Reason RE subscription model - actually a pretty good idea?!

[quincy]

I know subscription licensing models get a lot of crap around here, and I'm not necessarily a huge fan in most cases, but I've just picked up Reason 10 on a cheap upgrade and the monthly subscription for RE seems like a solid idea.

The maths isn't so hard - if I spend €9 per month and I get €400 of RE then it takes roughly 44 months (very nearly 4 years) for me to actually pay off the value. So in those terms it seems like good value to me. I can chop and change a bit if I like, but I also have the option to buy the RE outright if they come on sale. So I then might get something for 50% off so even the most premium synths would only come in at around €50 but I'd actually be freeing up €100 in my subscription for other toys.

I suspect that a hell of a lot of people here spend more than €400 every 4 years on plugins, many of which devalue straight away and in some cases cannot be resold anyway.

I've always balked at the idea of subscriptions that tie me in with a single vendor, but actually in this case I feel like it's a very flexible system. I'm pretty changeable at the best of times, so let's say I decide to move on from Reason in 12 months - I've only spent €108 in that time and I would probably have bought more than that in VSTs anyway.

Not a perfect system (what is?) but on the face of it, it seems pretty reasonable. There are some awesome eurorack-like devices and I can grab loads of them for €9 per month and get pretty deep with complex modular sound design, FX and sequencing - stuff that frankly would be pretty difficult or even impossible to do in other DAWs.

[braj]

Yeah, I'm considering the cheap subscription myself. It seems like it could help limit my GAS on the RE platform and help prevent me from buying stuff I won't regularly use.

[jabe]

I keep seeing this RE abbreviation. From memory, it stands for Religious Education, although that doesn't seem to fit the KVR world.

[braj]

I keep seeing this RE abbreviation. From memory, it stands for Religious Education, although that doesn't seem to fit the KVR world.

DAW choices seem like religions for some folks.

RE is Reason's Rack Extension plugin format, for any Amish among us new to the scene.

[lfm]

For anybody working all year round with a certain product - I think subscription might fit.

But for all products that you use maybe a couple of months a year - very bad idea.
Then the feeling of paying even though not using it pays it's toll. A certain kind of stress arise.

[aMUSEd]

It's the one subscription that is actually tempting me

[quincy]

It's the one subscription that is actually tempting me

This is how I feel - and for €9 it isn't exactly a huge risk. If you try for a few months and change your mind, you're not exactly going to go broke. Even at €19 tier it's not such a big deal I don't think. I spend £15 per month on spotify (for me and my wife) and don't give it a second thought and I don't "own" that music, I'm just renting it. My gym membership is £50 per month.

In the grand scheme of things, €9 or €19 isn't a big deal.

[gas pump]

I know subscription licensing models get a lot of crap around here, and I'm not necessarily a huge fan in most cases...

The maths isn't so hard - if I spend €9 per month and I get €400 of RE then it takes roughly 44 months (very nearly 4 years)...

Couple of things to consider:

1. If you can't afford to buy it, don't rent it forever. (Rent to own is another story)
2. What happens when that 4 years runs out?
3. It takes nearly 10,000 hours or 10 years to even begin to show signs of professionalism.
4. At what point do you consider renting software you have paid almost 3 times for, worth it?
5. You can pretty much do the same quality of work with stock plugins for your first 10 years.
6. Feeding your GAS and satisfying your toy addiction can lead to homelessness.

[quincy]

I know subscription licensing models get a lot of crap around here, and I'm not necessarily a huge fan in most cases...

The maths isn't so hard - if I spend €9 per month and I get €400 of RE then it takes roughly 44 months (very nearly 4 years)...

Couple of things to consider:

1. If you can't afford to buy it, don't rent it forever. (Rent to own is another story)
2. What happens when that 4 years runs out?
3. It takes nearly 10,000 hours or 10 years to even begin to show signs of professionalism.
4. At what point do you consider renting software you have paid almost 3 times for, worth it?
5. You can pretty much do the same quality of job with stock plugins for your first 10 years.
6. Feeding your GAS and satisfying your toy addiction can lead to homelessness.

I don't really disagree with anything you've said here, but it's just a matter of perspective I guess. I'm not a professional, I'm a hobbyist, and €9 or even €19 per month is a very cheap hobby in my mind. At the end of the 4 years - I won't care I don't think. It's not really €400 spread over 4 years, it's just €9 a month which won't make a dent on my finances. I can't imagine I'm going to stop on that 44th month and sudenly think that I've wasted my money - I'll just keep paying the €9 and I'll probably have bought a few bits to keep.

As for professionalism - A very good point but no issue for me. It's a hobby for me and I just like playing with musical toys on my computer. That's it, no more and no less. So again the €9 isn't much money. I totally appreciate that it's a personal choice and that it's probably a very different prospect if you take this stuff more seriously than I do or even do it for a living. I'm certainly not trying to persuade everyone that this is the perfect system and to get on board, it just seems like a cheap way to get involved.

To use the Spotify comparison again - I've been paying £10 a month for a few years now and I never once stop and think "how much money have I wasted on music that I don't technically own" it's just a service that I pay for and the cost/benefit is worth it for me because I'm never going to miss that £10.

