Att'n Developers: Rent Your Plugins

[whyterabbyt]

Ok I hear you, but...

... assuming the developer already has timed demo restrictions how hard can it possibly be to change that number of days to 14, 30 & 60?
I know Sean commented above that it's 30mins per format.

Not really all that significant IMO.

Changing the duration of the usable period isnt the hard part. I'd suspect that multiple reuses under the developer's control is, especially when that has to be something which is protected against 'interference'.

Any scheme I can think of has overheads for the developer, in some sort of transient-capable DRM system. That's why iLok seems to be the one license scheme which already permits rentals; those overheads are already 'built in'.

[Mushy Mushy]

@ AD & WR: Please dont get this thread locked. I'm all for a bit of an argument/discussion but don't let it go too far

[whyterabbyt]

nonsensical straw man.

ah good, you finally figured out what your post was and why i'm upset. good for you.

Its interesting, then, that you were incapable of describing it as such until I used the term myself. A playground-level 'no you're the one who looks funny' mirrored retort isn't quite as clever or as compelling as you might think it is.

[trimph1]

I'm still sceptical of the whole idea.

I have a full workshop in my basement as well as driveshed. All of the tools that I use are mine..not someone else's.

I have leased cars before..but..at the end of the day..it is still someone else's..and I paid for the use of it. So I ended up buying a car...for my own.

Many video stores tried the rent route..that failed in many cases.

Look, if you only need something for a short while then fine..but..it may end up being a drain on your finances..a lot more than you think. And not just on the developers side. But on the customers as well.

[whyterabbyt]

@ AD & WR: Please dont get this thread locked. I'm all for a bit of an argument/discussion but don't let it go too far

FWIW, Im still engaging with the actual topic. Maybe we could spin 'Theoretical Mortgage Economics 101 from those who've never had one' into a different topic, though.

[Mushy Mushy]

@ AD & WR: Please dont get this thread locked. I'm all for a bit of an argument/discussion but don't let it go too far

FWIW, Im still engaging with the actual topic. Maybe we could spin 'Theoretical Mortgage Economics 101 from those who've never had one' into a different topic, though.

Yes agreed. No probs at all here.

However we all know these things sometimes deviate

[whyterabbyt]

I'm still sceptical of the whole idea.

I have a full workshop in my basement as well as driveshed. All of the tools that I use are mine..not someone else's.

I have leased cars before..but..at the end of the day..it is still someone else's..and I paid for the use of it. So I ended up buying a car...for my own.

Many video stores tried the rent route..that failed in many cases.

Look, if you only need something for a short while then fine..but..it may end up being a drain on your finances..a lot more than you think. And not just on the developers side. But on the customers as well.

That probably addresses the most important part of the other side of the equation. How many potential plugin customers would want to rent?

[Fritze]

That probably addresses the most important part of the other side of the equation. How many potential plugin customers would want to rent?

There were a few in this thread besides me who showed interest. If it's a cool plugin/software (e.g. Melodyne) it's very reasonable to me. Like renting a flat, a car, a PA, etc.

[aciddose]

Its interesting, then, that you were incapable of describing it as such until I used the term myself. A playground-level 'no you're the one who looks funny' mirrored retort isn't quite as clever or as compelling as you might think it is.

i don't think it's clever at all. that explains why i've tried to make a point about your analogy being wholly invalid rather than saying anything about you or bringing up what i feel is the obvious nature of the post you made. if your analog were valid, i'd be wrong about your post.

[Mushy Mushy]

I for one would be (obviously).

I want a few SPL plugins now but cant afford them. I would happily spend say £50 to rent them for a month before I had the money to purchase them outright. This would no doubt mean I spend more over the long term than if I had bought them initally. But hey I used them in the meantime, so worthwhile. Win for me, win to developer (ie, additional revenue)

[trimph1]

That probably addresses the most important part of the other side of the equation. How many potential plugin customers would want to rent?

There were a few in this thread besides me who showed interest. If it's a cool plugin/software (e.g. Melodyne) it's very reasonable to me. Like renting a flat, a car, a PA, etc.

Maybe for you it is..but I'm really wondering about just how big that market is.

Ultimately it does come down to how often you will use it over a given time.

If it seems to be that you are using it a lot in that time frame then maybe it would be better to buy it outright than to sit and keep paying for it over and over again.

I'm just sayin'...

[Fritze]

That probably addresses the most important part of the other side of the equation. How many potential plugin customers would want to rent?

There were a few in this thread besides me who showed interest. If it's a cool plugin/software (e.g. Melodyne) it's very reasonable to me. Like renting a flat, a car, a PA, etc.

Maybe for you it is..but I'm really wondering about just how big that market is.

Sure, that's the question every developer will have on this topic. Like the question "How big is that market anyway?"
A question in a similar direction is "How do I restrict my demo plugin?" or
"How do I protect my plugins from abuse?"
We all have varying opinions on these questions.

If it seems to be that you are using it a lot in that time frame then maybe it would be better to buy it outright than to sit and keep paying for it over and over again.

I'm just sayin'...

Some people are poor or however not able to fork out a certain amount of money at once every time they would like to. What's it that seems so hard to understand with that?

[Fritze]

If I like a plugin enough to rent it I'll just buy it.......In my opinion you're fighting pointlessly for an idea that doesn't make sense....not an opportunity....and so on and so forth.

It always baffles me how some intelligent people are able to think that their situation is the only one that makes "sense".

[trimph1]

I guess my problem with the idea comes back to when I was poor. I wanted that thing too, but I simply had to save up for it. To me then, it would be like adding extra cash to the object that I could have just saved up for then just bought.

It's not like the thing is going to go poof in a few weeks never to be seen again....

[aciddose]

my objection to the concept is wholly based upon the idea that it could lead to a situation in which you're no longer able to make a full purchase. of course things are already headed in this direction. the funny thing about it is that situations like with netflix, which in theory should be the wet-dream of the movie industry is in fact in many cases something they've made their worst-enemy.

that leads to the other point i've already made: the reason for that being that when you charge someone $10 per month for unlimited access to your whole catalog, you're not going to be able to sell the same product to them for $50 every five years.

of course it isn't the same product and so on. netflix though provides higher quality versions of the same productions and you pay the same amount monthly. when a new production is released there isn't really a significant influx of revenue, just a continuous stream.

a similar situation occurred with itunes and the ability to buy uncompressed single tracks.

there is a lot of fear on both sides of this coming from both directions.

fortunately, or, unfortunately depending upon which side you're looking from there are work-arounds on both sides. there will always be crackers and rippers, and there will always be governments that put your head in a noose for "stealing" a few extra bits of access.

sounds to me like some kind of synopsis to a novel about a dystopian future.