Archives for July 2014

Piracy And The Rise Of Subscription Services: Are They Worth It?

Spotify Premium Subscription Service — *Screenshot of Spotify, a popular music subscription service*

Problematic piracy, answered by private corporations

Subscription services have become a popular way to access media content ranging from books, magazines, television, and films. Before analyzing what subscriptions might be worth your time and money, I wanted to give a little historical context for their popularity. For many content creators, the rise in subscription services was scary, as they were linked to declining revenue growth. But increased interest in subscription models was actually an answer to something that’s been seen as even more malicious by copyright holders: piracy.

In France, if you were caught pirating digital (i.e., downloading a film, book, magazine, etc. without consent from the copyright holder) material three times, the 2009 HADOPI law (French acronym for the policy) would restrict your access to the Internet. Suspension of Internet services, depending on the level of piracy, would vary from 2 months to one year. Opposition groups argued and protested the law, arguing that it restricts a human right to knowledge.

In recent years, France curtailed the targeting of individuals’ copyright infringements, in favor of prosecuting major corporations and hosts of pirated materials. Today, TorrentFreak, a popular news source about pirating, reported that the organization now had five years of data to share. HADOPI has given warnings to 3,249,481 people, which suggests that about 9% of French Internet users are participating in possible copyright infringement (French report, PDF). That’s a staggering number, and it’s likely greater because some people can circumvent basic detection of copyright infringement.

Anti-piracy groups like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have lobbied for greater Internet restrictions for infringers in the U.S. and around the world. The MPAA has suggested that if piracy were “properly” dealt with, revenue to the film industry would subsequently increase (researchers and scholars at the London School of Economics have suggested otherwise). It’s no surprise that the trade organization for content creators would like more control over copyright concerns. But the answer to their calls for action actually came from private companies starting subscription services.

What do subscription services offer?

They usually provide a simple, monthly fee that gives users access to everything. It’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet for digital content. Subscription services offer somewhat ancillary but important benefits to copyright holders and consumers, too: they manage and lessen the cost to enjoy content. It even attracts those who would otherwise be pirating content! Effectively, as Kevin Spacey suggested, when users are given an affordable product and given complete control over when they’d like to listen, watch, and read, piracy will naturally decline.

In this article, I wanted to analyze three popular subscription services: Amazon Kindle Unlimited, Netflix, and Spotify. Each offers a different selection of content and unlimited access for a fee.

If you join Netflix’s subscription service, you’ll gain access to thousands upon thousands of movies that can be instantly viewed. Similarly, Spotify provides “premium” users access to millions of songs, playlists, and radio without ads. Amazon Kindle Unlimited is the newest platform and offers frequent readers access to a tremendous library of ebooks for Kindle (or Kindle apps).

Should you pay for a subscription service?

I’m not going to answer that, as everyone’s preferences are different. Instead, I want to provide you with some straightforward questions to consider before purchasing any service.

How much does it cost?
Are there any student discounts and/or free trials?
Can I share my account with other people? Could I split the cost with someone?
How much will you use the service?
Are there other ways to get the content without the cost?

Amazon Kindle Unlimited (Link)

Cost: $9.99 per month
Access: 600,000 books
Student discounts and/or free trials: No student discounts. Yes, there is a 30-day free trial.
Sharing: There are no reports that you can share this subscription.
Usage: Are you reading all the time and traveling a lot? Then this really stands out as one of the best subscription services.
Review: It’s by far the greatest collection of books in an unlimited, checkout service. By paying for the subscription fee you also get unlimited audiobook listening, too. If you are reading and then hop in your car, you can continue the story at exactly the point you left it! That’s a pretty incredible benefit if you frequently travel. One caution: there’s no information about how many books you can checkout at once. My guess is it functions on a one-at-a-time checkout basis — meaning you’ll need to “return” the ebook before you can get another one.
Other ways: Libraries are free and increasingly offering ebooks for electronic checkout.

Netflix

Cost: $7.99 per month
Access: Netflix doesn’t publicly list all the films, but a popular site that catalogues the digital store says there are over 10,000 titles.
Student discounts and/or free trials: No student discounts. Yes, there is a 30-day free trial.
Sharing: You can share your account with up to 2 people when you upgrade to the $8.99 per month subscription model. This could effectively reduce the cost of Netflix in half.
Usage: For the frequent TV or movie buff, Netflix is an easy first choice. Watching a movie could not be simpler and the bandwidth is impressive. You can easily stream HD-quality content on multiple devices (i.e., tablets, smartphones, computers, and televisions).
Review: The instant, on-demand collection that Netflix has built is impressive. Although, keep in mind that they have stiff competition from Amazon’s Prime media service. Netflix is a steward in the media distribution industry. They noticed that accounts were frequently being shared between other people and didn’t stop the practice. Instead, Netflix instituted a reasonable sharing and account model to allow members to split the costs.
Other ways: Hulu, Crackle, and YouTube all offer vast media stores where you can find tons of free content.

