7 sats \ 1 reply \ @HardRich 25 Jun 2023 \ parent \ on: Streaming our financial lives with Lightning bitcoin
I agree that services wouldn't want "pay for use" vs monthly. I know the pricing model for a lot of gyms is that you pay monthly but then never use it. I think services are the same - their favorite customer is one that pays monthly but doesn't use it.
A lot will depend on the price of streaming minutes/data. If it costs a few cents to watch an episode of Friends then no big deal. If it costs a few dollars per episode then people might limit themselves or feel less "emotional" burden for the monthly subscription services.
For users that hardly ever watch shows then the cost of minutes will be cheaper than a monthly fee. For users that binge watch shows the monthly fee might be the cheaper option.
It'll be interesting to see how things play out.
You pointed out a big issue that leads me to believe that, regardless of what lightning does, current subscription models are on the way out.
I know the pricing model for a lot of gyms is that you pay monthly but then never use it. I think services are the same - their favorite customer is one that pays monthly but doesn't use it.
We have a plethora of services that bank on an inactive community to fund their company. It's not a genuine business relationship keeping the company alive, it's profiting off complacency.
You can probably think of tons of industries doing the same thing.
We don't know how it'll play out, but I think Lightning will step in to bring companies and their customers closer. People will be more mindful of their spending, and that's a good thing. It promotes more valuable exchange between each party.
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