Imagine being able to subscribe to a daily, monthly or annual service that lets you pick a DAW, plug-ins etc from every company,

WAVES, Acustica Audio, Imperical Labs, SSL, Eventide etc etc

It is not the best solution?

 

1. Some companies are already doing this on a smaller level.
2. Not all people have access to online money transfer.
3. Not all people would be able to afford this.
4. If you quit your subscription you wouldn't even have access to your DAW anymore.

So, for a couple of pluggies this may makes sense for some people, but for everything and all of us, not.

 

Not saying subscribe to everything, i meant from any company

example, i pay $1 a plug if i subscribe for a 25 plug bundle per months, $25
I can pick my fav channel strip (pa_ssl E), pre (acustica neve)., comp (waves ssl g) , eq (fab eq) widener, delay, verb, amp sim, etc etc up to 25 plug ins or whatever.

Before I actually subscribe i can load and test the plugs which work for 1 minute until i actually authorize them.

so you get the chance to try them per session, see if you want to use them for a batch of songs, example a record.1 week, 1 month or annual subscriptions..you use your own daw, even owned plugs side by side.. the idea is to rent the ones you need for a specific project..with out forking out for stupid subscriptions for huge bundles with things you dont need.

 

Subscriptions are a money grab, pure and simple. If you don't own the tools you use, your artistic position is intrinsically insecure, and that insecurity will find its way into your work.

 

Broken Server, sanctions, internet errors, Power failure, there is enough that can break.

The "adobe Venezuela" thing was for me a wake-up call. (If you don't know it google it, I don't want to explain it further here because it's political stuff, and we know from the rules that this not like to seen here)

So you totally depend on a system, that is full of holes like Swiss cheese.

Now image you have some work with a Deadline
(and because some idiot that worked in his garden with giant iron rods, rain and that a few inches above the main power line
resulted in Power failure for your street, and half the city.
- Hey your Laptop has still some power but no internet means your software is not working.)

That happened to me 3 Years ago. And took 2 Days to get power back in my street.

With "permanent" Licenses, there are simple less things that can break.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 17, 2022

1. Any drought and you lose all access to your tools. Wanna constantly feel pressured into hustle? There ya go.
2. This implies the company still owns all the distributed copies of their software that you paid for.

Fuck this system. Fuck. This. System.

 

If I could have a tailored subscription with only the various plug-ins from different devs that I want, I would definitely get it. That will never be an option though. Many still don't have a subscription model (Softube, Fabfilter, Tokyo Dawn Labs, Neural DSP, Pulsar Audio etc), and even if they did I already own most of their plug-ins. I doubt that there will ever be a subscription where you can combine plug-ins from companies like Fabfilter, Softube and Tokyo Dawn Labs, so it's only wishful thinking.

 

That makes all subscription models a complete no-go for me.

 

I would feel irrevocably bored

 

Subscription ? no way ? First 1$ , after 3 months 3$ (inflation) , after 6 months 6S (more inflation) and after that is better to buy that plugin because is cheaper .

 

Keep your right to self-determination and do not go to the foreign. Buy it once and it's yours, make two copies of the purchased software. Stay self-sufficient. Everything in the cloud, if a blackout so a power outage or the company is encrypted with ransomware, you no longer have access. This new business idea, borrow or rent, the companies has a lot to do with customer loyalty. Better to own what you use.

 

Other people here have said it better, but I'm wary of too much centralized power and lack of self-sufficiency. Cloud- and subscription-based stuff is unreliable at best, and it's a lot like paying someone to be owned by them.

 

I would feel very busy only by tryin' em all.
Oh wait... I already am with AZ releases

 

imagine paying subscription for a guitar but one month you don't have money so some tall muscular guys come to your house, grab it and leave.
no thanks.

 

not everyone, plenty smaller devs who aren't just greedy fucks, can sustain their businesses without wasting over half their income on marketing guys, protection mechanisms, online subscription validation systems, and ads nonsense

 

and just how much audio sex do circle jerks have?

 

This 'solution' is the sonic equivalent of 'eat zee bugs'.

 

I think the best solution is to make plugins that are reasonably priced for working musicians and then have a 'top tier' version of it. Offer dynamic discounts for people that buy more than one. Just like DMG Audio does. Fuck subscriptions.

 

fuck adobe up the arse with a two x four wrapped in razor wire

 

Anyone know if you can sell-transfer your paid to own splice plugins?