How grumpy would you be if they suddenly started charging you a monthly subscription fee to access your account?
FORBES: Cash, Credit, or Eyeballs: How We Pay for Digital Media
According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon will soon launch a subscription-based book service, charging a monthly fee for access to a library of e-books.
Its plan was simple--sell low-end, brand-name personal computers bundled with Internet access for a monthly fee.
It's free for a basic page and for a small monthly fee you can access more features.
Then in the 2000s, the rise of DSL and cable modems made paying AOL a monthly fee for Internet access seem increasingly unnecessary.
But in areas where local calls are free and ISPs offer unlimited Internet access for a flat monthly fee anyway, the no-charge Internet model has less appeal.
At the same time, Apple pitched media companies on a "best of TV" subscription service to television networks under which customers would pay a monthly fee for on-demand access to programs from a bundle of participating TV networks, giving consumers another way to readily access television content.
For a monthly retainer fee, a patient can have access to their family physician at any time.
AOL, similarly, has 10%, though many of those users are using someone else for access and paying AOL a reduced monthly fee.
My guess is the various owners of the intellectual property leaking onto the Internet will admit defeat and form an uber-licensing agency, like ASCAP, that will collect a monthly fee in exchange for nearly universal access to music, movies and other forms of entertainment.
Several channels offer discounts on the monthly fee with an annual subscription, and some include features on top of access to videos.
The average monthly subscription fee in Europe is decreasing yearly and some ISPs in Germany and Sweden are offering free Internet access.
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