Cherry Audio going NFR...

[BBFG#]

Effective May 1st, 2023, Cherry Audio products purchased through the Cherry Audio store or authorized resellers will no longer be eligible for license transfers.

The Humble Bundle deal inspired me to re-check their offerings and I was a little surprised I hadn't heard about this until now. (I don't check the threads concerning them very often and may have missed it.) For their price listing, I can't and won't blame them and was kind of put off by their previous transfer fees being high concerning their MSRP. So I downloaded their demos anyway and found that "I had already demo'd them" and could not redemo because of that. (Honestly don't remember when, but obviously a very long time ago?)

Begs the question of this being why they're doing this promotion in hopes of setting up more permanent user accounts?

I was able to install a couple of the newer demos though and am trying to see if it's just GAS dissonance of grabbing a good deal and whether I would ever really use them. Even nickels and dimes eventually add up and bloat systems and time.

Thoughts?

[Aliens]

Plenty enough warning time, demos are available, so good on 'em.
Of course someone whose really desperate to recoup part of the costs of a $39 plug in they no longer want of course feel free to disagree.

[BBFG#]

I probably missed any warning and just happened to find this though. It doesn't really upset me and I feel it's a better approach than the pricey transfer fees they do now. Just thought others might not have known about the change either.

Not sure if the HB offerings are the ones I'd want anyway. (Only Memorymode and that's a nostalgic whim at best.) I guess there's a one time only to demo though and I apparently did that so long ago I don't remember. I have contacted them though about maybe getting another chance at those.
I'm doing demos of the Yamaha and Roland clones and they're nice, but an enjoying the Dream Synth the most so far.

Started this thread more for thoughts of company changes moving ahead though.

[CedricM]

In my opinion, corps should not have the right to change the rules on products already sold.

[Vortifex]

Link: Can I transfer my Cherry Audio licenses to another user?

Effective May 1st, 2023, Cherry Audio products purchased through the Cherry Audio store or authorized resellers will no longer be eligible for license transfers.

Customers who have purchased products prior to May 1st, 2023 are able to request transfers until August 1st, 2023. During that time the same policies apply:

---Bundles can not be pieced out - they must be transferred as a bundle.
---Synth Stack licenses must be transferred as a whole - individual synths can't be transferred out of the Synth Stack.
---The first outgoing transfer under an account is free. Each additional transfer has a $10 fee. Each unique recipient is considered a new transfer, but a transfer can have multiple licenses.

We understand that this may be an inconvenience for some customers, but we believe that our generous trial period and accessible prices offer a low-risk purchase.

Did they just silently alter their ToS or did they email customers about it? I can't believe they'd do the former because that would be pretty scummy, but I never got an email. Maybe others did?

Either way I think people who bought licences before the date of the change should be able to sell it when they want without having the three-month window imposed on them. Changing the terms in that way doesn't sit right with me, although I'm sure they'll say they have good reason. Maybe times are tough for devs and they're feeling the pinch too.

[ramseysounds]

In my opinion, corps should not have the right to change the rules on products already sold.

In my opinion, if you’re gonna get shirty over a $30 vst which might have say a $25 transfer fee, you need to reconsider your priorities. Just buy a new piece of software. It’s 1’s and 0’s ffs.

[Aliens]

I probably missed any warning and just happened to find this though.

If it's on their site FAQ it's not really hidden, but an email probably would have been shut down any potential debate about hoodwinking innocent buyers.

[Vortifex]

In my opinion, corps should not have the right to change the rules on products already sold.

In my opinion, if you’re gonna get shirty over a $30 vst which might have say a $25 transfer fee, you need to reconsider your priorities. Just buy a new piece of software. It’s 1’s and 0’s ffs.

The price is beside the point they were making.

[Examigan]

I think I've only transferred licences here or there maybe two times, so it's no huge deal for me.

[sQeetz]

selling your license isn't worth a damn anyway..... so if you buy one of their stuff, it's yours.

[imrae]

Customers who have purchased products prior to May 1st, 2023 are able to request transfers until August 1st, 2023.

That's an absolute joke of a "grandfather period". This seems like a bait-and-switch for legacy customers? Not cool.

[Korg Supporter]

Well, good thing I sold all my Cherry Audio licenses last year. Last January, I used my Plugin Boutique rewards money to get Quadra for free (At was accidentally $10). Then, I made $20 from selling the license after deciding that I can already do string sounds with Invader 2.

[inception8a]

Best practice would be to send out an email to current customers to notify them of a/the change especially with a new policy like this. In either case you get some kind of backlash commentary. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

[Teksonik]

In my opinion, corps should not have the right to change the rules on products already sold.

In my opinion, if you’re gonna get shirty over a $30 vst which might have say a $25 transfer fee, you need to reconsider your priorities. Just buy a new piece of software. It’s 1’s and 0’s ffs.

It's not about the amount of money it's about the principle involved.

If you buy a plugin under a set of conditions no matter the cost of that plugin and then the company changes the conditions it's likely to generate ill will.

There seems to be a trend recently where developers think they can simply change the rules at will and not suffer any push back. They most likely have a legal right to change the conditions but then we as consumers have every right to voice our displeasure.

I don't really care as I only own three CA plugins, two of which I rarely if ever use. Selling them would probably be more hassle than it's worth even under the old rules.

But buying more CA plugins became less likely as a result of this decision. Not saying I'll never do business with them again but the new NFR rule will certainly weigh in any decision to purchase or not and again that doesn't matter if the plugins are $39 or $139. At least I'll know going in they're NFR and not have it sprung on me by reading a forum post long after the purchase.

[martinjuenke]

This should be the next (after Waves) customer war!