Why did you leave Studio One?

[jens]

These f**kers just stole from me. If I now wanted to sell my license it would be worth exactly 0$. They'll never see another cent from me ever again. And I had been contemplating upgrading to V6 just this weekend (making use of some Easter-gift voucher over @ Best Service).

[cbend]

" New virtual instrument “Lead Architect” (included in Studio One+)"

This is just the beginning, remember to vote with your wallets, these kind of changes only last as long as people are willing to pay to support them. If a large amount of people start skipping versions upgrades it might wake them up.

True. Were the management at Presonus asleep when the Waves debacle was happening?

[jens]

This move by Presonus has "Waves epic disaster" written all over it. At least Waves had the sense to back off.

Even if they wanted to - I think there's just no way for them anymore to walk this back - the cat is out of the bag.

The difference is: Waves only wanted to take a certain type of product away, but Presonus just offered new customers Studio One Pro for peanuts in comparison to what we had to pay for it - and still would have to pay if we'd want to upgrade.

[jamcat]

When I purchase a software it is with the intent to use it, not sell it.

I have the feeling this is not something PreSonus rushed into blindly. I think it is because they’re in a position where they have to increase Studio One+ subscriptions any way they can, even including extortion. That tells me things aren’t going as hoped at FenderPreSonus.

[cbend]

They'll never see another cent from me ever again

Unfortunately, that is the only way Presonus will understand the gravity of what they've done.

It takes a long time and a lot of investment to build customer trust and goodwill. But one bad management move can destroy that all in an instant.

[jens]

When I purchase a software it is with the intent to use it, not sell it.

I think I sold one single license (or to be exact it was a bundle of licenses) in twenty years - it's not about that - it's a matter of principle and ability.

[rlared]

Yeah this definitely smacks of desperation to improve sales on their end.

[jens]

They'll never see another cent from me ever again

Unfortunately, that is the only way Presonus will understand the gravity of what they've done.

It takes a long time and a lot of investment to build customer trust and goodwill. But one bad management move can destroy that all in an instant.

Yes indeed.

Poor Gregor - his hair turned grey over this tragedy.

[chk071]

When I purchase a software it is with the intent to use it, not sell it.

I have the feeling this is not something PreSonus rushed into blindly. I think it is because they’re in a position where they have to increase Studio One+ subscriptions any way they can, even including extortion. That tells me things aren’t going as hoped at FenderPreSonus.

Whatever it is, it's a 100% business decision. Well, surprise surprise as they are a business. But, I think it could have been more sensible. As jens stated, it just doesn't make any sense considering they still sell perpetual licenses for 400 €.

You could well be right that they need to push subscriptions now no matter what.

*sigh*

[cbend]

Even if they wanted to - I think there's just no way for them anymore to walk this back - the cat is out of the bag

Agreed.

[jens]

As jens stated, it just doesn't make any sense considering they still sell perpetual licenses for 400 €.

Plus: it's highly likely that V7 will come out within a year, so I as an owner of V5 Pro would have to pay 300$ to upgrade now plus then get V7 when it arrives; whereas someone who doesn't own anything from them yet will get it for 180$ - that's the worst thing about it.

But of course I can subscribe to hybrid to, which means - as I mentioned before - that I then completely lost the product I owned just yesterday.

So the only logical thing I can do - in order not to lose a big investment - is to never pay them again and just keep what I have.

[cbend]

When I purchase a software it is with the intent to use it, not sell it.

True, but owning a license is an asset that holds value to you. You can get money back on it should you ever decide to sell.

With renting, not so much.

[jens]

If I worked at Presonus Software, I would start looking for job opportunities. Their future looks pretty bleak.

[Greenstorm33]

Am I missing something?
Perpetual license (already owned) = $150/2 years (approximate historical major version cycle)
Upgrade subscription = $360/2 years

The initial Pro purchase is slightly to much worse than the upgrade plan (depending on how far into the version cycle you buy, but buying in or upgrading at x.5 or later has always been a bad deal), but once you've got the perpetual license staying on the bleeding edge is much cheaper. That's of course assuming you get about 2 years to a version, and who knows if that will continue to hold true.

