And of course, the membership model changed completely. Exclusivity-based Consumer membership (whether Guardian Live or even a basic content paywall) was taken off the agenda, and the priority became delivering the public good Citizens needed, and asking for direct financial support in return.

Instead, I argued, the goal of business should be to start with the wants and needs of a particular customer base, then create a service that delivers ongoing value to those customers. The idea was to turn customers into subscribers in order to develop recurring revenue. I called the context for this change the Subscription Economy.