Every week, we bring you the top stories and analyses from the global Subscription Economy.
How Fender Helped Over 1 Million People Through Music During The Pandemic
Excerpt from an article by Isis Briones on Forbes
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, it was no surprise that concerts and music festivals were among the first things to get cancelled or postponed.
As a company at the heart of the entertainment industry, Fender wanted to make sure the brand continued to spread the power of music as much as possible.
Therefore, the 74-year-old corporation started offering free three-month lesson subscriptions via the Fender Play app for the first one million users to sign up for the giveaway.
“We knew the wellness benefits of the offer and thought it would be a meaningful gesture during a difficult time, but we were blown away by the results,” Fender CMO Evan Jones told Forbes.
For more, read the full piece on Forbes
The New York Times Tops 6 Million Subscribers as Ad Revenue Plummets
Excerpt from an article by Marc Tracy on New York Times
In the first three months of the year, The New York Times Company added more digital subscribers than it had gained during any quarter since it started charging readers for online content in 2011.
At the end of March, The Times had more than five million digital subscribers, a high. Of those, there were 3.9 million subscriptions for news and 1.1 million for apps. The total number of subscriptions, including those to the print newspaper, stood at 5,841,000. Overall subscription revenue rose 5.4 percent during the three-month period, to $285.4 million. Total revenue rose 1 percent, to $443.6 million.
By the end of April, into the second quarter, the company noted in a news release, the number of total digital and print subscriptions had surpassed six million.
Looking ahead, the chief executive, Mark Thompson, said ad revenue would continue to fall by as much as 55 percent in the second quarter. But he predicted that the subscription business would bolster the company.
For more, read the full piece on New York Times and learn how Zuora is helping publishers like The Guardian and The Telegraph
Why the subscription economy has yet to hit its peak
Excerpts from an article by Matt Barker on MarketingWeek
The subscription economy is a big part of our everyday lives. From Hello Fresh to Dollar Shave Club, Glossybox to The Athletic, subscriptions are fast becoming the dominant model by which we consume, engage and socialise.
Whether it’s simply a newsletter, streaming service or food delivery, we have a long list of log-ins and passwords as our increasingly cashless society becomes more reliant on smart tech and apps.
There is money to be made, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has accelerated digital adoption and driven demand for services like Netflix. The streaming giant signed up 15.7 million new subscribers in the first three months of 2020, almost double the number it gained during the same period in 2019.
For more, read the full piece on MarketingWeek
For more Subscription Economy resources and events, head to www.subscribed.com and subscribe to Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo’s Subscribed Weekly newsletter, coming to your inbox every Saturday.
