Ozone Pro - iZotope go subscription

[Burillo]

They are releasing subscription only updates. Not a fan

i don't think they've ever advertised releasing a fan?

[gExpectations]

People won't magically be able to spend more, the amount of cash spent on audio software will probably remain more or less the same, they will just switch to products they can afford or they will resort to pirating stuff. I really don't like the phenomenon of pirating software because it hurts developers, but honestly, in view of what Izotope is doing right now, can you really blame people? If that's what Izotope is willing to put people through, do you really expect me to sympathize with these bag of dicks? It's not only a matter of functionality, it's also a matter of maintaining good optics and a degree of trust. What they're doing is going to put scores of people off, you can even see people complain in the comment section of that vid.

This is exactly my point too. I have a strong intuition that this will turn out to be an undertheoretization of data. I fully expect the data to show how much more money they can make but at the same time there wont be more money magically appearing in the space. This will just lead to a redistribution of the money and I'm not sure it will favor Izotope.

[billcarroll]

They are releasing subscription only updates. Not a fan

i don't think they've ever advertised releasing a fan?

I imagine you in front of a fan, saying "Luuuuke, I am your fatherrrr." Tommy Boy style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsI3lFHkU_s

[Igor Sena]

If they keep having the option to buy their plugins it makes it fair for everyone, as long as they get updated and bug fixed,etc The question then becomes will they slowly start making updates for those plugins when they are already implementing the "subscribers get updates for free" tactic, even with small updates?

Given Adobe's case I'd wager they will eventually go that route. I think for some time there will be "dual" way to handle products (normal sales + subscription) but in the long term they will make regular sales less convinient and potentially more expensive to push people to subs. And since they "joined forces" with NI I'm very pessimistic when it comes to Komplete's future

I just can´t support such a business tactic, specially when you do that to people who supported you by paying thousands and thousands for the advanced versions who were supposed to be the "complete" package.

Agreed, but I guess from their perspective it's a natural continuation to sustain profits. Existing customers who paid tons of money won't pay again so it's time to find something new.
I understand subs can be useful in some situations but for me it's just money flushed in the toilet

I don't mind them making more money. They provide good tools and should get payed for them
If they saw that the current business model isn't working it's fine but it's the way they are seemingly going about things that rubs me the wrong way. Specially in that planned press work at Pensado.

For example if they release a new version of their products (let's say Ozone 10) every year and the subscription is the same or less than the actual upgrade price that would actually be a good deal since you are paying for the new version right away anyway but you should always have an option to either subscribe or pay for the upgrade later when you need/can/want. And you should own(as much as you can since we never really own our software if you know what I mean). The sub model will keep people chained or else their projects won't work.

I believe having both business models(sub and buy and potentially, a third, rent to own model), with proper updates for all type of costumers and fair feature addition to the several versions of the products would be the most fair and would still make them money. The way they are going about it it's pure greed and sad to see.

[Igor Sena]

They are releasing subscription only updates. Not a fan

i don't think they've ever advertised releasing a fan?

Hehehe

If anything they are advertising never releasing anyone... From their predatory sub model and marketing tactics

[0degree]

I believe having both business models(sub and buy and potentially, a third, rent to own model), with proper updates for all type of costumers and fair feature addition to the several versions of the products would be the most fair and would still make them money. The way they are going about it it's pure greed and sad to see.

That's why I mentioned the new "incentives" to go for sub - for now it's the updates but in the future they might intentionally delay non sub releases to push people more towards subs or just freeze non sub products forever. If they stay with dual business model I'm fine with it, but I'm pretty sure they are really looking very jealousy at Adobe hence my pesimism.

[Igor Sena]

I believe having both business models(sub and buy and potentially, a third, rent to own model), with proper updates for all type of costumers and fair feature addition to the several versions of the products would be the most fair and would still make them money. The way they are going about it it's pure greed and sad to see.

That's why I mentioned the new "incentives" to go for sub - for now it's the updates but in the future they might intentionally delay non sub releases to push people more towards subs or just freeze non sub products forever. If they stay with dual business model I'm fine with it, but I'm pretty sure they are really looking very jealousy at Adobe hence my pesimism.

Exactly my thoughts.

