4.4 released

[wltchris101]

Well done Bitwig! As far as I am concerned, all is forgiven. And I have a feeling further down the not too distant line we will get the MSEG

[wltchris101]

I've also just sent them a support request thanking them and telling them how much I rate Bitwig and offering my support going forward.

[apoclypse]

It didn't need the mob hate though. Manners and respectful behavior are free and have just the same outcome.

You mean the mob hate coming from fanbois who called the people who complained "crazies" or "children" or "childish" or accused them of "crying" or "whining" ?

Is that respectful behavior?

Yes some people may have gone a bit over the top but that came from both sides.

The bottom line is you and all the other fanbois owe those who complained a debt of gratitude because without them Bitwig would not have changed course and rectified their mistake.

So show some "manners and respectful behavior" to those who fought to make Bitwig do the right thing and say thank you.

Gratitude? For what? Spreading false information and acting like a lynch mob?

You do realize that their business is now the same as before. It's not like they did this for shits and giggles. Now they'll have to find another way to make it more sustainable. One that may end up being much worse than mere optional addons.

They have to give users what they paid for. Optional Add-ons wasn't it. It's okay imo if they start selling sound packs and presets, it's okay if they start selling tutorials or grid recipes or whatever. If they want to have some sort of sdk and allow 3rd parties to make add-ons that can work too. There are plenty of ways to make revenue without resorting to gouging customers of what they paid for in the first place.

If they feel like the current revenue stream they created isn't working anymore they can change their licensing model, but users will only put up with so much. User have a right to vote with their wallets and bring up their concerns about what they are paying for. It's not our responsibility to keep a business in business. The business needs to figure out how to make money in a way that consumers want. It's really that simple.

When there is as much competition in the DAW space as there is, it doesn't make sense for a small low tier developer to piss off their core customer. The last week should make that pretty clear. It's easy for customers to just go buy Ableton, or Logic, or Studio One, etc even if they don't do the same exact same thing as Bitwig. It's easy for content creators to switch to Logic, Ableton, FL Studio (they would probably get more clicks anyway). The last week should show that too. Bitwig is not big enough to be screwing around with their core customers.

[pdxindy]

What makes you think 4.4 would have been core features? 4.1 was mainly weird midi FX like bouncing balls, 4.2 was mainly updating existing FX and 4.3 a convolution reverb...this is very much in line with the 'point' offerings, the major DAW workflow stuff tens to come in a big number like V5.

4.2 was Note Grid too!
4.3 had Sends for FX Tracks and ability to do feedback.

Plus all the updates contain a variety of useful enhancements to workflow and existing devices. There's lots of useful stuff that gets no mention from users.

[duanosforde]

Bitwig is BOSSS...now we can get back to sharing positive ideas and making platinum hits

[loungepanda]

They have to give users what they paid for. Optional Add-ons wasn't it. It's okay imo if they start selling sound packs and presets, it's okay if they start selling tutorials or grid recipes or whatever. If they want to have some sort of sdk and allow 3rd parties to make add-ons that can work too. There are plenty of ways to make revenue without resorting to gouging customers of what they paid for in the first place.

If they feel like the current revenue stream they created isn't working anymore they can change their licensing model, but users will only put up with so much. User have a right to vote with their wallets and bring up their concerns about what they are paying for. It's not our responsibility to keep a business in business. The business needs to figure out how to make money in a way that consumers want. It's really that simple.

When there is as much competition in the DAW space as there is, it doesn't make sense for a small low tier developer to piss off their core customer. The last week should make that pretty clear. It's easy for customers to just go buy Ableton, or Logic, or Studio One, etc even if they don't do the same exact same thing as Bitwig. It's easy for content creators to switch to Logic, Ableton, FL Studio (they would probably get more clicks anyway). The last week should show that too. Bitwig is not big enough to be screwing around with their core customers.

And yet a bunch of people decided that they knew about consumer law (they don't) and went on to post about how the EULA gave them the right to have addons included in the license plan (it didn't).

[skiltrip]

Curious about the Upgrade Plan Extension option. Anyone know if it's a full 12 months or a partial year?

[tomsa]

Thank you for doing the right thing for your subscribers.

Now, if you wanted to do something like sell Spectral Suite (or other modules for that matter- I'd love to have things like EQ+ available when I have to use a different platform for a mix) to people for use in their other DAWs, maybe make a few freebie plugins to help get your CLAP standard rolling...probably not a terrible idea...

Still, thank you.

[gaggle of hermits]

Curious about the Upgrade Plan Extension option. Anyone know if it's a full 12 months or a partial year?

no idea yet, but i reckon it will work out to be six months just based on the pricing, which was a bit under half of the regular update-plan price.

[apoclypse]

They have to give users what they paid for. Optional Add-ons wasn't it. It's okay imo if they start selling sound packs and presets, it's okay if they start selling tutorials or grid recipes or whatever. If they want to have some sort of sdk and allow 3rd parties to make add-ons that can work too. There are plenty of ways to make revenue without resorting to gouging customers of what they paid for in the first place.

