Anyone else put off by the upgrade prices to Ozone?

[filkertom]

At this point I use Ozone, Nectar, and Neutron Elements on every track, but it took me a long time to get the scratch for those, and I simply can’t afford to upgrade. Fortunately, I don’t think I need to for quite awhile. The upgrade prices do piss me off. It really feels like they’re hitting their faithful customers for every last dime, which is a great way to have fewer faithful customers.

[MogwaiBoy]

Upgrading from a single Advanced product to the whole Music Production Bundle 2 awhile back was cheaper than it is now to go from MPB2 to O8N2 (in other words, to simply keep Ozone and Neutron current). That seems off to me. You would think bundle owners would be the most rewarded.

On a positive note, Ozone Elements looks like a great affordable entry point for newbies - you get a taste for the limiter (a couple of algorithms) and from what I can see you get most of the EQ features... which in itself is incredible value for under $30 - it's a great, high quality modern EQ.

[ENV1]

I may be overreacting, but I find this upgrade price very insulting. It just doesn't sit right with me.

Well in that case just say no and dont go along with it.

Because so many people make that mistake. They dislike something, complain about it, and then go along with it anyway. And as a result nobody will see a reason to change anything.

(Its really kinda obvious, but the only way to change things like that is to use the power that you have as a customer. You have to draw the line and say 'this ends here' and then really follow through, because if people simply dont buy anything at prices which more or less everyone feels are way too high then what are they gonna do? Close shop and go home? Unlikely scenario. What would happen is that these prices would drop like a hammer from the roof, because in the end they cannot exist unless they can sell you stuff, which means they would much rather sell it to you cheaper than not at all, considering the alternative.)


Like i said...kinda obvious.

Just saying because i know a lot of folks who do the 'complain-and-comply' (not necessarily music related) even though they are perfectly aware that they are only helping to perpetuate the status quo that way.

[SuperFly76]

If this is going to cost around $300 a year to keep using this stuff, then it doesn't really make financial sense to me.

Nothing actually keeps you from using what you already have. I own most of izotope's plugs, Neutron and Ozone 7 Advanced included and they work and sound just as well as on the day when I got them - period. Regarding their latest 'upgrades' I'm not even remotely interested and don't consider that my 'problem' but theirs

I may be overreacting, but I find this upgrade price very insulting. It just doesn't sit right with me.

What on earth is 'insulting' (???!) about this? Sounds like you're actually getting what you really ask for.

You are right that nothing is preventing me from using these tools. I have the licenses that I have. $500 for upgrades to both of these tools that I own just seems a bit unreasonable.

Yes, there is an expectation in computer world to keep things current. They work now, but a computer upgrade, transition of vst format, or an OS upgrade may render these unusable, and upgrading will be a must. Much different than hardware. I have hardware compressors that I would never think of upgrading when a mkii came out. Software and hardware just aren't the same. Yes, I can use my old versions for now. I could also freeze my system and never upgrade, buying buck loads of motherboards and processors just in case of a system fail. Some famous producers do this. But that is not the norm.

Thus, I have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. It may also be due to the fact that I just upgraded Ozone 7 standard to advanced back in May and also bought Neutron at the same time.

I'm also aware that I'm venting here. I don't usually log in to complain, but here I am. Fully aware that the company won't change because of this.

I'll take me coat now.

[SuperFly76]

I may be overreacting, but I find this upgrade price very insulting. It just doesn't sit right with me.

Well in that case just say no and dont go along with it.

Because so many people make that mistake. They dislike something, complain about it, and then go along with it anyway. And as a result nobody will see a reason to change anything.

(Its really kinda obvious, but the only way to change things like that is to use the power that you have as a customer. You have to draw the line and say 'this ends here' and then really follow through, because if people simply dont buy anything at prices which more or less everyone feels are way too high then what are they gonna do? Close shop and go home? Unlikely scenario. What would happen is that these prices would drop like a hammer from the roof, because in the end they cannot exist unless they can sell you stuff, which means they would much rather sell it to you cheaper than not at all, considering the alternative.)


Like i said...kinda obvious.

Just saying because i know a lot of folks who do the 'complain-and-comply' (not necessarily music related) even though they are perfectly aware that they are only helping to perpetuate the status quo that way.

Good post. Going to do this unless they drop prices. Even if it's just a sale price.

I have no problem walking away from a company if I dislike their practices or pricing structures. Cough, Slate, cough...

