MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - The subscription model for ebooks hasn’t emerged yet, but it will

stonetools · 05-15-2011, 12:31 PM

Mike Shatzkin speculates on possibility of a future subscription model for ebooks

ARTICLE

I tried to discuss a possible subscription model on an earlier thread but that thread was sidetracked into a discussion of the Topic that Cannot be Rationally Discussed, and ended up closed. I hope to discuss subscription this time with no mention of the TTCBRD.
Subscription has for decades been part of the publishing industry (think of the venerable Book-of-the Month Club).

In the article and the comments, they discuss a number of models:

*A hypothetical $100 a month for any ebook you wanted
* A hypothetical $50 a month for access to a delimited pool , from which you could buy and download
*The actual Audible.Com model-a tiered model in which at the Platinum level you pay $229 per year for 24 books
* The Netflix model, in which you pay to rent or stream movies. People were excited about the price, until reminded that buying books isn't the same as streaming movies. (The technology for streaming books isn't quite here yet, but will be soon, as I pointed out in Other Subscription Thread).

It was pointed out that the key issue is not what the model is in other industries, but how much you would be willing to spend per month on books.
Another real world example not mentioned in the article- subscription to SF magazines . (I subscribe to Isaac Asimov's Science fiction Magazine for $3 per month)

So what do you all think the best subscription model will be?

05-15-2011, 12:31 PM	#1
stonetools Wizard Posts: 2,016 Karma: 2838487 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Ipad, IPhone	The subscription model for ebooks hasn’t emerged yet, but it will Mike Shatzkin speculates on possibility of a future subscription model for ebooks ARTICLE I tried to discuss a possible subscription model on an earlier thread but that thread was sidetracked into a discussion of the Topic that Cannot be Rationally Discussed, and ended up closed. I hope to discuss subscription this time with no mention of the TTCBRD. Subscription has for decades been part of the publishing industry (think of the venerable Book-of-the Month Club). In the article and the comments, they discuss a number of models: A hypothetical $100 a month for any ebook you wanted A hypothetical $50 a month for access to a delimited pool , from which you could buy and download The actual Audible.Com model-a tiered model in which at the Platinum level you pay $229 per year for 24 books The Netflix model, in which you pay to rent or stream movies. People were excited about the price, until reminded that buying books isn't the same as streaming movies. (The technology for streaming books isn't quite here yet, but will be soon, as I pointed out in Other Subscription Thread). It was pointed out that the key issue is not what the model is in other industries, but how much you would be willing to spend per month on books. Another real world example not mentioned in the article- subscription to SF magazines . (I subscribe to Isaac Asimov's Science fiction Magazine for $3 per month) So what do you all think the best subscription model will be?