subscriptions are not a panacea. Price changes do not solve product/market fit on their own. But, if your product gets better with more usage, addresses a naturally recurring behavior, and has a potential “upgrade tier” of users, a subscription model could be very successful.