If they feel like the current revenue stream they created isn't working anymore they can change their licensing model, but users will only put up with so much. User have a right to vote with their wallets and bring up their concerns about what they are paying for. It's not our responsibility to keep a business in business. The business needs to figure out how to make money in a way that consumers want. It's really that simple.

When there is as much competition in the DAW space as there is, it doesn't make sense for a small low tier developer to piss off their core customer. The last week should make that pretty clear. It's easy for customers to just go buy Ableton, or Logic, or Studio One, etc even if they don't do the same exact same thing as Bitwig. It's easy for content creators to switch to Logic, Ableton, FL Studio (they would probably get more clicks anyway). The last week should show that too. Bitwig is not big enough to be screwing around with their core customers.

And yet a bunch of people decided that they knew about consumer law (they don't) and went on to post about how the EULA gave them the right to have addons included in the license plan (it didn't).

Actually I'd argue it did. It was a contract that was agreed to by both parties. The wording is not really ambiguous in the EULA so it stands to reason that people would read and assume a breach of that agreement. If Bitwig wants to update that agreement they certainly can, but then everyone has to agree to the EULA again (which you should an obvious pop-up with an agreement button). They can't just stealth change it in the background, because then they are forcing people to agree to something without their consent (it's why EULA's usually pop up before you can even use the app, in some cases install it).

Besides consumer law is very different across different countries.

[Midibitch]

Well done Bitwig. A generous response.

I totally agree! I love bitwig even the silent hurts...

[ejgallego]

Guess who had an upgrade plan expiring Oct 6th?

I was happy with the extra add-on model, but thanks Bitwig for listening to others who weren't.

[borez]

Someone said on reddit ( and I think this is valid ) that they wouldn't have a problem paying for add-on preset packs if the actual devices were included in updates.

[_leras]

Plus all the updates contain a variety of useful enhancements to workflow and existing devices. There's lots of useful stuff that gets no mention from users.

I just listed this out for myself as I know I haven't used a lot of it....


4.4
Spectral Suite again!


4.3
Convolution Reverb
Delay+
Polymer updatte: new dc drifting analog inspred oscillator, low pass MG, updated envelopes
Comments extended to per track/layer
FX track sends
CLAP support
FLAC file playback
Sends toggle on/off
updted things: Bit-8, spectrum, oscilloscope, test tone
+ numerous 'improvements' i.e.
Adding an instrument to an audio track no longer forces conversion to a hybrid track
When mousing over a modulator source that is assigned to only one destination, the window footer now tells you the one destination it is assigned to

Spectral Suite


4.2
Chorus+
Flanger+
Phaser+
Note Grid

4.1
more Note FX
Bend
Dribble
Humanize
Note repeats
Quantize
Randomize
Ricochet
Strum
Multi Note
Note Filter
Updated Sampler - Release Chain
New Colour Palettes

4.0
Audio Comping
Note Events
Chance
Repeats
Occurance
Recurrance
Spread for any expression point

New Modulator Globals - Fill, A-B, Play (dj controls?)

Mac M1 Native blah

[EmmetPDX]

Kudos to the Bitwig team for making things right here. To sum up my thoughts on this whole thing:

This was never about the Spectral Suite, the quality of the devices themselves, the quality of Bitwig as a DAW, or the team of people who have worked hard to make it over the years. Nor was it really about the cost of the "add-on", wanting more money, or even the concept of switching to a different business model.

The Spectral Suite debacle has really always been about trust.

Whether it's a good or bad thing I don't know at this point, but the fact is that the Bitwig upgrade plan has always relied on trust between the users and the developers. The developers sell you a plan that brings you to the latest version and explicitly promises that you will receive all updates for the next 12 months, and the users buy into that plan with the trust that Bitwig will create cool new things to live up to it, like they have done for so many years. And that's really what the problem was here, right? The release of the Spectral Suite "add-on" not only chipped away at the perceived value of the upgrade plan, but also really undermined the trust between the users (especially those with a recently reactivated upgrade plan) and the Bitwig developers.

Scrapping the Spectral Suite add-on and putting these modules into Bitwig 4.4 is a major step in the right direction.

Will it cause users to instantly rebuild trust with Bitwig? Will it repair the damage to Bitwig's reputation (particularly with new users) over the last week? Will the community be able to go back to what it was just a few weeks ago? Is it even a good thing in general that we are buying into 12-month upgrade plans with value that is somewhat abstract and malleable? I don't know...

But I do know that Bitwig remains my favorite DAW for making music, designing sounds, and just playing around with. It's a joy to use, supports Linux natively, and is probably the most innovative DAW around. I really hope this whole thing hasn't cost them too many users. I can say that I'll happily continue to support them no matter what business model they might change to (edit: ok, except for subscriptions, I can't stand software subscriptions.), just as long as they continue to keep their word and respect the deal that they've made with users who hold active upgrade plans.

Thanks Bitwig team.