Wotja 22 - Generative Music App & Plug-in Host (Free, Pro; AUv3 / VST3)

[impete]

Hi all, I'm sure most of you are up-to-date with Wotja 23 (!) updates, but we're now all the way up to version 23.14.0 - which is the final update for 2023.

You'll be able to update Wotja 23 to Wotja 24 on 1st January 2024!

Info on the 23.14.0 release of Wotja is here:
https://wotja.com/releases/#w23-14-0

With best wishes, Pete

[marek.jedlinski]

Hi! If I buy 23 for Windows today, will I need to pay the full price again for version 24 in January?

(On your page you say 24 is a "free app update", but this doesn't seem to mean a lot, since you also say we'll need to pay for the new feature set. It's quite confusing, really.)

[AtomOfScent]

It would be nice if the free plugin version had an option to download just the .vst3 and whatever else is needed as a zip file.
I've never used the Windows Store once in my life, and no other plugin I've ever used (free or paid) has required it.

[tatanka]

[(On your page you say 24 is a "free app update", but this doesn't seem to mean a lot, since you also say we'll need to pay for the new feature set. It's quite confusing, really.)
[/quote]

Thats why the "full" (whatever they changed to name it now.....) version 23 will be my last. Only being able buying something only possible from microsoft store years ago was one thing but making buying options nearly as complicated as the (really complex....) software and needing to study to understand make me simply close this chapter somewhere this year (after buying 23, 22, 21......).

If someday there will be an option to simply buy full version 2X for a year and thats it AND it will be CLEARLY stated in ONE place (where you buy usually) without going threw posts and sites and.....I will be back maybe.

[marek.jedlinski]

Yeah, I hear you two I've never bought from the Windows Store, either, it's an abomination, and there are other issues I could talk about at length. (Such as, honestly, why is the word "FREE" peppered in bold all over the website? The free version plays for 2 minutes and all the menu commands are disabled, it's not even a demo. Since I spent over 10 years of my life, from mid-90s on, writing a bunch of Windows apps which I gave away for free to thousands of users, I happen to know what "free" means, and this isn't it. I find it something of an insult that a hobbled 2-minute demo gets to be called a "FREE APP!" these days, but there it is).

But, tl;dr, as I understand it, this app is a distant descendant of a Soundblaster soundcard program that pretty much made Brian Eno Brian Eno. And since he didn't code the software himself, the app he used, to my mind, must be roughly 50% Brian Eno I've been deep into generative music in the Bitwig grid, and I'm curious about Wotja, it's hard to walk by. Much as I'm put off by the above, I'll happily pay the price. Sure, it should be a regular vst, sold via the usual marketplaces for vsts. And I did read the legalese around Wotja and it makes my head spin how pedantic and bureaucratic and unpleasant the language is. But the app is innocent, I guess, I'd like to try it out against the vibes

[tatanka]

I'd like to try it out against the vibes

Really dont meant to be "bad vibes".

I would not have stayed with this app over years without deep appreciation for the app, for the support and for the devellopers.

But as my time for music making is really limited and should be FUN in my spare free time I have just given up spending it on ever changing hard to understand buying options.

And I understand how hard it must be to survive in this market, so no bad vibes from me but just a way I personally cant follow anymore.

But I really would encourage evryone who is willing to fight his way threw this jungle to try out the app, it is something outstanding and unique definitely.

[marek.jedlinski]

Oh, like I said, I truly expect it to be amazing!

[impete]

Hi folks,

Looks like this thread is still active - sometimes!

We're now up to Wotja 24.3.3 - with 24.3.4 coming soon. I encourage you to try Wotja - we keep working hard to improve it!

For some time now, we've just had *one* version of Wotja - we no longer distribute different annual versions (unlike most companies). We simply keep updating the core Wotja product, and every year add new features where we can. This started with (IIRC) Wotja 23, which in January 2024 we renamed to Wotja 24, and in January 2025 it will be renamed to Wotja 25. Wotja 24 (25 etc.) remains a free download; we charge any user who wants to use it in Pro mode.

This allows you to always stay up-to-date with all the latest bug fixes, improvements etc., whether or not you're using Wotja in Pro mode.

We have two primary modes of operation:

• Lite ("free") mode (with timeouts, and some feature restrictions)

• Pro mode via three in-app purchase options: a monthly Subscription, a one-off 30 day use mode, or a yearly "one time buy" (e.g. 24 OTB) which gives you Pro mode access to all features added in the corresponding year or earlier.

Why do we now build and sell Wotja like this, and why are there three different ways to "Go Pro"? Well, it is hard to make money, we don't have a huge user base, and needed to make the product free to download and experiment with in order to attract new customers. Every user seems to have a different preference for subscriptions, annual purchases etc.; and many people like to pick-and-choose and skip different annual "versions". Our customers like apps to be continually updated where possible, and this is where we've ended-up!

