The reason subscriptions are not such a great idea

Posted by MadaboutDana
Oct 28, 2019 at 09:30 AM

Hi @Hugh and @Alex,

Wow, I wasn’t expecting a relatively innocuous remark about the dangers of subscription services to arouse such political furore.

But my point, while not intended to be political, was intended to be serious: this is Adobe we’re talking about, purveyors of software that most professionals working in graphics or DTP pretty much HAVE to use (a bit like MS-Office in the general commercial space).

So when Adobe literally just switches off its service to subscribers in Venezuela, thousands of professionals suddenly become unable to work and must frantically rush about looking for something, anything, that will enable them to keep leading their lives, making an income, raising their families and so on.

Whatever you think about Venezuela’s political situation, that’s a drastic outcome. And a useful warning about the dangers of subscription services, especially when entire industries are dominated by a single supplier.

I think that’s quite hairy enough, without bringing politics into the equation.