Every week, we bring you the top stories and analyses from the global Subscription Economy.
Lyft simplifies its subscription service with the $20-a-month ‘Lyft Pink’
Excerpts from an article by Andrew J. Hawkins on The Verge
Lyft is rolling out a new membership plan for riders who want discounts on car trips, bike and scooter rides, and other exclusive perks. Dubbed “Lyft Pink,” the membership plan costs $19.99 a month and comes with a 15 percent discount on all car rides.
It’s a more simplified version of Lyft’s year-old “All-Access Plan,” in which customers paid $299 a month for up to 30 rides. With Lyft Pink, all car trips taken over the course of a month are discounted at 15 percent. In addition, members will get three complimentary bike and scooter trips per month. (Lyft’s All-Access Plan didn’t apply to non-car modes.) Members also get priority pickups at the airport, surprise discounts and upgrades, and the occasional waived fee for cancellations or lost-and-found returns.
Lyft says its membership service is a “no brainer” for customers who take two to three trips a week. But not everyone can sign up yet: there will be a waitlist that opens on October 29th. After that point, membership will begin rolling out until it’s fully available nationwide later this year.
For more, read the full article on The Verge.
Subscription-based financial advice begins to take hold in Canada
Excerpts from an article by Stefanie Marotta in The Globe and Mail
Some financial advisors are adopting a new, innovative subscription-based model for Canadians to pay for financial advice that could be especially attractive to middle-class and young, professional investors.
The new model sees investors pay a regular monthly or quarterly fee for services such as financial planning. Advisors who have embraced this model say it’s gaining traction as clients seek out advisors who can meet their budgets and accommodate a flexible billing cycle – especially at a time when investors are increasingly scrutinizing the ways they pay for financial advice.
“The landscape is changing. To be able to go to the market and say that we charge this way is a differentiator right now,” says David O’Leary, founder and principal at Toronto-based Kind Wealth, a fee-for-service financial planning firm that offers a subscription-based model in the form of a monthly retainer fee. “And now [the client] knows that we’re objective, independent and motivated to stick with you to ensure you achieve your goals. And that’s a big part of why people touch base with us in the first place.”
Read the full article in The Globe and Mail
Spotify Hits High End of Q3 Subscriber Forecast
Excerpts from an article by Todd Spangler on Variety.
Spotify kept packing on millions of listeners and subscribers for the third quarter of 2019, with the company claiming it’s growing twice as fast as chief rival Apple.
For Q3, Spotify’s total monthly active users grew 30%, to 248 million, and paid subscribers were up 31%, to 113 million at the end of the period. Net subscriber growth “exceeded our expectations and was led by strong performance in both Family Plan and Student Plan” tiers, the company said in its earnings letter.
Spotify reported total revenue of $1.92 billion (€1.73 billion), in line with Wall Street expectations, which was up 28% year over year.
The company also announced that CFO Barry McCarthy will retire from Spotify on Jan. 15, 2020, to be replaced by Paul Vogel, who is currently Spotify’s VP of financial planning and analysis, treasury and investor relations. McCarthy is to be reappointed to the Spotify board, a role he held prior to joining the company as CFO.
For more, read the full article on Variety.
DAZN makes a play for younger subscribers with Snapchat and…Logan Paul
Excerpts from an article by Tim Peterson on DigiDay.
DAZN wants to make boxing mainstream again, so it’s turning to Snapchat and YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI.
On Oct. 28, DAZN will debut the first of two Snapchat shows that it will use to promote a fight between professional boxers Canelo Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 2 and a follow-up match on Nov. 9 between YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI.
According to Snapchat’s self-serve ad-buying tool, the app’s monthly audience of fight and wrestling fans in the U.S. ranges between 10.3 million and 10.7 million people.
While the number of subscribers DAZN stands to attract from its Snapchat shows may be capped by the service’s decision to stop providing a free-trial period, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Requiring people to pay instead of allowing them to try out a service for free forces people to make an informed decision and can help to mitigate immediate churn, according to Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports exec and principal of Crakes Media Consulting.
For more, read the full article on HypeBeast.
DTC Brands and Publishers Are Alike in Their Love of Lifetime Value
Excerpts from an article by Hayley Virgil on MediaVillage.com
On Wednesday, October 30th, professionals from across the media and marketing landscape gathered to explore the subscription economy ruling today’s market — from magazines to meal kits. Executives from two DTC brands and two publishers shared their insights in an aptly named panel, “What DTC Brands and Publishers Can Learn From Each Other in Today’s Subscription Economy.”
During the event, hosted by Direct Marketing Club of New York and the Media & Content Marketing Association, panelists explored how this profitable model will shake up the future of marketing and advertising — not just in the magazine and CPG industries, but also among any businesses looking to harness the data-driven benefits of the direct-to-consumer and subscription models.
Whether building a community or buying a toothbrush, it’s clear that the subscription business model — no matter the industry — is creating unique opportunities brands and marketers to engage with customers in new and profitable ways.
For more, read the full article on MediaVillage.com.
Amazon Sees Growth In Online And Subscription Products
Excerpts from an article by Ellen Duffer on Forbes.
Amazon has released its third quarter earnings report, and its online and subscription sales are up substantially. According to the company, net online store sales were up 21% in Q3 of 2019 over the same period in 2018, and net subscription service sales were up 34%.
Books are present in both of these categories–in the former, as both e-books and physical books purchased via Amazon.com, and in the latter, as Prime Reading (an element of Prime subscriptions) and Kindle Unlimited.
For more, read the full article on Forbes.
And for more Subscription Economy resources and events, head to www.subscribed.com.