Spotify Premium

Cost: $9.99 per month
Access: Millions of songs, and offline access.
Student discounts and/or free trials: Yes, there is a student price of $4.99 per month. Yes, there is a 30-day free trial.
Sharing: Spotify explicitly states that you are not to share the service. If two users begin streaming at the same time, one user will be cut off. Spotify only allows one person at a time.
Usage: This is best music subscription service out there. Tons of companies have started their own, but Spotify leads the way. If you are listening to music everywhere you go and on multiple devices, no service is easier.
Review: It’s important to note that Spotify has a free, base level of usage. You can make playlists, listen to music, and start special Pandora-like radio stations at this ad-supported level. Once you pay for Premium, the ads are removed and you can save songs for offline use. This definitely comes in handy for the frequent air traveler or the ad averse.
Other ways: You can always keep the free level or use YouTube to listen to nearly any song.

For a price, the content world opens up and becomes an amazing buffet of entertainment. Over the years, premium services have become more affordable. But frankly, there’s still more progress before the prices are easily affordable for everyone across platforms. To enjoy the benefits of each platform to the fullest, you’d be spending about $30 per month. While not an exorbitant sum, this may not fit within a tightly constructed, frugal budget. The choice is yours, but it’s never been easier to go without pirating copyrighted material. That’s progress.

What’s Motivating Me To Save?

By Frugaling 11 Comments

Hamster Wheel — *Photo: Dan Derrett/Flickr*

Most days I live a chaste life. If they created a reality TV show of my life, it would be cancelled before the air date. Hell, the film crew would probably fall asleep in production. It’s a simple, hamster wheel existence that consists of getting up, making breakfast, reading for hours, working, and repeating that all the next day. The bummer is I want more than this.

Over the last few weeks of summer, as I’ve been on my constant rinse and repeat cycle, a growing desire to travel has crept up. More than travel, it’s a desire for more adventure. But then there’s my life and reality.

Being a 25-year-old doctoral student is a lesson in delayed gratification — working hard now to find enjoyable work and a reasonable paycheck later in life. Like many times before, on this frugal journey, I look at my budget. The numbers don’t add up. I can’t spend the money to travel to England, France, or visit Montreal. I just don’t have it, as I would need to take out student loans again to support the travel. That’s unacceptable to me. The psychological burden of student loans was too great and the interest rate of 6.8% is punitive.

I’m struggling to see the path and reason for my frugality. It’s here that I introspect, “What’s motivating me to save money and avoid more student loans?” There are both great opportunities and real challenges that create this defensive personal finance stance.

One of the biggest motivators is fear. Constant rises in income inequality, climate change, and a political environment that is skewed to the wealthiest are frightening me. If you’re not part of the bourgeois, you’ll likely be fighting, clawing, and begging your way out of lower income categories over the next few decades. Knowing that the foreseeable future will likely include environmental refugees (e.g., economists and researchers have increasingly theorized that the Syrian civil war was motivated by drought and the Pentagon has suggested that climate change may be a global threat) and massive changes in employment possibilities (I have no idea where or when I’ll be hired when I finally graduate), I’m eager to sock away some cash. Accurate or not, these are the challenges that drive me to save.

On the flip side, I’m motivated to save for a number of fun, experiential opportunities. I want to travel the world, develop a fluency in a foreign language (if I still have the brain power at that point in my life), give to the scholarship I started at Colorado State University, and develop a thriving practice as a counseling psychologist. These will all require a steady and safe savings. More importantly, they’re all worth the delayed gratification and relative banality of my life right now for more later on.

It’s with this yin-yang relationship — balanced — that I’m forgoing the travel now to live a better life later on. Until then, I’m diving into a good book and pretending to travel to faraway places and positions — loving every minute of the dream and working my butt off to make that happen.

Dating As A Minimalist

By Frugaling 23 Comments

Becoming a minimalist, then dating…

I recently joined an online dating site. This isn’t the first time, but it’s definitely one of the longest periods of keeping a profile and messaging people. The results have been surprising, and a couple of conversations may turn into more.

