Minimal Audio Current…subscription

[liquidsound]

I would like to hear the reason why those YouTubers were not notified about the sub model…. Anyone?

[AcrossTheSky]

Re (a post earlier) ... and I'm confident you will feel the value. If it doesn't inspire you, you can unsubscribe at any time, and your sessions will always continue to work.

so from a technical point of view ... will the sessions be locked somehow ? & you won't be able to adjust any settings ? or it'll work just fine & you will be able to adjust this & that setting ??? .. if locked then it renders the vst useless ...

[zgmusic]

Re (a post earlier) ... and I'm confident you will feel the value. If it doesn't inspire you, you can unsubscribe at any time, and your sessions will always continue to work.

so from a technical point of view ... will the sessions be locked somehow ? & you won't be able to adjust any settings ? or it'll work just fine & you will be able to adjust this & that setting ??? .. if locked then it renders the vst useless ...

The GUI is locked but playback and automation are still fully functional.

[Robmobius]

The still unbelievable aspect of this...

...is the extent of drama that people have reached in their reactions here. People are acting like Minimal Audio betrayed them somehow and can no longer be trusted. It's frankly ridiculous.

Don't like the subscription thing? Don't subscribe. But you don't have to get super angry about it and boycott the company forever

I see nothing wrong with boycotting a company for the foreseeable future while they have such a devious policy. If they want my cash (and many others it would seem), they know what to do.

If not, they can carry on and enjoy their sub-model.

[dakkra]

Adding in my 2cents at the risk of sounding insensitive:

I just want to be clear that since the start of Minimal Audio, what we have been building is Current. Our aim for Current is a limitless ecosystem that delivers an incredible value for everyone, with a low barrier of entry, which we can continue to expand upon.

and

As I said, we're going to be continuing to add a ton of value to Current, we have current 4 more unreleased effects, a lot more content, as well as plans for more sound engines. -- I understand that not everyone is interested in the content side, and would prefer for the regular update system. -- But what seems to be completely brushed over is the product itself. I really think you should try it -- it is different than the other synths on the market, the sound quality is un-matched, content, and UX is unmatched.

Building an ecosystem is great. Building a subscribe-to-own is great. But please offer a one-time-payment option. When you have competition like MSF (https://www.meldaproduction.com/MSoundFactory) which can be had for a one time purchase with their entire ecosystem built into their FX section, it makes your offer really hard to buy into. Heck, you can buy MXXX (https://www.meldaproduction.com/MXXX) for a one time fee and get their entire ecosystem in a modular powerful container. Same goes for Kilhohearts with PhasePlant, Multi-pass, and Sneapheap. One time-purchase of their ultimate pack gets you their whole ecosystem. I'm sorry, but building an ecosystem still isn't the right reason for charging a subcription. You can charge for each module (like what Melda and Kilohearts do with some things) but a subscription should be an option, not a requirement.

We just as an incredibly small and indie company, built a product which competes or is greater than $50M - $100M company products

I used to work for a small audio company too (can't name it due to NDA so take this all with a grain of salt). We had tight budgets, strong deadlines, and hope. You're not going to turn a profit overnight. Building reputation (which you had spades of until this fiasco), interest, user base, loyalty, and financial desire is going to take time. ESPECIALLY in the music industry where the market is very saturated. You guys were doing just fine standing out as a remarkable developer, but you ruined your PR with this, especially with the following...

Alright, now please continue to make me want to die lol.

This shows that you (as a representative of your company) are taking it personally, not professionally, and thus implies immaturity. I understand mental health is HUGE (I suffer from Bipolar Disorder) when in high stress situation like this. But as a representative of a company you need to keep it professional, cordial, and most of all friendly and approachable so that your community feels as though you are with them, not against them.

Your product honestly seems really nice, and I was considering purchasing it before I heard the news that it was subscription only. I was going to stay quiet but with your responses to the community, I wanted to shed light on what it's doing to your reputation, and thus your companies (potential) future.

[AlexMomentum]

Yeah, I'm going to have to pass on this one too as much as I would love to own it. I do not need another subscription for a synth. I'll just keep using Vital with Rift and Morph EQ.

