Canta Point: Subscription services, or just buying movies?
Image by Hannah Huls on Dupe Photos
Supplied by Ellie Stevenson (she/her)
Opinion
CantaPoint is a column written by the University of Canterbury Debating Society showcasing different sides of an issue, and encouraging flexible thinking.
The society is open to members of all abilities. Visit the UC Debating Instagram @ucdebsoc for more information.
The case for subscription:
Your time is precious. You should be free to waste as much as you can. And every minute you agonise over whether you’re better off blowing $6 on renting 2004’s White Chicks*, or investing $13 to own that treasure forever, is another minute that you’re not watching Terry Crews belt out “A Thousand Miles”. You just got out of class or off your shift - why should you have to lift a finger organising your downtime?
The subscription is the solution. And it’s better than ever. Did you know that Netflix used to mail you a handful of physical CDs? Now you can just open your phone and hit play. Bored of Mister Magoo’s Wonder Emporium? Flick right over to Breaking Bad. Set up your subscription once, and you’re sorted forever…as forever as anything can be. Apps can remove a movie whether you “own” it or not; the only difference is that the subscriber knows what they’re signing up for, and can move on to graze in other pastures.
Within a single century, we as a species have evolved from cranking the gramophone to countless thousands of shows, albums and films at our fingertips - not just what you know you’re craving, but what you didn’t know you needed. Subscription services are perfect at recommendations: music you didn’t realise you’d take a shine to, shows that walk you outside your comfort zone. As people, we change and grow. Revisiting the same old handful of owned songs and episodes again and again is how you ruin them. You only come to appreciate your favourites fully once you make the most of our incredible range of access today. Heck, throw a subscription on a mealkit service and you don’t have to go outside anymore. What’s not to love?
The case for ownership:
Subscription services are bleeding money and haemorrhaging viewers. Every time they remove another prized movie or show that the people wanted to see, they add another self-inflicted wound to the other nine hundred and ninety nine. The Americans may still land some decent leftovers, but the New Zealand market is too small to attract many worthwhile offerings at all. You can forget about keeping up with the breaking new hotness. What was the last time before Adolescence that Netflix released must-watch TV? Have they ever made a good movie? What is left is a sorry slop trough of unwanteds and unwatchables that force you to choose between not enjoying yourself, or not turning on the app at all.
You’d be better served saving your money for when you know you want to see something good. It’s a pittance in time and money to click through and confirm you want to have that one album or that one movie that you appreciate now, and more so every time you return to it. Do most people actually go all the way through their Discover Weekly? Who is possibly playing these Netflix games? Does your hour-long doomscroll produce a movie you really wanted to watch? It does not. (Sometimes, it produces nothing at all!)
Ownership business models even cater to those still looking to expand their taste. They still want to advertise the good stuff to you. You’re likelier to make worthwhile choices with your time when there’s a cost attached to flippancy about what’s on tonight. And building a library of your own .mp4s, instead of hitting shuffle on the fifth Spotify album you’ve created, then abandoned this year, encourages you to curate your interests and even develop skills like editing. Now I get woken up at six AM every morning by my “I Got You Babe” alarm blaring about twenty decibels up from ideal. What could be better?
*Please don’t do this to yourself.