subscription model in recent years gained popularity in many industries. Ranging from access to entertainment services such as Spotify and Netflix on professional programs, such as Adobe’s offer. This year subscriptions are entering new territory – the music production industry.
During the biggest annual music fair NAMM in Los Angeles, two great players market Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) announced that new versions of their programs will be available in the subscription model. The first is Avid ProTools software and – the most popular, professional DAW, used in countless music studios around the world.
ProTools more “Pro”
Although the price of access to ProTools 12 has not yet been given, Avid says that subscribers will have access to a specially prepared app store and RTAS plug-ins that are not available to other customers. With the release of Pro Tools 12 will also be running Avid Service Cloud Collaboration, which brings to the world of music production easy to share projects and collaborate via the cloud.
The second product, the new version will be available for subscription is Sonar, Cakewalk DAW, directed mainly to smaller studios and home users. Depending on the package, the new Sonar will cost respectively $ 9.99, $ 19.99 or $ 49.99 per month.
For customers opting for a subscription Cakewalk preparing additives in the form of extra features, and the extension of basic Sonar about some of your own synth. The most interesting of these is the Addictive Drums 2, widely recognized as one of the most faithful, virtual percussion.
Both programs also will be available for a flat fee, however, involve a certain number of drawbacks. In both cases, along with the purchase, customers will receive a year’s access to services and subscription version update, but after the 12-hundred months of their versions will not be supported and supplemented by new additions.
Interestingly, parallel Avid has released a free version of its program, ProTools First, with limited capabilities, but that is an ideal environment for learning for home-grown music producers.
Competition does not look ready
The representatives of competing companies have reacted in a mixed way to move Avid and Cakewalk. On the one hand we have such powers as Steinberg, who themselves are working on similar models.
On the other hand, very severely criticized these decisions the company responsible for the two fiscal DAW-y, Image-Line (FL Studio) and Acoustica ( Mixcraft). According to the representatives of the manufacturers, software for creative work should not be measured in this way, and the introduction of subscriptions has their opinion, to force the customer to pay over and over for the same.
The idea of condemning particularly representative Acoustici, proclaiming that once purchased software should constantly receive support and updates without requiring extra charges from users who’ve already purchased the product again.
It seems, however, that the subscription model is the inevitable future
Similar concerns have taken the whole world and videografii when Adobe launched in 2012. Creative Cloud service for the full portfolio of products, and a year later to the general controversy announced that the previous versions of the boxed will not receive new features.
Three years, and Adobe subscription packages are used by over 2.8 million users. So I guess we can talk about the success. Despite the very high amount in total, which comes to pay for access to Adobe customers choose to subscribe just because of the constantly increasing functionality and collaboration capabilities offered by Creative Cloud.
Despite the popularity of professional circles, for most users segment DAW software and Adobe Suite will remain a niche. Subscription model but also reached into one software, which is the undisputed standard for commonly used, office applications. Of course we are talking about Microsoft Office.
With the integration of cloud OneDrive and additional spot on MS servers for a single fee, with Office 365 is already using 9.2 million users. Despite initial reluctance, even customers are accustomed to paying for the service once they decide to license fee, since the amount of the benefits flowing from it is worth many times more than a one-time purchase price.
Returning for a moment to subscriptions to professional, but – for the average user – niche industries, it is worth mentioning the program Celtx, standard in the world of film scripts.
In its base Celtx is free form, but enough to pay $ 9.99 or $ 19.99 to get access to all features of the program, from the simplest (such as scripts breaking apart and outlining each piece) at a very advanced, such as budget planning of the project, to-do list and access to free webinars from the creators of the program.
More for less? May!
Looking at these examples, it is difficult for any doubt as to the subscription access to software – this is the future. The music industry is at the stage of the first step towards the future, and thus, that put him two recognized company, the rest of the producers will have in the near future to provide consumers with a viable alternative.
If the market wants to avoid music production monopolization by one, two service providers have to look to new solutions, making sure it’s all about the interest of the client. It’s time to face the truth – time boxed artistic services programs are slowly fading into the past.
Let alone the benefits of purchasing new models carried tangible benefits enough to justify the monthly fee.
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