Why are computer VSTs/plugins so much more expensive than iPad apps?

[ghettosynth]

There's a reason many of them are part-time businesses -- they aren't savvy enough to run them full-time.

So Props aint savvy enough to be a full time business?

https://itunes.apple.com/app/thor-polys ... 95946?mt=8

In essence, apps are a part time business for props. There are full time businesses that do apps, even music apps, but KBSoundSmith said "many of them", not "all of them."

[chk071]

Guys. Noone would buy a multi hundred € app to make music.

[Numanoid]

This to me does not make a good argument for lower prices.

I think it does.

But until devs will publish numbers on how many units and how much they earn on each platform, it will nevertheless be speculation either way.

[elxsound]

The app market is vastly different than the PC market (which is inclusive of both Mac and Windows OS).

No doubt the users in the app market are more of the penny pinching kind, than desktop users.

But I think it also comes from the expectation on what apps could do when the format was firsts started. The expectation early on was that app did the one thing they were supposed to do really well. If you wanted a different function, you got a different app.

Now the capability of mobile devices has increased significantly (still not on par with 5 year old desktops), so the capability of apps has increased but expectation of cost per app has somewhat remained the same.

Even as the power and capability increases, the "pro" community still mostly remain unconvinced that it can be used for serious work and that its not just a toy... so its hard to attract those users, and their buying power.

Again, we'll remain at this crossroads for a while longer, but it won't be long before the young mobile user community become the next majority of pro users. Still, with the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro, its inevitable that these devices come head-to-head with the PC market in terms of functionality and power... but again, what this means for software prices is unknown.

[whyterabbyt]

The app market show how prices should be these days though.

Free to (hit) play, but if you want to use more than ten notes in a song you have to buy them, starting at 50 for £2...

[S0lo]

If a dev is to decrease his $100 synth price to $10. He needs to make sure that he is going to get at least 10 times more customers. The problem is: "How to make sure or that?". He can't just try the market, and if it doesn't work, revert back to the old high price.

[elxsound]

The app market show how prices should be these days though.

Free to (hit) play, but if you want to use more than ten notes in a song you have to buy them, starting at 50 for £2...

And there's my next big fear of the mobile software market. IAP.

[Cinebient]

You get what you payed for!
After using and hanging around in forums about mobile music and especially iOS i think not much developers could make a living from their apps. Some developers talked about this.
It´s a bad eco system and there are reasons you won´t see much "pro" apps there.
But i think it´s also more easy to develop for one OS with few screen resolutions and few hardware configurations. You don´t need to set up an own shop and whatever for the price of Apple´s 30% cut. A few developers sayed it´s worth it. Some say it´s a terrible market at all. Depends....
But that everything is cheap in the app world is an illusion. It might be for a few apps which have the same functionality like their desktop tools like Nave, Fabfilter and a few more but in general i would need 10 apps to replace a bigger plug-in which cost the same then and i have a terrible and unstable workflow to connect them altogether.
Auria and such iOS DAWs are great but they can´t do nearly all the stuff i can do with Logic.
If i buy all the IAP for some apps (f.e. extra functionality, patch banks) i often need to pay the same like for one big synth which comes with all that included and more.
Then you can get a lot freeware (for mac too) which can do things you have to buy a lot apps for.
I just can still do much more within a big desktop DAW compared to apps, even the still new iOS audio units extensions are limited.
Apps also slowly getting more expensive while some desktop tools getting a bit cheaper.
Then you won´t get a full Kontakt, Reaktor etc. for iOS. It even would make no sense on a little mobile device maybe.
You can´t offer upgrade prices for loyal customers or offer demos like in the plug-in world.
Maybe these devices will have a big impact but i´m not sure if it´s a good thing.
Apps should be made for multi-touch devices and not bad ports to make some extra money.
Apps made for multi-touch and using all the space for knobs and a virtual keyboard doesn´t make sense on a desktop.
I ´m hearing since years about console like games for mobile devices but i didn´t see one yet.
I feel about the same for music production apps.
For sure there are great apps and even better will come too like BeatMaker 3, NanoStudio 2 and whatever but they will for sure increase in price and need to offer IAP if developers want to make a living from it.
There are some outstanding apps i just payed a few bucks for and have still fun to use them after years but i also have 100´s of apps i bought, used 1-2 times and never opened them again because one tool on my notebook can do much more and with a faster workflow.
Back to the topic. You get what you pay for!!
Of course if you want a cheap way to create some music and don´t need that extra all you need is a iPad and a few apps. No one is forced to buy desktop tools.
I mean i would die for an U-he iOS synth but that might take some years.......

[rod_zero]

The new Mario Run app was around 6 USD here and people was complaining it was expensive. Still the pay 99 for console games.

Simply, users don't consider mobile devices serious enough to pay big prices for software.

[lnikj]

IOS apps are underpriced. The result is that half of them are abandonware. Sad, but that's the way it is.

[Cinebient]

The new Mario Run app was around 6 USD here and people was complaining it was expensive. Still the pay 99 for console games.

Simply, users don't consider mobile devices serious enough to pay big prices for software.

Sorry but the Mario Run totally shows (at least for me) how an app can destroy a genius game from the past. All you have to do is tap with one finger the screen.
If that is also the future of music production.......
I know people who spend a grand on those free to play games...OMG.
Then i prefer to pay 60-70 for a game like Mass Effect Andromeda or so.
New generations will grow with those apps and multi-touch devices.
In 20 years all will go retro and using C64 with modern cpu´s

[Cinebient]

IOS apps are underpriced. The result is that half of them are abandonware. Sad, but that's the way it is.

Yes and no! There are apps you have to pay a few 100´s for all IAP. Then you could already buy a more versatile desktop plug-in.
But in general you are right!

[lnikj]

IOS apps are underpriced. The result is that half of them are abandonware. Sad, but that's the way it is.

Yes and no! There are apps you have to pay a few 100´s for all IAP. Then you could already buy a more versatile desktop plug-in.
But in general you are right!

Agreed. Korg have learnt how to milk it pretty well

[Numanoid]

IOS apps are underpriced. The result is that half of them are abandonware. Sad, but that's the way it is.

Situation isn't very different on the desktop platforms.

New plugs show up every other day, costing a lot, and how many of them get updated?

[Cinebient]

IOS apps are underpriced. The result is that half of them are abandonware. Sad, but that's the way it is.

Yes and no! There are apps you have to pay a few 100´s for all IAP. Then you could already buy a more versatile desktop plug-in.
But in general you are right!

Agreed. Korg have learnt how to milk it pretty well

That's a thing i experienced within the mobile world.
Things which are there and working since decades getting sold and hyped as ground breaking in the mobile world.
We are all sheeps....the big bad wolf is hungry!