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Comment by majormajor | Hacker News Reader

I'd also happily pay considerably more for things like Spotify and Hulu Plus and Netflix in exchange for bigger catalogs and sufficient amounts getting passed to the creators to fund the production of future content.

I don't see any way to keep physical media from being phased out, and if that's inevitable I prefer a streaming model to a rebuy-for-each-new-digital-format model.

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I'm surprised services like Spotify and Hulu haven't divvied up their content into special subscriber packs like Cable companies do.

Spotify Premium costs $10? We have to assume the average listener listens to less than $10 worth of music. Find the amount each genre listens to, and charge just a dollar over that (but less than $10) for, say, the current top selling 100 albums and the genre of the subscriber's choosing.

Say, $5 for hip hop, $7 for rock, $3 for country, etc. Hulu could do the same with scifi, drama, comedy, film, TV, and documentary packs all at cheaper prices, all along with their current "everything for the top fee" charge.

/edit: Similarly, as they've done with StarTrek.com and SouthParkStudios.com, I can't imagine why every show hasn't offered their full series online. Especially those brands with many shows and fan-bases that could be brought together.

I don't think this would appeal to many people who aren't already subscribed. Unlimited streaming is such a minimal cost as it is - $5 or $10 for mobile, that I see this maybe moving some people to a cheaper plan, but not getting any new subscribers. Music is different to TV, the appeal is being able to listen to whatever I want, to discovering new music based on what I listen to, or instantly listening to something that's well reviewed on Pitchfork or The Guardian or Triple J.

You need to do the same for TV shows actually. That's why iTunes often gives away pilots for free.

I can get the top 100 albums for free on Youtube essentially. Spotify would simply lose my $10/mo. That said, I'd gladly pay more, maybe $20/mo for an expanded catalog and an iota of dedication to improving their Android app.

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