Who loves Subscription Only updates to iZotope products?

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gnu23 wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 12:54 am Just my WAG, but my bet is they'll hold the updates for us non-subbers to the next version upgrade.
I'm definitely not a fan of the subscription model - I suspect it's all about reliable recurring revenue* streams, and if nothing else, subscriptions bolster that.

*Sorry for the alliteration. I watch too much CNBC.. :help:
Which begs a fair question: when was the last time you (as a non-subber) rec'd an update to Ozone, Nectar, or Neutron? I honestly can't remember the last one; months ago at least.
“Madness, as you know, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push.”

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Roughly a year -- give or take...

Ozone Advanced Release Notes
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/dow ... notes.html

Neutron Advanced Release Notes
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/dow ... notes.html

Nectar 3 Plus Release Notes
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/dow ... notes.html

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fairlyclose wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 2:58 am
midi_transmission wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:25 pm I only used RX occasionally, but I completely lost interest their products range. Luckily we have enough alternatives and it's not photoshop.
even Photoshop has good alternatives now - not as huge but easily good enough for most people eg Affinity Photo
It's really difficult to work without adobe professionally when you collaborate or work in a team, not because Affinity is bad, but because file exchange of working files is often mandatory and expected.

I think it's much better in the audio world luckily, maybe protools is a bit the adobe because it is still often needed in professional environments, but otherwise there is much more choice and I'm glad that I can ignore every subscription service and appoach of software as a service.

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telecharge wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 5:14 am Roughly a year -- give or take...

Ozone Advanced Release Notes
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/dow ... notes.html

Neutron Advanced Release Notes
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/dow ... notes.html

Nectar 3 Plus Release Notes
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/dow ... notes.html
I knew it was a while. And I'm beginning to believe that for those of us refusing to jump on-board with the subscription model, we have already seen our last versions with Neutron 3, Nectar 3, and Ozone 9. I doubt that the next versions (if iZotope calls them that at all) of these products (and RX) will be offered any other way but via subscription. The length of time we've seen already between updates may be a hint of that. I admit that I'm being speculative, but there's a "sense" about this that makes me very uneasy. :scared:
“Madness, as you know, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push.”

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Yeah, that seems to be the prevailing sentiment here. FWIW, it's 2 years between releases since at least version 7 for Ozone. Updates may not be the best indicator. IIRC, Ozone 8 received few updates, and I believe Ozone 9 has already had more. I'll start to wonder if we don't see Ozone 10 by the end of the year. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until then.

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I emailed iZotope with the following after receiving a response from a shorter email about the same subject. They seem open to hearing from customers. I'm sure there are many opinions here, and perhaps some who might have better ideas than me. Never hesitate to give them your input.

----------------------------------------

First, thanks for reading my email and thanks for responding.

Consider a model that treats your existing customers fairly. The idea of software subscriptions have been around for a long time, starting with what some called "maintenance." You buy the software, get free updates for a year, and then you pay some maintenance fee per year to get access to updates and support.

Bitwig is an example of software that does essentially this. Buy a license, get free updates for a year. Want updates past that first year? The customer can pay for a renewal to get the next major upgrade.

iZotope's model abandons the user at the moment of purchase, giving preference to subscriptions. This just isn't good customer service. You are saying to the customer that they must engage with your subscription model.

I believe many iZotope users also have a bad taste in their mouth from iZotope's practice of abandoning products. We buy from iZotope and then the product simply receives no updates, and no attention from iZotope. Bugs go unaddressed, and this is bad business. Stop producing software you have no intention of supporting long term.

UAD software is expensive and has to be used with hardware, but at least UAD doesn't constantly try to milk customers for more money. They provide updates to purchased software, and on the longer timeframe offer new versions with an easy and relatively inexpensive upgrade path. There are a lot of ways to do business with integrity.

