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I like Shatzkin's article, but I think he's got the pricing wrong; I think more than $20/month is a recipe for failure. Or maybe success for a tiny book club, but it won't sweep the internet as the new economic model.
If we can pay less $10/month for all the movies we can watch, why would we pay five times that much for a much more limited range of content? And badly-formatted content as well?
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To repeat, the success of any subscription plan would be tied not what's happening in any other industry, but to how much per month we spend on books.
from your remarks, Elfmark, I believe that you are the kind of reader who is satisfied with fan fic, Smashwords, Baen, and the stuff you can get in the "bargain bin" at Amazon and B&N (not that there's anything wrong with that).
.For you , $10 per month is the max you would spend on books.
Shatzkin, OTOH. strikes me as a guy who buys 2-3 books per month from the NYT bestseller list, in addition to buying other books. I would guess his tastes run to high fiction and non-fiction (He confessed he doesn't read SF). For him, $50 per month seems fine, because this is what he normally spends on books).
I think you two are outliers and the average "moderate to heavy" reader falls in between these extremes. From the numerous threads excoriating publishers for "unconscionably high" ebook prices, I suspect that you have a lot more company in this forum than Mr. Shatzkin in terms of buying habits. However, you probably should not take your habits as the norm. After all, a helluva lot of folks bought and are buying Ms. Hillenbrands "Unbroken" ebook at $12.99 and above. Judging from the five star ratings and the unanimous rave reviews, those buyers think its worth every penny.
I think there are a lot of folks out there who would be willing to do $15-30 per month for subscriptions. I expect we'll find out soon.