Just had confirmation from Mattias at Propellerheads that currently the RE format plugins may not be resold / are not transferable. This is also the case if a user sells their Reason license, the RE's will not transfer to the new user.
As an aside, when downloading / installing RE's, currently the host computer MUST be connected to the internet, because of the way the RE installs. There is no offline/ second computer option, so RE's cannot be installed on an offline computer (the computer can go offline once the RE is installed and is on the license key).
Last edited by ph0bic on Sat Jun 16, 2012 7:57 am; edited 1 time in total

Not a huge issue for me, but I can certainly see how it would be annoying for some.

I don't get it why some companies deliberately try to make life harder for paying customers, while pirates don't have to deal with any of this (since the pirated versions have all of these restrictions removed).

I'm trying to understand this clearly from a business perspective. Certainly nontransferable products would facilitate lockin, but, it seems that it might discourage heavy investment in the platfrom as well. Is this the case with the apple model? Did they just copy that part?

Is it just to avoid difficulties wrt support/license transfer from the devs?

Any thoughts?

Sounds worse than a dongle to me .

Think you may be right, it may be partly down to that, and also partly down to the way the RE's install, (but I suppose that it could be argued that they were coded that way in the first place by themselves). They have had a no resale policy in place on downloaded refills for quite some time also.

The Apple model hasn't exactly discouraged heavy investment in the platform...

What is the connection supposed to be with the 'apple model' and REs being NFR?

In fact, what is the apple model?

(in b4 "the Mac is the dongle")
Last edited by samsam on Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:04 am; edited 1 time in total

£1 vs £100 perhaps?

I'm Mattias by the way. I'd also like to add that license transfers are not out of the question for the future, we just released this after all. At this point in time though, no transfers are possible. We hear your feedback though!

I'm not one for selling my software (I have boxes of Cubase, Sonar, all sorts that I don't even have installed... just in case!).

However, it concerns me that if the Propellerhead Shop at a future time went down for any reason (e.g. the company went out of business, was bought out, or even just that their website had a crash and lost some information...) my purchases are dead.

As I understand it, the RE devices have no installation file on your computer that you could move on when you upgrade your system, fresh install Windows, etc. The only way to install an RE is via your Propellerhead account online... I think that is quite a problem in terms of future proofing to be honest, because we are only as future proof as the company (no guarantee in this economy, as we've seen recently with BIAS) and its website (which has not been without its own problems already).

Not a big deal with cheap purchases, but the initial batch of REs in the store have a cumulative cost exceeding $1,000 and there are going to be more from Uhe, Rob Papen, etc in the next month or two which will quickly take the value up to a quite high figure for those who really want to invest in this platform. For me that looks way too risky an investment.

Hopefully this is also a concern that Mattias can take back to Propellerhead.

Hi Mattias, I've changed my original post to include the word "currently". Just thought that this info. should be out there due to the lack of an official Props announcement, and a number of queries.
Can I also ask that once a RE is bought, can it be re-downloaded (ie installed on more than one computer in the user's account? - I know each install will need the license key, internet access)?

Sure thing, I'll pass it on.

I do want to mention there's another side to it! If you buy a plug-in today it works on your system and all is well. Ponder if THAT company goes out of business - what happens when the next OS version comes? Or will you ever get 64-bit versions? An advantage of REs is that as long as we're around, the REs you've purchased will ALWAYS work - regardless of when you bought them.

In other formats, as you put it, you're only as future proof as the many many many companies. While I'm not saying one is better, there are things worth thinking about as upsides too regarding this.

You can install your REs and use them on unlimited computers, even if they're not yours. Just log in or bring your key to download and authorize them anywhere. Since Reason 6.5 is always available as a free download you can literally start working with your program and your REs on any computer with an internet connection. That's one advantage of the format and licensing.

I won't be buying any RE plugins if licenses are non-transferable. I hope that you guys think this one over, and come to a conclusion sooner, rather than later.

Absolutely, but actually I think you guys have ended up in the same - or worse - position to most VST vendors, which is the opposite of your stated intention. Any commercial VST vendor will of course need to produce updates to account for OS changes, etc, or they will soon go out of business. Propellerhead is in exactly the same position. There's no difference there....

BUT the big difference is that Propellerhead is inviting us to put all our eggs in one basket - yours. And as you so: "so long as we're around". I have personally been in exactly the position you describe with a VST vendor that I purchased from - Kjaerhus Audio - who are no longer around. And when I change my computer I will no longer have access to using the very nice effects I purchased from them.

That said, my investment was only about £100 or so (in a sale). With RE the cumulative investment would, I suspect, be much higher for me, and for many others no doubt, with so many tempting goodies on the table! It's a level of investment that would be essentially a gamble in terms of trusting your ongoing business success.

Once again, I have no doubt (at present) that Propellerhead will continue to be a hugely successful business. But you have to admit it's a gamble that you are asking all your users to take from here on, and quite a significant one in terms of likely costs over the next few years. And who knows if the Euro crashes we could all be in a mess... Having experienced the annoyance of a vendor going out of business before, I rather prefer to spread my investment a little wider these days.