I agree, but on the other hand, people don't like having to be constantly making the economical decision about whether to watch something; it's mentally taxing, which is unwelcome when you're trying to relax by watching a movie or a TV show.
It can also prevent one from discovering offbeat content, by making those bets more costly. For example, I quite liked Super[1], but if I had to make to choice to pay $20 beforehand, maybe I'd watch something worse but that I was guaranteed to enjoy.
Actually discovery and serendipity are great features of services like Netflix and Spotify, but it's also perfectly easy to put up free content (e.g. pilots are often free) on iTunes or Amazon.
Comments
I agree, but on the other hand, people don't like having to be constantly making the economical decision about whether to watch something; it's mentally taxing, which is unwelcome when you're trying to relax by watching a movie or a TV show.
It can also prevent one from discovering offbeat content, by making those bets more costly. For example, I quite liked Super[1], but if I had to make to choice to pay $20 beforehand, maybe I'd watch something worse but that I was guaranteed to enjoy.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_(2010_American_film)
Actually discovery and serendipity are great features of services like Netflix and Spotify, but it's also perfectly easy to put up free content (e.g. pilots are often free) on iTunes or Amazon.