I am MSDN subscriber and I am currently paying for it myself. That gives me privilege of being among first ones to download newest Windows and Visual Studio.
For example, Windows 8 went RTM on August 1st and I can get it on August 15th; Visual Studio 2012 went RTM on 3rd and I will get it on 15th. Public usually gets things few weeks afterward.
I am more than annoyed by the fact that it takes Microsoft two weeks to make RTM available for download without any good reason. Image is ready, pirates already have a copy. Why not release it for download? What is there to lose?
Way I see it, MSDN customers are either big companies which will probably install your new stuff in ten years or enthusiasts that want download now. Early release does not mean much to companies but it means everything to an enthusiast. If pirates can get software sooner, why bother paying MSDN?
Sometime I just feel like a money-wasting idiot...