Subscription service: Difference between revisions

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A subscription service is a service whereby a consumer is expected to repeatedly pay fees over time to continue using the service<ref>[https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/subscription "subscription"]- oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. The proliferation of subscription services has major implications on the consumer's [[right to own]] their products and services.

A '''subscription service''' is a service whereby a consumer is expected to repeatedly pay fees over time to continue using the service<ref>[https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/subscription "subscription"]- oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. The proliferation of subscription services has major implications on the consumer's [[right to own]] their products and services.

== How subscriptions can impact consumer rights ==

==How subscriptions can impact consumer rights==

Subscriptions differ from [[Purchase|purchases]] in that when a person purchases a product it is expected that they permanently own the product and have full control over it while a consumer's control over a subscription ends when they stop paying or cancel the subscription. Subscriptions can be beneficial for consumers in that they act as a sort of "trial period" where a product or service is accessible for cheaper than it would be if they purchased it to own. Some subscription plans even guarantee their customers frequent updates that would otherwise require a secondary purchase. Subscriptions can also be negative for consumers, many companies see subscriptions as a way to extract more revenue out of their customers rather than a trial period, in addition some companies have even [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amended purchases]] such that consumers lose access to a product they previously "owned".

Subscriptions differ from [[Purchase|purchases]] in that when a person purchases a product it is expected that they permanently own the product and have full control over it while a consumer's control over a subscription product/service ends when they stop paying or cancel the subscription; in other words consumer temporarily controls a subscription product only <u>after a subscription has been purchased</u> while a user owns a product if they <u>purchased the product</u>. Subscriptions can be beneficial for consumers in that they act as a sort of "trial period" where a product or service is accessible for cheaper than it would be if they purchased it to own. Some subscription plans even guarantee their customers frequent updates that would otherwise require a secondary purchase. Subscriptions can also be negative for consumers, many companies see subscriptions as a way to extract more revenue out of their customers rather than a trial period, in addition some companies have even [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amended purchases]] such that consumers lose access to a product they previously "owned".

=== Negative trends in the shift towards subscription services ===

===Negative trends in the shift towards subscription services===

Subscription service revenue was estimated at "$3 trillion in 2024, up from estimates of around $2 trillion in 2023"<ref>[https://whop.com/blog/subscription-statistics/#:~:text=metrics%2C%20and%20more.-,Subscription%20Economy%20Statistics,%242%20trillion%20in%2020231. "100+ Subscription Statistics for 2025"] - whop.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref> subscription services are becoming more prevalent. The replacement of permanent ownership with subscription services has some negative impacts that can harm consumer rights.

==== Redefinition of ownership ====

====Redefinition of ownership====

Instances of companies using the terms "ownership" and "own" when referring to subscription products and services have become prevalent. These instances are at the bare minimum misnomers: consumers do not own something if they have to pay subscription to use it. The redefinition of language could be seen as a malicious attempt by companies to lessen the severity of the loss of ownership that consumers are now facing.

==== Licenses as subscriptions ====

====Licenses as subscriptions====

A [[License]] grants rights to use a product or service<ref>[https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/licence "license"] - oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. Licenses differ from subscriptions in that permanent licenses exist while no subscription is ever permanent, in addition many companies choose to make temporary "licenses" last longer than subscriptions as [[Adobe]] does<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250123232818/https://www.adobe.com/howtobuy/buying-programs.html "Adobe Buying Programs"] - archive.org - accessed 2025-01-23 - </ref>. Licenses also may apply large groups of people, I.E. a student license granted to students for free. The concern here is that permanent licenses are being phased out using the retroactively amended purchase strategy as [[Adobe Lightroom: Perpetual to Subscription Transition|Adobe has done]] possibly because subscriptions are more profitable. The term "license" is likely vulnerable to redefinition as ownership is.

==== Subscription inflation ====

====Subscription inflation====

Subscription inflation occurs when companies increase subscription prices often arbitrarily. This practice has been seen with Netflix subscriptions where "The standard monthly subscription without advertisements will climb from $15.49 to $17.99, and a standard monthly subscription with ads will increase one dollar to $7.99, Netflix said."<ref name=":0">[https://abcnews.go.com/Business/netflix-raises-prices-us-plans/story?id=117971949 "Netflix raises prices for all US plans. Here's what to know."] - abcnews.go.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. Subscription inflation need not be done to recoup lost revenue as this Netflix subscription price increase actually occurred after a year of "a stellar earnings report"<ref name=":0" />. Subscription inflation has and will be used solely to raise company profits by forcing consumers to pay more for what may be an unimproved service.

