Waves...smh

[Danilo Villanova]

The bad blood with them had been building for a long time. This move only catalyzed what was already there. Companies can be very clever, but massive corporations have a tendency to act psychopathically, and psychopaths always underestimate risks and can't perceive the ramifications of their actions like normal people. I suspect that they **might** be suffering a way bigger backlash than they expected. YT channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers are hatin' on them mercilessly. This has never happened to any company before. Bitwig is the closest thing that I ca think of, but even that pales in comparison.

[Mac Hine]

I would never use subscription model for music plugins. If I would get fired from work, first thing I would do is cancel every subscription. I would have time to make music but would not have plugins. I buy my plugins so that I can afford to make music when I am retired.

Also as Waves is not the only company that I have been buying plugins, this is destructive path. Maby this works for those who does music professionally but I think large number of customers are also "hobbyists" whose tools are gathered from many companies.
Goodbye Waves

[jens]

Microsoft are breaking things less often compared to Apple.

They rarely break things. Right from the start backwards compatability was of the utmost importance to Gates - and Cutler (who is said to "think[] Unix is a junk operating program designed by a committee of PhDs") gladly delivered, so its baked into the OS at its core-level.

[hebex]

The betrayal Waves has done against its customers with the subscription business model will neither be forgiven nor forgotten.

[ATN69]

This is daming to the whole plugin industry even if the vast majority of plugin makers are honest ones, and with good business practises. I for one start wondering what exactly I am paying for when I buy a license?! In the software world it seems that developers can get away with almost anything.

There was nothing in the terms and conditions when I purchased these licenses, saying that "one day we will revoke your licenses once you sign up for our monthly subscription". But this is the only way forward in order to get support and secure future functionality. The word trap comes to mind.

[Bombadil]

If necessary, I'll just use what's ITB in Logic, and mic my VOX AC-15.

[Hewitt Huntwork]

Maybe this question is technologically naive and maybe I'm asking in a place where few people care, but...

If subscribing invalidates your old licenses AND existing customers pay the exact same as new ones, couldn't one create a new Waves account to try the subscription? I know this would involve uninstalling everything and backing up licenses and risking a reinstall process that always sucked, but in theory, would it work?

Just trying to address one specific valid complaint (out of many very valid complaints).

[noiseboyuk]

What do you think, revert back to WUP for a transitional time or just silently ride it out?

Tough one. I think they'll try and ride it out for a bit, but will eventually cave. It will probably depend on how the subs numbers are. Subs only didn't work great for UAD, did it?

There's a chance - only a chance - this will be all good for the industry in the end. It could be the final nail in the coffin for the "everything will migrate to subs only" ideology, which has never made sense.

[hebex]

This is daming to the whole plugin industry even if the vast majority of plugin makers are honest ones, and with good business practises. I for one start wondering what exactly I am paying for when I buy a license?! In the software world it seems that developers can get away with almost anything.

There was nothing in the terms and conditions when I purchased these licenses, saying that "one day we will revoke your licenses once you sign up for our monthly subscription". But this is the only way forward in order to get support and secure future functionality. The word trap comes to mind.

I was going to thumb up your post, until I read "But this is the only way forward in order to get support and secure future functionality."

No. It is not "the only way forward" to spit in your customers face.

[ATN69]

This is daming to the whole plugin industry even if the vast majority of plugin makers are honest ones, and with good business practises. I for one start wondering what exactly I am paying for when I buy a license?! In the software world it seems that developers can get away with almost anything.

There was nothing in the terms and conditions when I purchased these licenses, saying that "one day we will revoke your licenses once you sign up for our monthly subscription". But this is the only way forward in order to get support and secure future functionality. The word trap comes to mind.

I was going to thumb up your post, until I read "But this is the only way forward in order to get support and secure future functionality."

No. It is not "the only way forward" to spit in your customers face.

What I meant was of course that Waves offer no other way than subscribe if you want to secure future functionality of the plugins. I am done with Waves already and there is no tuning back. Not the same case as Camel Audio but the outcome is similar. Customers gets screwed.

[hebex]

This is daming to the whole plugin industry even if the vast majority of plugin makers are honest ones, and with good business practises. I for one start wondering what exactly I am paying for when I buy a license?! In the software world it seems that developers can get away with almost anything.

There was nothing in the terms and conditions when I purchased these licenses, saying that "one day we will revoke your licenses once you sign up for our monthly subscription". But this is the only way forward in order to get support and secure future functionality. The word trap comes to mind.

I was going to thumb up your post, until I read "But this is the only way forward in order to get support and secure future functionality."

No. It is not "the only way forward" to spit in your customers face.

What I meant was of course that Waves offer no other way than subscribe if you want to secure future functionality of the plugins. I am done with Waves already and there is no tuning back. (...) Customers gets screwed.

Agreed.

[abc1mce2]

What do you think, revert back to WUP for a transitional time or just silently ride it out?

Hard to say - but I think regardless of how they react they delivered a blow to themselves that will be very hard (if possible at all) to recover from. Regardless of what they'll say or do they can't fix what they have just broken for good.
And I bet the truth of that will slowly but surely start to sink in for them. Most probably they are in panic-mode already and lots of the Waves staff is fearing for their jobs.

Your forgetting the old users who would regularly buy the WUP (like myself) to stay up to date. That's $240 a year they'll never get from me again. That's not everybody, but it has to be a significant number of people and studios who have more than one seat to WUP.

[abc1mce2]

Maybe this question is technologically naive and maybe I'm asking in a place where few people care, but...

If subscribing invalidates your old licenses AND existing customers pay the exact same as new ones, couldn't one create a new Waves account to try the subscription? I know this would involve uninstalling everything and backing up licenses and risking a reinstall process that always sucked, but in theory, would it work?

Just trying to address one specific valid complaint (out of many very valid complaints).

You keep your Perpetual licenses even if you subscribe to their subscription model.

[abc1mce2]

So no, WUP is not at all like a subscription, at the very least no if you're on Windows.

Yeah. Can't argue with that. Microsoft are breaking things less often compared to Apple.

I have plugins/apps I was using on Windows7 that still work on Windows11 without an update. On the Mac side, forget about it.

[muki]

I was googling. Did someone post this already?

Waves Alternative Products • March 2023

yes
in another thread:
viewtopic.php?p=8642777#p8642777