It's a bad sign for things to come but I don't get why everyone is immediately totally pissed off and comparing it to the Waves debacle where they completely pulled the rug out from under their entire userbase.

Edit: I guess the sub is a much cheaper option if you just want to buy in once and don't care about updates, or you're okay with only buying in to updates every 2 or 3 years. Seems like most people here don't fall into that category though.

[BONES]

No problem. Would have been nice if PreSonus had communicated about it, so we wouldn't have to speculate. Not liking how they are handling this, reminds me of Cakewalk.

Who the f**k do you think you are, that Presonus has any obligation to inform you of it's business decisions? They made few minor changes that affect almost nobody, yet you expect them to spend thousands of dollars telling you about it - that's absurd.

Ye, f**k em. This is exactly what I was afraid of what would start to happen.

What the actual f**k!?! If your ego demands that you be on the premium tier of every software product you own, then sign up for the subscription service. If you just want the version that suits your needs, you could probably just use Artist and not even notice the difference. I've been on Artist for 18 months and never once have I run into any limitations. It's not Presonus' job to feed your pathetic, fragile ego, get over yourself.

Sure, but, the point is, when I bought the highest tier Studio One version, I thought I had bought something unrestricted, unlimited, and now they begin to make more and more content Studio One+ exclusive.

Which was how long go, exactly? Sphere has been around since I first started using S1, so we are talking at least 4 or 5 years ago. How long does a company have to maintain policies? When do you let them make changes to stay in business? Would you be happier if they just went broke?

Which tells me that they want people to subscribe.

Of course they do, it makes their life lot easier.[/quote]

Which tells me that, as an owner of the perpetual license, I'm a second class citizen, although I spent hundreds of €.

I wouldn't even rate you that highly. I'd say Steerage, at best. I assume you don't fly? Because you can spend thousands of dollars on a single flight and only get an economy class seat. Get the f**k over yourself.

And, no, I don't really need any of that content, but, that's really not the point here.

No, the point is you think you are entitled to Business Class treatment in Economy Class. Well, sunshine, that's not how the world works. Mostly you get what you pay for and, guess what? You're already paying through the nose for Pro, when you could probably get by just fine with Artist, which means you're already a sucker. You're really just complaining over how big sucker they think you are.

So, basically, Studio One Pro is not the highest tier version of Studio One anymore

It hasn't been for years, why has it taken you so long to wake up to the fact?

and, it's also not unlimited or unrestricted.

It never was, it has always limited you to the features and functionality it had. That should be completely obvious.

It's cut down in comparison to the subscription version.

Just as Artist is cut down compared to the Pro version. So what? Imagine if, instead of creating a new subscription tier, Presonus had instead increased prices 50% cross the board, just so they could stay in business? Would that have made you happier? Companies don't exist to serve you, personally, they have to make money to keep the doors open so they can keep providing us all the things you and I want. You don't seem to think that the people who work at Presonus have any right to earn a decent living, why is that?

People might not even realize that when they buy it, but, they WILL realize it when they want to buy addons on Presonus' web shop, or when they see the exclusive additions to Studio One+ in the update changelogs.

Or maybe, and this is just a wild guess, nobody buys add-ons, so Presonus figured nobody would care whether they changed how you get them or not?

Exactly. It amazes me that some people just don't seem to understand that. More and more development focus will go to the exclusive stuff, in order to get people to sub.

Are you off your f**king rocker!?! Look at what they have put into 6.6 - nobody would pay 10c for any of it. If they stop bloating the version of Studio One I am using and leave that stuff to the morons whose egos need to be stroked like that, I'll be extremely happy about it.

With the removal of being able to buy Studio One addons outright, I was afraid this would be happening and today just confirmed it. I've seen this happen way too many times.

Except, as has been pointed out, you can still buy add-ons through the application so all that's changed is the way they deliver that useless krap to you. It amazes me that you don't seem to understand that.