Audible’s new impermanent subscription

TL;DR: Audible announced a new, cheaper subscription tier yesterday. Similar to its long-standing Premium option, the new $8.99 monthly Standard subscription gives users one credit to add a book to their library—but here’s the twist: Should they cancel their membership, all the titles will be stripped from their shelf. The move comes amid a wave of subscription fatigue and frustration around digital asset ownership and begs the question: Does anyone actually want this?

What happened: Prior to the Standard subscription announcement, Audible only had a Premium $14.95-a-month option, in which subscribers receive a credit to buy an audiobook “to keep,” even if they cancel their subscription (although even they could see titles disappear if, for example, Audible loses the licensing rights in their region). The new tier seems to be the first of its kind in which subscribers pay for a credit, which is then used solely for access, rather than ownership. Plus, it locks subscribers into the Audible platform or they risk losing everything.

Why it matters: Audible’s Standard membership is something that could only happen in the digital realm—if you’re a Book of the Month subscriber and you cancel your membership, the books you paid for can’t be taken off your IRL shelf.

But paying solely to access books, rather than own them, can have its perks. As Audible mentioned in a press release, the Standard subscription has “comparable pricing across other marketplaces.” The new offering seems to be a challenge to Spotify, which gives its Premium subscribers 15 hours of audiobook streaming per month. But Spotify recently raised its Premium subscription prices, meaning the new Audible option is more affordable (albeit minus the music).

In a statement to Tech Brew, Audible’s Chief Financial & Growth Officer Cynthia Chu said the new subscription tier serves “the diverse preferences and listening habits of story-lovers everywhere.”

"By expanding our membership options, we're maximizing access for lighter listeners while enabling publishers and creators to reach new audiences,” Chu said. Although one could argue that it seems like just another way the company can bring in dollars and lock users into its platform, while leaving them with nothing if they unsubscribe.

Subscriptions in excess: Subscription fatigue is nothing new, but with everyone feeling the squeeze on their budgets right now and more and more products and services becoming digitized, it feels like almost everything comes with a subscription. At one point, BMW drivers needed to subscribe to have heated seats in their cars, and Tesla requires drivers to pay $99 per month to access the Full Self-Driving mode in some cars, a feature that was one of the company’s biggest initial innovations. Both cars have these abilities, but consumers need to pony up to access them.

As companies like Audible continue to slice subscription tiers thinner (while quietly clawing back ownership), it's no surprise that more consumers are gravitating toward analog alternatives—heck, even the iPod is making a comeback. And who doesn’t love the nostalgic sound of Apple’s click wheel? —TC