Pro Tools is Now Subscription Only

[BONES]

I'd just stop upgrading and be happy. I used Orion for the best part of a decade after they stopped supporting it without too many issues and I could still be using it today if I really wanted to. A decade from now I'll be 73 and I probably won't care if Studio One stops working on Windows 17 or whatever.

[Effectsworks]

Nuendo

[Tj Shredder]

Pro Tools was never a hobbyist program. No amateur I know uses it. But I know a lot of professional musicians and smaller studios using it. They usually have a perpetual license which would run as long as an OS update didn‘t break it. I doubt that new arising artists today would go that route, the old ones have the option to get the last perpetual license now for a still high but usable price ($349)… After that they are out for ever…
The new arising artist which get the opportunity to get into a high profile professional studio will not do their recordings in Pro Tools, the studio has to deliver better fitting tools…
The only area Pro Tools will survive with that model is film music and even there its not written in stone that it has to be Pro Tools… Young arising sound engineers are happy to work with other tools as well…
But what do I know. Its seems DaVinci Resolve hasn‘t blown away Avid either, but I have no idea why…

[seangm]

nvm

[lotus2035]

I wouldn't pay a subscription for any DAW never mind one that looks like it's from 2003.

[tony10000]

Pro Tools is no longer a “must have” DAW for professionals. There are plenty of other options that do not require a subscription. And most studios handle stems and tracks from other programs anyway.

[noiseboyuk]

As far as I always read, the Pro Tools clientele is pretty different to that of, say, Cubase, Studio One or Reaper. Lots of... well... professionals. Just like with Adobe's picture editing software, it seems that they have less of an issue with subscriptions.

Well here's the thing. Rumours of the death of perpetual licenses have been.... well, very slightly exaggerated.

Perpetual does continue, but only for those who already have it. I know that sounds like a statement of the obvious, but - crucially - their support package continues, so that you can keep current. For Ultimate users, that's $399 per year, vs $999 for the subscription version.

Even more bizarre, Avid are now selling reinstatement plans to those with permanent licenses, so they update their perpetual licenses to be current with the latest version. And they've STOPPED offering crossgrade "deals" to surrender a perpetual license for a subscription one.

So it's a very odd situation indeed. For new customers it's subs only. For existing perpetual customers - carry on as before. In fact if you've fallen behind we'll encourage you to get back on.

But that's not all - it gets murkier. Here's the new range:

PRO TOOLS ARTIST - 32 audio tracks. Subs only, $99pa.

PRO TOOLS STUDIO - Rebadged Pro Tools. Now includes surround mixing, ClipFX and many other previously Ultimate-only features. Subs $299pa. Perpetual (existing licenses only) $199pa.

PRO TOOLS ULTIMATE - Aimed at Post-users, includes Field Recorder workflows and multiple video tracks. Subs $999 as part of a new Flex plan, Perpetual (existing licenses only) $399.

Because Studio now has everything that 99% of music clients need, there's a lot Ultimate customers who now want to downgrade to Studio. The bad news (more bad news) is that if they have the older HD or HDX hardware, that will only work with Ultimate, so they are stuffed. But if not, they can sell, so we may see the 2nd hand market become pretty active. Lots of people will want a perpetual license for Pro Tools Ultimate to save themselves a fortune, equally Studio perpetual licenses will be in demand from those who used to have Ultimate.

Still keeping up at the back, I hope.

As for the updates themselves, the big winners this time are regular / Studio users, who get lots of shiny new features previously only in Ultimate. Ultimate gets very little - a few on-paper track count increases, keyboard shortcut customisation (no laughing at the back, yes this is new to PT) and, um, a search box. What is absent is M1 or ARA support, and decades-old feature requests like folders in the Clip Bin.

Why bother with Pro Tools at all? Without doubt its aimed at pro users - professional studios and dubbing suites. It's the standard, projects are interchangeable. Artist is, I guess, aimed at those who aspire to being in one of those camps. But even so, their market share is being eroded, especially in music - Logic in particular is making headway (all those Finneas Eilish tutorials on Logic are telling). Dance acts love Ableton. For Post Avid still largely have it to themselves, but Nuendo is making some headway in Europe I believe.

I use PT Ultimate for Post, and Cubase for music. Pro Tools is far, far better for basic audio work, it's more stable and reliable. What it does it tends to do better than anyone else, but there's still a lot it can't do. Cubase wins for midi functionality and breadth of features.

