When someone asks if you rent or own, we usually consider it a housing question, but that’s quickly changing. Ownership definitions are slowly being broken down as physical purchases give way to digital ownership. But is that really owning?
Hiding behind the notion of renting is a newer term – perpetual payments. This is a situation we are slowly being groomed to accept. If I want to watch a particular movie at home, I can buy it on DVD or pay for a movie subscription service like Netflix. The DVD is physical media. I own the disc on which the movie resides, and I pay a one-time fee to own the movie.
You can watch the same movie via a streaming service, but you’ll pay a monthly fee. Of course, your movie subscription offers you a variety of other titles to watch, but don’t mistake the fact that you do not own any of those movies and the selection changes rapidly. You might argue that you can “buy” digital movies and don’t have to pay monthly fees. This is true to an extent, but you never truly own that digital movie. You are purchasing the right to watch it via an online service.
Behind all the user agreements we gloss over are complex rules that cryptically tell us we own the right to watch that digital movie, however that right can be revoked for a variety of reasons. Additionally, all the streaming movie services rotate their offerings, meaning the movie you want to watch may no longer be available on that service.
I became interested in Blu Ray DVDs because of the extra features they can include due to the larger capacity of the format. Behind the scenes, commentaries, documentaries are just some of the features available on the physical discs, that are rarely available via streaming services. Many of my DVDs are “Special Edition” or “Director’s Cuts” versions with alternate endings. Such variants are rarely offered via subscription.
Music and video games are no different. Streamers like Spotify off a variety of music for subscription access. New songs are added and others removed. It always rotates, never guaranteeing that you will always have access to your favorite songs or artists. Gaming is taking big strides in going all-digital, exposing gamers to the pitfalls of titles being removed and servers being retired after a certain number of years. I still play video games I bought on cartridges forty years ago as well as listening to the first CD I ever bought, Blizzard of Oz!
Centered on profits and sold as a convenience
We were told that digital sales would bring down prices since packaging, warehousing, and delivery would be greatly lessened by digital products. This has proven false as prices rise. Some may see streaming media as a convenience, but I feel we give up a lot of autonomy by being tethered to an online service who ultimately control what we have access to. Then there’s this new notion of perpetual payments.
Why sell one CD, DVD, or video game when you can “rent” it to customers every month? Corporations love this idea and have convinced us that convenience outweighs costs. However, it’s moving into new territory. Now corporations are deciding to sell us things but withhold full access by way of perpetual payments for things we think we own. Car manufacturers will sell you a car and then require a monthly subscription for things like heated seats, remote starting, and phone connectivity.
All these elements are in the car we bought, but we can’t access or use them without paying a monthly fee. If you think the retail world has gone mad, you’re not alone. This notion of making you pay for things you already bought is crazy. It’s like buying a DVD but having to pay a subscription to watch the last ten minutes.
The return of physical media
Having grown up before the digital age I’ve always bought physical media, so the notion of not owning the physical item you purchase is quite odd to me. On the other hand, I know a lot of people who’ve never bought a DV or a CD, not even a book. They’re all digital. It’s what they grew up with which makes it feel perfectly natural… Until that movie you bought is no longer available on streaming services or an artist removed their music from streaming. The same thing can happen on your Kindle.
People are beginning to see that owning is controlling. If I own movies on DVD, I control that media. When a streaming service allows me to view movies online, they control that media. Owning is controlling.
We’ve seen books being banned, movies being edited/ deleted, and artists removing their songs from streaming. In the streaming world, you don’t have control over the things you “buy”. There’s been a hug resurgence in music on vinyl which fuels consumers desire to own their entertainment media in physical format. DVDs and CDs are getting a second life from those who want to own the things they buy.
Streaming services are always raising prices and downgrading the experience with frequent advertising between songs, during movies, and anywhere else they can place it. Everyone wants uninterrupted music and movies. That’s why we listen to albums and go to theaters. Even in the worst moments of Cable TV, you’d never have an ad break in the middle of a movie! Now, you get commercial interruptions multiple times during a feature film. No thank you. I’ll pass.
I’m not paying additional money for a commercial-free experience. I’m buying the DVD! Corporations are ruining entertainment. Thrift stores are bringing it back. I love all the extras that come with physical media from information and features to the artwork and packaging. Placing a DVD into the tray and pressing play is part of the experience as is looking up he director on the back cover. Theat shiny disc is part of the media’s charm and part of what makes watching a movie more meaningful.
Cut the cord, stop perpetual payments, and we hope to see you at thrift stores, record stores and indie book sellers! Pay once, enjoy forever 😊
By CapeCod.com staff
