How have subscriptions changed the way we hear music?

Gone are the days when people used to buy things individually and they were allowed to keep them forever. Well, it may be partially true but things are changing at a quite rapid speed. Businesses as always are looking for more profits and more market share, but the strategies to attain those have changed quite a lot. Businesses are slowly but steadily transforming towards recurring models as it guarantees a monthly or yearly return. Be it a smaller company or a large corporation we are in the middle of a transition. So let's understand the benefits of a subscription model for business.

So let's begin with the pros of having a recurring model. Well, it may be argued but it is beneficial for the user, as companies are providing their entire libraries of music, videos, business tools, services for a fee that can be afforded by an individual. The fee charged is quite less for the overall value proposition provided. Let's understand with an example - Earlier people used to buy albums just for a song or two which they liked in the album as they had no choice. They had to pay the entire price for the album. This was a lucrative model for business as it generated huge profits with a huge margin.

But came the internet and With the power of the internet entire paradigm changed, people now instead of buying the album started pirating the music as it was free and easy. Now the entire music industry was on the verge of collapse as they had no counter for this piracy. Then the savior "steve jobs" came up with an idea, the idea to change the world, to allow users to buy an individual song for a dollar nothing more nothing less. The idea revolutionized the industry and now people started buying songs instead of pirating.

But then David came for the goliath, a small startup from Sweden Spotify rose the rank to challenge the mighty apple with its unique subscription model. Spotify allowed unlimited downloads, unlimited streaming for any device for a small monthly fee. This revolutionized the entire industry and Spotify went ahead of all of its competitors and dictated the new terms for the industry. Two things can be observed in the above example one user gets all the benefits till he renews or buys a subscription. Second, he doesn't,t have any rights over any kind of music or song for which he has paid. Whenever his subscription expires his license to download expires. The subscription thus guaranteed huge monthly returns and a loyal customer base as the user even if he wishes cannot have the songs or music of his choice.

This was oversimplified version of the how the music industry changed to subscription model.Subscription model dues to the value provided will slowly be embebed in every company and our life.