What angered me the most was when he starts mentioning inclusiveness in that video posted above. Doesn't a sub model become more expensive in the long run, because your low budget costumers will also have to keep paying to have their projects work or to use plugins ? Wouldn't a rent to own model be way better if your worry is to be inclusive since people would pay a small amount and "own" the products by the end of x amount of months like a regular paying costumer? Inclusiveness seems to be the favourite tactic of companies nowadays but it's just annoying because most of them actually work the other way around.

[crickey13]

This is exactly my point too. I have a strong intuition that this will turn out to be an undertheoretization of data. I fully expect the data to show how much more money they can make but at the same time there wont be more money magically appearing in the space. This will just lead to a redistribution of the money and I'm not sure it will favor Izotope.

Yes, precisely. It also attests to their detached mindset. Ordinary people, myself included, usually have very tight budgets and only the most fervent Izotope users will be willing to prioritize funding their Izotope software on a monthly basis at the expense of basically everything else. If they think I'm going to become a slave to them and their services, then they've got another thing coming. They're not the effing government or a power supplier, they just make freaking plugins and they're among a multitude of similar entities, are they really willing to venture that much to find out whether they've got this much of an economic outreach? It's no rocket science, it's economic common sense.

Their talk about understanding people's dire economic situation all the while rolling out a new subscription model and gradually extinguishing permanent licensing is hilariously disingenuous and only the most gullible will fall for it. In the nearest future, people will probably earn less, not more. We're likely to enter some kind of economic recession or depression at any point, so the idea of squeezing more money out of people at a time like this is extremely sleazy.

I predict Izotope will now enter a period of stagnation in that they will continue to fare pretty well within the big studio environment, but will do badly pretty much everywhere else. Honestly, they might very well manage to subsist on this new model, but their new modus operandi may antagonize a lot of old customers.

[crickey13]

What angered me the most was when he starts mentioning inclusiveness in that video posted above. Doesn't a sub model become more expensive in the long run, because your low budget costumers will also have to keep paying to have their projects work or to use plugins ? Wouldn't a rent to own model be way better if your worry is to be inclusive since people would pay a small amount and "own" the products by the end of x amount of months like a regular paying costumer? Inclusiveness seems to be the favourite tactic of companies nowadays but it's just annoying because most of them actually work the other way around.

The corporate spokesmen love to wipe their asses with various feel-good slogans while peddling the exact opposite of what they're talking about. Out of all audio plugin companies, Izotope might be the most guilty of that. It's hilarious how disingenuous and full of it these people are.

[loungepanda]

20$19.99$ is a bit steep. I think I would consider if it included a monthly lootbox of random samples or maybe a monthly lecture on topics surrounding equity in music

[Steve Bolivar]

Looks like the sub model is a way get "full price" out of the users who only get paid updates when the big sales happen or the users that only buy every other paid update. For $20 a month there better be the plugs and a nice VORTEX fan.

[MogwaiBoy]

The corporate spokesmen love to wipe their asses with various feel-good slogans

As long as the images at the top of their marketing emails are super diverse, they're making the world a better place - kumbaya.

[crickey13]

As long as the images at the top of their marketing emails are super diverse, they're making the world a better place - kumbaya.

[gExpectations]

The corporate spokesmen love to wipe their asses with various feel-good slogans

As long as the images at the top of their marketing emails are super diverse, they're making the world a better place - kumbaya.

A yes what is a measly 100€ a year too much, if you get some nice diversity insurance! (I wonder how their team looks like )

[Dombaeb]

By the way, does anybody annoyed by the "standard" cost of one plugin at around $100-$200? When did it become so normal in the audio industry? I think this is due to the fact that music for the majority is a passion and a favorite hobby. After all these stories with the transition to a subscription from many plugin developers, it seems to me that this fact is being shamelessly used.

It really pisses me off how they are constantly trying to get more money out of me, given that almost each of these companies has already sold me plugins for a total amount from $150 to $400. The psychology of endless profits through constant changes in the terms of the buyer-seller contract.

I think, I the end of the days I will leave this rat race and leave only stock plugins and, maybe, some hand-picked tools from adequate small teams like Valhalla, Liquidsonics, and Voxengo.