What do you guys think about subscriptions?

[soundbylaura]

I will say, a preset a day sounds like a loooooot of extra work for the end user. Every day I gotta download something new? And it's... a preset? Doesn't sound like something I'd sign up for. Sorry dude/ette.

[GospelMusicians]

Thanks for the input guys.....As a developer, I actually stand to make more the flat out purchase model. I was just curious to hear what people thought. I guess in my non-dev days, I would have swore I would never do that, but at the same time, I swore I would never get an iLok...haha

[seamoss]

No way, not even for my DAW

I have been using Cubase for 20 years, if the day comes where it goes to subscription, I am gone.

So no, no, no way in hell.

[hivkorn]

Xfer have made the best 'subscription' model ever , you paid and when the price is reached you own a licence.
They can all go for subscription if they let us buy a regular licence but I will never subscribe for plugin , NEVER

I like to take my time to mix , and rebuild part of song , i don't want to think " oh i must do it now because my subscritption end tommorw "

I don't know if these companys know the market is saturated , personally , i own every plugins i always want , and i tend to don't buy new stuff because who need another exciter ? reverb ? EQ ?
The only plugin i am looking are Audio Damage , i own them all in the past and i regret to sell it , now i want them back and after i will not purchase any other FX or instruments.

[Robmobius]

We should have made this a poll - would have been interesting.

There's a lot of hate for subs!

[GospelMusicians]

We should have made this a poll - would have been interesting.

There's a lot of hate for subs!

That's a great idea....

[elxsound]

I might be interested at $10 a month for your libraries which have always looked amazing.

At $29 a month or higher, I would be out as I already have a number of existing subscriptions services (including Adobe CC).

Also you might want to consider sending a survey out to your existing customer base (which does not yet include me) to get a better sense of what your paying customers are willing to support.

Otherwise, on here, just be prepared from a spattering of opinions from all sides.

[GospelMusicians]

I might be interested at $10 a month for your libraries which have always looked amazing.

At $29 a month or higher, I would be out as I already have a number of existing subscriptions services (including Adobe CC).

Also you might want to consider sending a survey out to your existing customer base (which does not yet include me) to get a better sense of what your paying customers are willing to support.

Otherwise, on here, just be prepared from a spattering of opinions from all sides.

Ahhh man thanks for the support!

[anxiousmofo]

I like Cakewalk's model of the subscription option with an ownership component after a certain time threshold (that said, I always paid in full and never tried the sub). Otherwise, no way in hell, unless I am doing it for one month to assess what I would want to actually buy a license for and own.

[chk071]

Subscription, me no likey. Don't like it for movies or music either. In the end you pay MUCH more than if you actually purchased the items. And, i'm also from a time where you bought stuff, and it belongs to you. I'm not a big fan of this "rent stuff in the cloud" thing in general.

[C-note]

I really like subscriptions

[DarkStar]

^^^^
Please let us know why.

My thoughts:
(a) subscriptions could be OK, if the scheme is well-designed,
(b) stoppable and restartable month-by-month,
(c) one or more months payable in advance,
(d) once the purchase price has been paid (or slightly exceeded) the licence converts to a full permanent one (so this is a 'rent to buy' scheme),
(e) EASY way to replace one subscription licence with the next,
(f) NO intrusive / error-prone policing software.

If any one knows of a manufacturer with such a scheme, then let us know.

[Hewitt Huntwork]

Subscriptions are awesome when they offer more than you can possibly use (Groove3, Netflix, Apple Music). Subscriptions are awesome when they continue to bring you a trusted voice (periodicals, Patreon). Subscriptions are awesome when they expose one to new things inexpensively (Track Spark).

Subscriptions are NOT awesome when they are inspired by dreams of revenue. Music software is a set of tools, and tools are kind of a weird thing to subscribe to. On paper, I think it would make a lot of sense to subscribe to food. We know what we like and we know we're going to need it. But in reality, we depend on it so much that we've made it really easy to just get what we want, when we want it. A subscription to food doesn't provide enough convenience, expediency, or savings to justify altering a system that is near perfect.

Now I'm all interested in this topic. Surely there is an expert somewhere? I'm off to look for one.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Subscriptions??

[chk071]

Subscriptions are NOT awesome when they are inspired by dreams of revenue. Music software is a set of tools, and tools are kind of a weird thing to subscribe to. On paper, I think it would make a lot of sense to subscribe to food. We know what we like and we know we're going to need it. But in reality, we depend on it so much that we've made it really easy to just get what we want, when we want it. A subscription to food doesn't provide enough convenience, expediency, or savings to justify altering a system that is near perfect.

The comparison is a bit off anyway. Unless you want to pay more than you pay now for your obese neighbour, who doesn't know when to stop, or what is healthy for him.

And a subscription without inspiration of "dreams of revenue"? Does that exist? I mean, we're (fortunately) living in a profit orientated world. Not in a world where everyone owns everything, and there is no more motivation to get the best out of you, or even show that you have more to offer than someone else.