Every week, we bring you the top stories and analyses from the global Subscription Economy!
Car subscriptions could make ownership obsolete
By Dustin Walshin in Grain’s Detroit Business
Two Detroit startups are taking the traditional car ownership model and flipping it on its hood. Startups Condor Mobility LLC, operating as Condor Detroit, and Mobiliti LLC are launching vehicle subscription programs that promise a speedier, more flexible experience for their members, who pay a flat monthly fee — insurance and maintenance included — to drive a new or used car whenever they want, for as long as they want.
It’s not a new idea. Seven automakers, mostly luxury brands, have launched their own vehicle subscription programs, which have cropped up in most major cities and favor function over formality.But Condor and Mobiliti plan to use the auto dealer network to their advantage to take on their automaker rivals in the still-unproven market.
Condor launched its vehicle subscription service in Southeast Michigan in December, while Mobiliti will launch its services in Austin, Texas, on May 1.
Read the full article here.
Music’s business model shifts as streaming revenue dominates for first time
By Josh O’Kane in The Globe and Mail
The trade-off of streaming music services’ massive revenue growth is becoming more apparent with each passing year: The business model of buying music, dominant for more than a century, is fading away.
Subscription streaming services, such as Spotify Technology SA and Apple Inc.’s Apple Music, saw a 45.5-percent growth in global revenue in 2017, making streaming the recorded music industry’s single-biggest revenue source for the first time. Aside from the well-hyped rebound of vinyl sales and trend-bucking artists such as Adele, Jack White and Taylor Swift, the decline of music as a product consumers can buy has been continuing since Napster knocked the wind out of the CD-centric recorded music industry in 1999.
Read the full article here.
You can now give Amazon the keys to your car
By Frederic Lardinois in TechCrunch
The latest feature of Amazon Key — free in-car delivery for Prime members — launched in 37 metro areas in the U.S. this week.
In-car delivery is an extension of the existing Amazon Key service, which allows you to give the delivery drivers access to your house with the help of a compatible keypad on your door and a smart security camera. Just like you can give Amazon access to your house with the Key app, quite a few cars now allow you to open their doors with the help of an app, too.
Read the full article here.
For more on what’s making news in the Subscription Economy, check out Zuora’s Subscribed Magazine!