[foosnark]

I see nothing wrong with boycotting a company for the foreseeable future while they have such a devious policy.

Feel free to spend money where you see fit, of course, but there is absolutely no "devious policy" here. There's no bait-and-switch, there's no dishonesty, they're not exploiting you, they're not holding your computer hostage, etc. They're just asking for a subscription when it's been made pretty clear that a lot of the community really, really dislikes subscriptions.

It seems like an unwise business decision to me, but it's not "devious."

[neverbefore]

I see nothing wrong with boycotting a company for the foreseeable future while they have such a devious policy.

Feel free to spend money where you see fit, of course, but there is absolutely no "devious policy" here. There's no bait-and-switch, there's no dishonesty, they're not exploiting you, they're not holding your computer hostage, etc. They're just asking for a subscription when it's been made pretty clear that a lot of the community really, really dislikes subscriptions.

It seems like an unwise business decision to me, but it's not "devious."

definitely not devious - I have no problems with Minimal wanting to go subscription with this product - that's a business decision which may be great for them or not. Not worth it for me but if they come out with another great effect I'll be more than happy to buy and add it to the other ones of theirs I own.

[Funky40]

what the whole soft developer scene seems NOT to understand is this:
so and so much money flowing from "us" into these software audio tools, like plugins and DAWs,
is "optionally spent" money.

So and so much plugins many of "us" would buy, might even never see any use, just a few tests, or otherwise very little.


All in all would i say, i buy 5 or 7, and would finally use just 1.
And i´m perfectly fine with that !
I absolutely know this will happen. its even a strategy.
I spread my money, => to finally find the pearls.
( "my" pearls, in my context)

I can average it down to, "$ spent in the whole" vs. "what i get out in the whole".
Looks good so far, I WIN !

I would guess, many people follow -to at least some degree- a similar scheme.
Sometimes its even just curiosity.
Bring the prices down, ......bought.


Now switch the market or the single brands to a subscription system,
and you have switched the whole situation vs. "that additional money" that flows into this market.
The market will lose lots of money in the whole by going subscription.

( i refer vs. the whole market, not just this guy here. and its just my personal opinion ofcourse.)

[Robmobius]

It seems like an unwise business decision to me, but it's not "devious."

If you say so.

[SNBeatz]

Re (a post earlier) ... and I'm confident you will feel the value. If it doesn't inspire you, you can unsubscribe at any time, and your sessions will always continue to work.

so from a technical point of view ... will the sessions be locked somehow ? & you won't be able to adjust any settings ? or it'll work just fine & you will be able to adjust this & that setting ??? .. if locked then it renders the vst useless ...

The GUI is locked but playback and automation are still fully functional.

Hmm, at that point why not just let me buy the synth? Oh right because then they can’t take my money forever.

I’m so glad this model is getting ripped to shreds on the big 3 forums

[Frantz]

[liquidsound]

It seems like an unwise business decision to me, but it's not "devious."

Like having some Influencers on YouTube getting involved with the free product to do the marketing (nothing wrong here, yet) without disclosing the sub thing?
Nothing devious

[pekbro]

I expect it's getting harder and harder for small companies to make a go financially in the plugin world these days, with most folks like myself not wanting to spend more than $29 on anything. I predict one day only the big money developers will be left and they will all be subscription based. Small devs will become extinct and you'll only have In Music, Waves and Music Tribe to choose from. Thats what attitudes like this will bring. Subs are not bad if they deliver what you want, I have an like a ton of them. They are just not in the music industry. Id much rather pay $15 a month for all the latest movies I like, rather than $30 ea. just to avoid the subscription. Say what you like, but its exactly the same thing.

[vbrother]

It seems like an unwise business decision to me, but it's not "devious."

Like having some Influencers on YouTube getting involved with the free product to do the marketing (nothing wrong here, yet) without disclosing the sub thing?
Nothing devious

Having run several tech businesses in the last 20 years, this was my initial response too. I know two of them who have said on their Discord and Patreon pages they feel manipulated and compelled to apologize to their own subscribers and followers.