As for overall trend - I've been pointing out for years that Adobe never started a trend in the world of audio. Subscription has been increasingly popular, but only ever as an option thus far, with vanishingly rare exceptions. Pro Tools is now the first major audio product to have made the jump from perpetual only to subs only via a choice. But it still has a caveat. And likely the reason for that is that, contrary to belief here, professionals largely use perpetual licenses. There would be mutiny if they all stopped being able to update to the most recent version. You could even argue that with their, er, reinstatement of the reinstatements, they are signalling to existing pro users "don't worry, we won't force you to subscribe". You can't take that to the bank, they are a law unto themselves. But for now I'm just thankful that I don't need to switch.

[jamcat]

Right, because this shit hole is where you go to find out where the industry is at. Pro Tools was never meant for the likes of you and me, it's for grown ups who have shit to do so they can get paid. Businesses definitely prefer subscriptions because it allows them to forecast costs when they are doing their annual budgets. I imagine it will be overwhelmingly appreciated by the customers Avid actually cares about and if it gets rid of a few more of the annoying idiots, all the better for them.

ProTools has been falling behind and losing market share steadily for years.

They have to figure out how to get more money out of fewer people, which becomes increasingly difficult as DSP hardware becomes obsolete. This subscription model hostage situation is their last gasp.

Between this and their lack of Apple Silicon support, I think all but the bitter-clingers are rushing for the exists.

[noiseboyuk]

Just FYI - Avid stock price is up 500% over the past 3 years. The idea that they’re on their knees is, um fanciful.

That’s not to say they aren’t ultimately in for trouble - they might be. But whatever we think of their strategies, they’ve done ok by them thus far.

[jamcat]

Just FYI - Avid stock price is up 500% over the past 3 years. The idea that they’re on their knees is, um fanciful.

That’s not to say they aren’t ultimately in for trouble - they might be. But whatever we think of their strategies, they’ve done ok by them thus far.

That’s not telling the whole story, though, is it?

Avid stock is up since the pandemic, as it’s no secret audio software has done quite well during lockdown. But it’s still only half of what it was at its peak in 2008. Avid’s been in the basement for the past decade.

[ghettosynth]

As far as I always read, the Pro Tools clientele is pretty different to that of, say, Cubase, Studio One or Reaper. Lots of... well... professionals. Just like with Adobe's picture editing software, it seems that they have less of an issue with subscriptions.

Well here's the thing. Rumours of the death of perpetual licenses have been.... well, very slightly exaggerated.

This is missing the point. Most of us don't give two shits about Avid. What we care about is the trend in the industry and some people, frankly I count you among them, have been in denial about this. This is the trend in the industry and in software in general. So when a big player, like Avid, makes a move to "subscription only" for all new customers, then, yes, that's a very big deal.

Of course they're going to be concerned about losing existing customers and so they going to try to lure some of them back with "catch up now" perpetual licenses. Perhaps they see professionals as a catalyst to drive new "Artist" subscriptions? In any case, what you should be taking away is that the industry is telling you that you're still a frog in the water and it's just not boiling yet.

[jamcat]

Correction, Avid peaked in 2005, not 2008. It’s been junk stock for 15 years, not 10.

Anyone who owns any Avid stock would be smart to cash out now.

[noiseboyuk]

Avid stock is up since the pandemic, as it’s no secret audio software has done quite well during lockdown. But it’s still only half of what it was at its peak in 2008. Avid’s been in the basement for the past decade.

Yes, you made me look - https://www.netcials.com/stock-price-ch ... ology-Inc/ . You’re right, there was a 4 year period between 2003-2007 when their stock was higher than now. Before then and after then it was lower. Doesn’t change the fact that they’ve been doing okay lately.

I’ve been arguing loudly for most of the past 10 years that Pro Tools’ dominance is about to end. It just never has - yet.

[RSL369]

....I use PT Ultimate for Post, and Cubase for music. Pro Tools is far, far better for basic audio work, it's more stable and reliable...

I also use both, for the same purposes as you and would like to ask you to further elaborate on this because I completely disagree.
This is completely untrue in my experience.

[jamcat]

I’ve been arguing loudly for most of the past 10 years that Pro Tools’ dominance is about to end. It just never has - yet.

Well if they can’t get the shit together on Apple Silicon it most certainly will.

Also, I don’t think they’d be making such a drastic change if what they were doing was working. Pandemic Panic is all but over finally and Avid will come crashing back to earth. Especially with stagflation now and recession on the horizon.

I think this latest move is an attempt to mitigate what’s coming, since subscription models provide stable, predictable income. But they’re shrinking their customer base in exchange for that little bit of stability. Even if their survival plan works, they’re going to come out the other side in a worse position than they are going in.