I'm happy to pay a fair price for software, but I expect updates to go to all users and not just subscribers. Don't offer a bait and switch to people who have purchased your software. Offering the new updated "Pro" versions only to subscribers is inappropriate and upsetting. Customers like me have been with iZotope for many years, and this is a real slap in the face for those of us with purchased licenses.

I am happy to continue this discussion with you, and dig further into any of these issues or ideas.
Bitwig Certified Trainer

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billcarroll wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:52 pm I emailed iZotope with the following after receiving a response from a shorter email about the same subject. They seem open to hearing from customers.
Keep in mind, though, that their customer service people did not make this decision and are unlikely to be able to change much of anything, so go easy on them.

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Ozone 9 Advanced
Nectar 3 Plus
Neutron 3 Advanced
Visual Mixer

Im out. Ill be looking for Mastering Alternatives

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Null_Echo wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:42 pm
billcarroll wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:52 pm I emailed iZotope with the following after receiving a response from a shorter email about the same subject. They seem open to hearing from customers.
Keep in mind, though, that their customer service people did not make this decision and are unlikely to be able to change much of anything, so go easy on them.
I emailed an exec
Bitwig Certified Trainer

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shanabit wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:34 pm Ozone 9 Advanced
Nectar 3 Plus
Neutron 3 Advanced
Visual Mixer

Im out. Ill be looking for Mastering Alternatives
Voxengo!
Image

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billcarroll wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:52 pm I emailed iZotope with the following after receiving a response from a shorter email about the same subject. They seem open to hearing from customers. I'm sure there are many opinions here, and perhaps some who might have better ideas than me. Never hesitate to give them your input.

----------------------------------------

First, thanks for reading my email and thanks for responding.

Consider a model that treats your existing customers fairly. The idea of software subscriptions have been around for a long time, starting with what some called "maintenance." You buy the software, get free updates for a year, and then you pay some maintenance fee per year to get access to updates and support.

Bitwig is an example of software that does essentially this. Buy a license, get free updates for a year. Want updates past that first year? The customer can pay for a renewal to get the next major upgrade.

iZotope's model abandons the user at the moment of purchase, giving preference to subscriptions. This just isn't good customer service. You are saying to the customer that they must engage with your subscription model.

I believe many iZotope users also have a bad taste in their mouth from iZotope's practice of abandoning products. We buy from iZotope and then the product simply receives no updates, and no attention from iZotope. Bugs go unaddressed, and this is bad business. Stop producing software you have no intention of supporting long term.

UAD software is expensive and has to be used with hardware, but at least UAD doesn't constantly try to milk customers for more money. They provide updates to purchased software, and on the longer timeframe offer new versions with an easy and relatively inexpensive upgrade path. There are a lot of ways to do business with integrity.

I'm happy to pay a fair price for software, but I expect updates to go to all users and not just subscribers. Don't offer a bait and switch to people who have purchased your software. Offering the new updated "Pro" versions only to subscribers is inappropriate and upsetting. Customers like me have been with iZotope for many years, and this is a real slap in the face for those of us with purchased licenses.

I am happy to continue this discussion with you, and dig further into any of these issues or ideas.
Thank you for sending this in.

I have not done anything of the same other than gripe here and hope that they're monitoring feedback (which I know they occasionally do).

I'll probably send something in too with very similar sentiments. I know it'll go to customer services, but hopefully, they can push these messages in the right direction.

I'm still worried about what happens next with NI, as I don't want to purchase anything from them until I know which direction they're headed. I don't want to see NI support the same current Izotope model.

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Does this work like Microsoft Office? Office 365 subscription gets the latest updates while the latest buyable version is Office 2019.

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I love the subscription, because it helped me to decide to finally delete iZotope from my workflow.

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martinjuenke wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:32 am I love the subscription, because it helped me to decide to finally delete iZotope from my workflow.
Same. :hihi:

Thank you Izotope.

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crickey13 wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:59 am
martinjuenke wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:32 am I love the subscription, because it helped me to decide to finally delete iZotope from my workflow.
Same. :hihi:

Thank you Izotope.
:lol:

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