[[Category:Common terms]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-A subscription service is a service whereby a consumer is expected to repeatedly pay fees over time to continue using the service<ref>[https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/subscription "subscription"]- oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. The proliferation of subscription services has major implications on the consumer's [[right to own]] their products and services.
+A '''subscription service''' is a service whereby a consumer is expected to repeatedly pay fees over time to continue using the service<ref>[https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/subscription "subscription"]- oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. The proliferation of subscription services has major implications on the consumer's [[right to own]] their products and services.
-== How subscriptions can impact consumer rights ==
+==How subscriptions can impact consumer rights==
-Subscriptions differ from [[Purchase|purchases]] in that when a person purchases a product it is expected that they permanently own the product and have full control over it while a consumer's control over a subscription ends when they stop paying or cancel the subscription. Subscriptions can be beneficial for consumers in that they act as a sort of "trial period" where a product or service is accessible for cheaper than it would be if they purchased it to own. Some subscription plans even guarantee their customers frequent updates that would otherwise require a secondary purchase. Subscriptions can also be negative for consumers, many companies see subscriptions as a way to extract more revenue out of their customers rather than a trial period, in addition some companies have even [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amended purchases]] such that consumers lose access to a product they previously "owned".
+Subscriptions differ from [[Purchase|purchases]] in that when a person purchases a product it is expected that they permanently own the product and have full control over it while a consumer's control over a subscription product/service ends when they stop paying or cancel the subscription; in other words consumer temporarily controls a subscription product only <u>after a subscription has been purchased</u> while a user owns a product if they <u>purchased the product</u>. Subscriptions can be beneficial for consumers in that they act as a sort of "trial period" where a product or service is accessible for cheaper than it would be if they purchased it to own. Some subscription plans even guarantee their customers frequent updates that would otherwise require a secondary purchase. Subscriptions can also be negative for consumers, many companies see subscriptions as a way to extract more revenue out of their customers rather than a trial period, in addition some companies have even [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amended purchases]] such that consumers lose access to a product they previously "owned".
-=== Negative trends in the shift towards subscription services ===
+===Negative trends in the shift towards subscription services===
 Subscription service revenue was estimated at "$3 trillion in 2024, up from estimates of around $2 trillion in 2023"<ref>[https://whop.com/blog/subscription-statistics/#:~:text=metrics%2C%20and%20more.-,Subscription%20Economy%20Statistics,%242%20trillion%20in%2020231. "100+ Subscription Statistics for 2025"] - whop.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref> subscription services are becoming more prevalent. The replacement of permanent ownership with subscription services has some negative impacts that can harm consumer rights.
-==== Redefinition of ownership ====
+====Redefinition of ownership====
 Instances of companies using the terms "ownership" and "own" when referring to subscription products and services have become prevalent. These instances are at the bare minimum misnomers: consumers do not own something if they have to pay subscription to use it. The redefinition of language could be seen as a malicious attempt by companies to lessen the severity of the loss of ownership that consumers are now facing.
-==== Licenses as subscriptions ====
+====Licenses as subscriptions====
 A [[License]] grants rights to use a product or service<ref>[https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/licence "license"] - oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. Licenses differ from subscriptions in that permanent licenses exist while no subscription is ever permanent, in addition many companies choose to make temporary "licenses" last longer than subscriptions as [[Adobe]] does<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250123232818/https://www.adobe.com/howtobuy/buying-programs.html "Adobe Buying Programs"] - archive.org - accessed 2025-01-23 - </ref>. Licenses also may apply large groups of people, I.E. a student license granted to students for free. The concern here is that permanent licenses are being phased out using the retroactively amended purchase strategy as [[Adobe Lightroom: Perpetual to Subscription Transition|Adobe has done]] possibly because subscriptions are more profitable. The term "license" is likely vulnerable to redefinition as ownership is.
-==== Subscription inflation ====
+====Subscription inflation====
 Subscription inflation occurs when companies increase subscription prices often arbitrarily. This practice has been seen with Netflix subscriptions where "The standard monthly subscription without advertisements will climb from $15.49 to $17.99, and a standard monthly subscription with ads will increase one dollar to $7.99, Netflix said."<ref name=":0">[https://abcnews.go.com/Business/netflix-raises-prices-us-plans/story?id=117971949 "Netflix raises prices for all US plans. Here's what to know."] - abcnews.go.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref>. Subscription inflation need not be done to recoup lost revenue as this Netflix subscription price increase actually occurred after a year of "a stellar earnings report"<ref name=":0" />. Subscription inflation has and will be used solely to raise company profits by forcing consumers to pay more for what may be an unimproved service.
 <references />
 [[Category:Common terms]]