One Moment, Please… A subscription-based society

By Jason Sethre

Publisher

Fillmore County Journal

jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com

Newspapers started it all with subscriptions.

Readers have subscribed to newspapers for more than four centuries.  The first weekly newspapers were printed in Germany in 1609.

In the early days of newspaper publishing, Europeans sought news about politics and war.  I guess some things never change.

Today, we have become inundated with subscriptions.  Everyone wants in on the business model.

Our cell phones are not functional without a monthly service plan.

Our Internet is part of a monthly plan.

Then there is Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, YouTube, gaming and many more.  Some of us remember when there were only a few channels on TV, you had to turn a dial to change channels, and children served as a voice-activated remote control.

And, then there are options to order clothes, razors, food, and health supplements.

Of course, we can’t forget about all of the software that is subscription-based.  Anyone who works with Quickbooks, Microsoft Office, or Adobe products knows what I’m talking about.

The list goes on, and I know this is not all inclusive.

At some point, it seems that this plethora of options will break the bank.  Yes, we have more options to choose from, but at what cost?

As if we didn’t need more subscription opportunities, we have another possibility on the horizon.

According a July 2020 article published on www.forbes.com, BMW auto manufacturer announced that they were exploring offering subscriptions for “features like advanced driver assistance systems, augmented sports exhaust sounds, adaptive M suspension and, yes, heated seats, could be offered on a subscription basis, with periods mentioned ranging from one month to three years.”

Did they say heated seats?  Yes, they did.

So, you could purchase a vehicle that has heated seats, but then have to pay a subscription fee to activate the heated seats.

In this article, Ford Motor Company was asked if they would charge for heated seats, and Ford’s CEO said not at this time.

If BMW can make it fly, others will follow.

After Netflix ran movie rental titan Blockbuster into the ground with their game-changing business model, others jumped onto the streaming platform bandwagon to make a buck or two.

In the meantime, if you are lucky enough to have heated seats in your vehicle, enjoy them for free for as long as possible.  Somebody may want you to pay for them in the future.

But, when you are thinking about all of these subscriptions you have to pay for each year, just remember this… you can still receive the Fillmore County Journal for free.  And, that’s a rarity these days.