Why do we use the word "free" on the website? Not every app can be free to play around with before you fall in love with it enough to pay for it, and that serves to remind potential users who browse our site to give it a go (so-called "user acquisition" is hard work!).

Why do we distribute the Windows version through the Microsoft Store? We're only two people, and that simply makes it much easier for us to sell / distribute / administrate.

Why isn't the VST3 sold separately from the app? For the same set of reasons. We only distribute our iOS, macOS and Android variants through the main app stores for exactly the same set of reasons. As you can imagine, maintaining versions of Wotja for all the major platforms takes a lot of time and effort, and we need to save as much time as possible for working on the core app and plug-in.

Best wishes to all, Pete

[tatanka]

Bought all pro versions evry year till this new confusion payment model(s) starts.

Fine if it works for you, for me it dont (I dont even really get your model(s)).

But as alternatives are growing and growing I really dont worry. If you think thats the way for you to go, fine, best luck with it (even if I still dont even know what "it" really means....)

[impete]

Bought all pro versions evry year till this new confusion payment model(s) starts.

Fine if it works for you, for me it dont (I dont even really get your model(s)).

But as alternatives are growing and growing I really dont worry. If you think thats the way for you to go, fine, best luck with it (even if I still dont even know what "it" really means....)

No worries Tatanka. *Many* thanks for all your support over the years.

Best wishes, Pete

[imtim]

Bought all pro versions evry year till this new confusion payment model(s) starts.

Thank you, and we really do appreciate your past support.

Fine if it works for you, for me it dont (I dont even really get your model(s)).

We *do* understand your point.

It has been a very long and hard road for us to develop/implement our 'Featuregrade' model (which we were forced into developing by Apple as it so happens and that is covered in a blog post).

The Featuregrade model is *really good and flexible for customers* (we have always been customer focused) but, as well as being very hard to develop/put in place, it turned out to be hard for us to explain .

We have not stopped working on improving explanations and we think that recent changes to wordings mean we have now *finally* got there with that.

In a nutshell, Wotja is a free App that operates for free in Lite mode (very capable, but with some Limitations) and which gets free rolling updates (i.e. meaning general improvements/bug fixes etc are always free).

It has the following IAP options for those who wish to 'Go Pro' (i.e. to unlock Lite mode Limitations):
A) a "paid-for" option (One Time Buy IAP), or
B) a subscription option (Subscription IAP), or
C) a temporary unlock option (Thirty Day Unlock IAP).

We did struggle with explaining how the One Time Buy option works - we know it was hard to grok (but it is now much clearer due to recent wording updates) - but it works the way it does to allow us to work on New Features for new versions.

If you are interested (and we appreciate that you may not be), then see: https://wotja.com/help/#otb

But as alternatives are growing and growing I really dont worry. If you think thats the way for you to go, fine, best luck with it (even if I still dont even know what "it" really means....)

Sure, and thank you for your past support and interest.

Wotja is always likely to remain unique, artisan and niche.

The business model is now thankfully done and dusted, i.e. there are no more planned changes to that!!, and we will continue to work away at evolving and improving Wotja as fast as we can.

You would of course be welcomed back at any time.

Best wishes

Tim

[impete]

For those Wotja macOS users who've had problems when the Izotope RX plug-in is present (where scanning this causes Wotja to crash on restart), this is now *fixed* in Wotja 24.3.4 - due any day.

Best wishes, Pete

[impete]

Hi!

But, tl;dr, as I understand it, this app is a distant descendant of a Soundblaster soundcard program that pretty much made Brian Eno Brian Eno. And since he didn't code the software himself, the app he used, to my mind, must be roughly 50% Brian Eno I've been deep into generative music in the Bitwig grid, and I'm curious about Wotja, it's hard to walk by. Much as I'm put off by the above, I'll happily pay the price.

Thank you very much - I hope you've given it a try!

And I did read the legalese around Wotja and it makes my head spin how pedantic and bureaucratic and unpleasant the language is.

That is a very interesting point. Because there are lot of potential issues in copyright around music composition, especially for generative systems and especially for professional musicians using generative software, and because we periodically get asked specific questions in this area, we've tried hard to consolidate our thoughts on this in a few places such as https://wotja.com/help/#recording-ownership ... however, we're software developers not lawyers, and these are really important issues to consider, and some of the questions raised are pretty subtle and take quite a few words to run through the concepts involved

You'll find our general FAQ around this area here: https://wotja.com/help/#licensing-ownership

Best wishes, Pete

[imtim]

Hi Folks,

This Wotja 22/23 post thread is no longer monitored by us.

Please see instead: New Wotja Post Thread viewtopic.php?t=616544

With best wishes,

Tim and Pete