I won't lose sleep over €9 a month.

[jabe]

I keep seeing this RE abbreviation. From memory, it stands for Religious Education, although that doesn't seem to fit the KVR world.

DAW choices seem like religions for some folks.

RE is Reason's Rack Extension plugin format, for any Amish among us new to the scene.

[gas pump]

I know subscription licensing models get a lot of crap around here, and I'm not necessarily a huge fan in most cases...

The maths isn't so hard - if I spend €9 per month and I get €400 of RE then it takes roughly 44 months (very nearly 4 years)...

Couple of things to consider:

1. If you can't afford to buy it, don't rent it forever. (Rent to own is another story)
2. What happens when that 4 years runs out?
3. It takes nearly 10,000 hours or 10 years to even begin to show signs of professionalism.
4. At what point do you consider renting software you have paid almost 3 times for, worth it?
5. You can pretty much do the same quality of job with stock plugins for your first 10 years.
6. Feeding your GAS and satisfying your toy addiction can lead to homelessness.

I don't really disagree with anything you've said here, but it's just a matter of perspective I guess. I'm not a professional, I'm a hobbyist, and €9 or even €19 per month is a very cheap hobby in my mind. At the end of the 4 years - I won't care I don't think. It's not really €400 spread over 4 years, it's just €9 a month which won't make a dent on my finances. I can't imagine I'm going to stop on that 44th month and sudenly think that I've wasted my money - I'll just keep paying the €9 and I'll probably have bought a few bits to keep.

As for professionalism - A very good point but no issue for me. It's a hobby for me and I just like playing with musical toys on my computer. That's it, no more and no less. So again the €9 isn't much money. I totally appreciate that it's a personal choice and that it's probably a very different prospect if you take this stuff more seriously than I do or even do it for a living. I'm certainly not trying to persuade everyone that this is the perfect system and to get on board, it just seems like a cheap way to get involved.

To use the Spotify comparison again - I've been paying £10 a month for a few years now and I never once stop and think "how much money have I wasted on music that I don't technically own" it's just a service that I pay for and the cost/benefit is worth it for me because I'm never going to miss that £10.

I won't lose sleep over €9 a month.

Well if you have extra cash around, then I guess it doesn't matter what you choose to throw it at.
There are plenty of benefits for the short term of a subscription model, but once you do the real maths over X amount of years, that's when it starts to leave a different taste in your mouth.

Let's not forget the plethora of free plugins, especially now that Reason has adopted VSTs, what KVR is all about. Welcome to the family, no need to pay rent to your neighbors so you can enjoy a hobby of music.

[quincy]

Again, you make a good point which I can't dispute.

I've been on here for 15 years and using music software for 25 years probably, so I've spent a small fortune on DAWs and VST in that time. I think the point here, for me, is that the €9 per month may actually save me money if I stop buying and selling VST all the time. It's a terrible habit.

Ah, who am I kidding...it'll never happen!!

[pottering]

I disagree it is better than those other subscription plans that are hated by most.

IMO, most likely scenarios are:

1- You find some REs you really like and use all the time, which leads to:

1A- You end up buying your favorite REs, which means you paid $9/month to demo those. Of course, the more time you spent undecided to buy the full license, the more you paid to demo. The fact you can demo REs for a month for free makes this even less rational.

1B- You don't buy your favorite REs, which means you keep paying the sub for a long time, until you quit the sub and end up not owning those REs. Then the RE subscription model worked just like the other subscription plans.

2- You don't find really great REs, keep changing REs every month, basically paying $9 per month to demo stuff you end up not liking much.

And "1A" will lead to "2", sooner or later.

Can think of scenarios the sub is worth it, but they are the same scenarios you would imagine for any other subscription plan (like a short commercial project that needs a RE/plugin you don't really care about otherwise).

[quincy]

Well, I was only suggesting that it's better in some ways to single-vendor subscriptions because I get more choice. I certainly don't think any model is better or worse than another - just different.

What you're suggesting might well happen (I buy some REs that I like a lot) but that's OK - I can then use the freed-up space in my subscription for something else. I feel OK about a bit of both. I use my Spotify comparison again - 5 years ago when I first subscribed to Spotify I was listening to some albums all the time. Now, my tastes have changed and I don't listen to them at all because I listen to some other albums instead. But I don't consider the £10 per month that I spent 5 years ago to be wasted.

I think some people are basically OK with a "rental" model and some aren't. I use Netflix and I get loads of use from it. I don't "own" the movies but as long as I keep paying my subscription I can watch them again any time I like. The day I quit Netflix (if I ever do) I won't feel like I've been ripped off. I used to spend a small fortune buying DVDs and now I don't - I spend £7.50 every month to have a streaming service with lots of choice. I don't miss my DVDs that I gave to the charity shop!

Anyway I think I'm just repeating myself now. It's fine that some of us are happy with this model and some aren't. We've all got a choice and that can't be a bad thing.

[Studio Saturn]

Stop spending your cash over plugin rent. Put that money save it and get yourself a great preamp. That Preamp will stay with you for a long time holding its value. It is really a bad investment renting a plugin.