[Kinh]

I looked at the pricing yestetday and it seems the elements are the better option (if you buy them on sale) because they offer you some of the newer features.

Ozone as a mastering set doesnt really do anything that a bunch of mix plugins cant do. Is its integration really a selling point? Thats really the only question. I personally get better results using plugins from different vendors on the master chain and i think thats the way the pros like to work too.

[yellowmix]

To be clear though, I'm not on the iZotope hate train.

Well, I don't "hate" them either, I don't like their business practices and would like them to change, as I imagine many of the other users here would like. I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, everything but RX and O2N2. Iris 2 not being developed further, okay, fine, synths are not a core competency anymore. Breaktweaker was and still is innovative, though it could use more algorithms. I love Vocalsynth, and gave them a whole bunch of ideas when they sent the survey out. Curious what kind of upgrade pricing we'll see when v2 comes, because it will surely not be a free feature upgrade.

[yellowmix]

Is its integration really a selling point? Thats really the only question. I personally get better results using plugins from different vendors on the master chain and i think thats the way the pros like to work too.

If you're starting from scratch, then having a very good one-stop shop that addresses all your needs immediately is definitely a selling point (especially since they're marketing N2 as doing stuff for you). Then you can start going piecemeal. Piecemeal from the start makes sense if you have the capital (and knowhow) to do so.

But it's undeniable that the MPB2 was a good value. Mastering, metering, repair, creative distortion, and vocal treatment in one package. Piecemeal would cost much more.

[ghettosynth]

(Its really kinda obvious, but the only way to change things like that is to use the power that you have as a customer. You have to draw the line and say 'this ends here' and then really follow through, because if people simply dont buy anything at prices which more or less everyone feels are way too high then what are they gonna do? Close shop and go home? Unlikely scenario. What would happen is that these prices would drop like a hammer from the roof, because in the end they cannot exist unless they can sell you stuff, which means they would much rather sell it to you cheaper than not at all, considering the alternative.)

Yep! If you don't meet my price per plugin target with respect to the level of technology that you are providing, I just say no and move on to other vendors who do meet that target. If you want me to upgrade then you have two ways to get my money. You can lower your price to reflect the level of technology on offer, or, you can increase the level of technology on offer.

[MogwaiBoy]

You buy a birthday cake for $30 but a wedding cake for $1200. The value of something is whatever someone is prepared to pay. It's basic economics. But hey... I bet Ferrari don't do Black Fridays - they know their market is small but high-end. Whether iZotope think they operate in this same kind of space in plugin land, I dunno. There are still ancient 32-bit EQs that cost $1000!

Prices for many plugins are exorbitant. Once it is developed it's very cheap to store and distribute digitally compared to producing physical manufactured products. I can buy a Strymon BigSky for cheaper than some plugins.

You guys are right, until we stop paying, they won't stop charging these amounts.

[Kinh]

Is its integration really a selling point? Thats really the only question. I personally get better results using plugins from different vendors on the master chain and i think thats the way the pros like to work too.

If you're starting from scratch, then having a very good one-stop shop that addresses all your needs immediately is definitely a selling point (especially since they're marketing N2 as doing stuff for you). Then you can start going piecemeal. Piecemeal from the start makes sense if you have the capital (and knowhow) .

I know what you're saying but is a starting point really that important. Take Neutron2, you can get it to point you in the right direction but is that something a decent spectrum analyzer cant do? When you think about it, it only does 2 tracks at a time right? Well how hard is it to take a kick, side chain it to a bass with an instance of Pro Q on then adjust accordingly. Now maybe if it was about to do say 8 or 10 tracks at a time, that would be something.

[Mister Natural]

I see no reason to update/upgrade my license for OZ v5
It still works as it has for the last couple of years - sounds great(when I use it)

best of luck

[masterhiggins]

I feel the same way about Rx4, which is the only izotope product I own. They nickel and dime the shit out of you with updates like Steinberg. Unfortunately, RX is the best noise restoration app I've ever used. Pretty much indispensable for what I do. I'll probably upgrade again when v8 rolls around, or whenever it stops running on my mbp.

[ATN69]

I got O6 and I have no plan or reason to pay their kind of money to upgrade

[ariston]

I see no reason to update/upgrade my license for OZ v5
It still works as it has for the last couple of years - sounds great(when I use it)

best of luck

Spot on. I'm oscillating betwixt ozone 5 and the Toneboosters stuff currently, and am really satisfied with the results.