Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972
Ok, not Gym users, Gym subscription holders, there seems to be lots of people who belong to a Gym but don't actually go  |
That is why the gym subscription model works: the people who *intend* to use the subscription religiously but can't find the time.
Book subscriptions are different in that there are far fewer people thinking "I need to read more". People either are readers (and find ways to feed the habit via libraries and used books and free ebooks if the budget won't allow more) or they aren't. And few people in the second category feel guilty about it. That puts pressure on the "all you can read" subscription services because the subscribers they get can read a lot.
And because KU is mostly Indie and small tradpub, that makes the other services attractive mostly to BPH-focused heavy readers. Which, on top of their payout model, makes them look more like a VC-to-BPH funding channel than a survival business.
I'm actually impressed they've lasted this long.
Though I suspect it might be due more to a shortage of subscribers than business model robustness.
Anyway, back to the matter of BPH ebook revenues: subscriptions are a discount channel for the BPHs so even if their partner subscription services prosper, they'll be substituting high priced sales with lower payout rentals with little attendant boost to visibility ala KU. That's why I think viable subscription services need to be tied to a bigger ebook retailer.