Weekly Update 23

July 22, 2022

Happy Friday, everyone! Here's a crazy side hustle some people are getting into... Women are making thousands by dominating 'pay pigs' who want to be exploited. Here's more on that and our other top stories this week:

• Women are making thousands by financially dominating 'pay pigs'

• UK movie theaters offer free tickets to redheads

• Mapping Hollywood's celebrity NFT complex (1/2), (2/2)

Car subscriptions

💳 Your credit card statement could soon include a whole new type of charge – #CarSubscriptions

🎮 Automakers want in on what video games have been doing for years and are charging car-owners for access to new features.

🚗 More common among luxury automakers, the trend might affect mainstream automakers as they make expensive plans to make mass-market vehicles electric, connected, and automated.

'Feature-gating' it

💺 BMW made waves recently with its monthly $18 subscription fees for heated seats in some countries.

⚡ Tesla pioneered the trend last year with a monthly subscription for full self-driving functionality.

🚘 Volkswagen, Toyota, Audi, Cadillac, and Porsche have dabbled in driver-assist or voice recognition subscription models.

💰 GM earned over $2B via in-car subscriptions last year and expects revenue to grow to $25B by 2030, putting it in the same league as Netflix or Spotify.

Following Netflix's playbook

💸 Automakers want in on the growing 'subscription economy,' which, thanks to the pandemic, could hit $1.5T in 2025.

🔁 Manufacturing is a low-margin business, whereas subscriptions generate continuous revenue. The sneaky secret? People often forget they've subscribed and continue to pay.

⬇️ There are pitfalls, too. 'Subscription fatigue' has gripped the entertainment industry; it could come for automakers too.

What are customers saying?

👎 75% of prospective car-owners hate the idea of subscriptions.

🦺 Willing customers would pay for 3 services: safety, performance, and creature comforts.

💵 Unless automakers lower the price of new cars (which hit an average of $48,000), customers won't be willing to pay recurring fees.

If you have any feedback, drop it here. Have a great weekend!