But my mind toils over my values. Something about joining a site and attempting to meet new people pushes me to buy new clothes, furniture, and conform to the idealistic picture of success. I switch to a basic consumer, and it goes against everything I’ve tried to accomplish with this website.

Joining the frugal frontier has led me to sell the extraneous and embrace minimalism (e.g., I’m actively trying to sell my remaining books, as I’ve switched to ebooks). Amidst this lifestyle shift, the cost of dating seems to be measured in more than a meal.

There’s a psychological change — for better and worse — associated with going into “dating mode.” That mode urges me to buy, buy, buy. Like a laser beam surveying my belongings, I scan my apartment for the out-dated and unimpressive.

Out with the old, in with the new?

Dating mode makes me think, “Maybe I should get a nice, full couch?” Yeah, that would really spruce up my apartment. Cost would be no object. I want something that speaks to my unique personality. I don’t want to stoop to some cheap, tattered, beat up couch — that’s not me. Moreover, maybe I should’ve kept my TV — because what would a couch be without one? It’s like I draw from a catalog every time I enter this state.

Dating mode pushes me to upgrade my wardrobe. Most days I think I have the perfect amount of clothes — providing style and warmth, and offering a wealth of options year round. But when I enter this other place, I see the fault in everything. I think, “Look at my pants! I bought these about 5 years ago. Why do I still have them?” In this warped state: “That shirt isn’t crisp enough. It’s gotta go.”

Dating mode suppresses my critical mind. All I can think about is the stink of old versus new. Everything is stale and worn out. As a mere extension of what I own, I feel stale and worn out.

There’s only one solution: own it!

Not only can my budget not withstand wanton purchases, but I left that life — intentionally. It took a significant leap of faith to buck the trend — what we’re told and sold by corporate America. The Ikea catalog and Macy’s mannequin sell a life I’ve always strived for, but it’s artificial and constructed for maximal spend. Unfortunately, I’m conscious that many people subscribe and aspire to this “perfect” home and wardrobe.

Does that minimize my ability to see and date people? Perhaps, but here’s the important part: I’m willing to take the risk that someone doesn’t like me for my aged wardrobe and accoutrements. This is who I am. I am an environmentally conscious minimalist. I’m frugal, clip coupons, and look for the generic brands. I’m interested in saving for a future. I struggle to spend without restrictions, as there’s an entire class of people — globally — that don’t have enough healthy food, water, and basic necessities.

There’s only one solution that fits my new lifestyle: to own who I’ve become. I can’t be ashamed of this life I’ve chosen and the new path I’m taking. I have loved paring down my wardrobe, selling my car, buying a bike, and sharing my story with people. Hopefully, someone will see that passion when the time comes.

This Statistic On Greed Will Shock You: Have Less? You’ll Give More.

By Frugaling 8 Comments

Paul Piff is enemy number one for those who hoard their money. He’s a researcher at the prestigious University of California, Berkeley. What he’s found is that social class predicts “unethical behavior,” and he can show you over a game of Monopoly.

Piff hypothesized that Monopoly could be a powerful proxy for real life — modelling wealth generation and headstarts. Essentially, some people are born into wealthy families, while others aren’t. In a lab setting, Piff gave one participant more money to start, with some wealth generation benefits. The other participant was forced to play with one die — mimicking the many constraints and disabilities that a person may suffer through life.

Despite these artificial constraints, wealthier participants tended to hoard their money and would often refuse to share in their winnings. They tended to enjoy and laugh at others’ troubles. Being poor was seen as a bummer that the wealthier individual needn’t change.

This all centers on a fundamental question about generosity. When you have more, you actually tend to give less as a percentage of your income. That can be shocking to find out, when people see tremendous dollar amounts being given from select individuals.

Nothing captures this phenomenon better than the preceding video. In it, Sam Pepper — a YouTube personality — attempts to get a piece of pizza from paying customers. After being told “no” multiple times, he decides to ask a homeless person. Despite having very little, that individual willingly obliges.

We need to fundamentally change our understanding of what it means to be generous and wealthy. Too frequently, we aim for wealth generation without thinking about the responsibility we simultaneously have to give back. People universally deserve equal opportunity for a better life if we are all considered equal as humans.

Making money cannot be the end goal, but what should be? What’s driving you to succeed? What motivates you?

Archives for July 2014

Piracy And The Rise Of Subscription Services: Are They Worth It?

Problematic piracy, answered by private corporations

What do subscription services offer?