There is the so-called big deal, where institutional subscribers pay for access to a collection of online journal titles through site-licensing agreements.
They crack and fizzle. They " weep" out additives. They melt into sludge. All of which creates huge headaches for institutions, such as museums, trying to preserve culturally important objects.
The elaborate economic rules and regulations was overseen by a bloated expensive bureaucracy locking the government into a vicious circle and marking the first step of western society into feudalism.