Avid has announced future pricing models for Sibelius...

[nk_e]

http://www.sibeliusblog.com/news/next-sibelius-release/

They are shooting themselves in the foot with this subscription model. Guess I stop at Sibelius 7.5 and PT 11.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Yeah. Not a great plan.

[BobK]

Their use of the term 'perpetual license' is a sick joke.

It requires an $89 annual fee. If you don't pay it every year, the 'perpetual' license expires, and to get any further updates, you have to purchase a new perpetual license or switch to one of the 'subscription' plans.

I hope Steinberg releases their notation app soon and that it doesn't require a subscription. If it's good, and if converting Sibelius files works reasonably well, I'll switch, and will be happy to no longer do business with Avid. F-'em. (Remember, this is the company that fired the veteran Sibelius development team around the same time their stock was tanking and the big-wigs were earning obscene amounts of money.)

[stubbsonic]

I think this would be a great model IF the pricing for an annual subscription was 10% of the price of the software. In 10 years, you will have paid what you would have.

So like $25 per year to have the latest greatest Sibelius. It would be great for students who need it for a class, or for pro's who have a specific project working with other Sib users, etc.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

FWIW, Finale used to update every year at about $125, which works out the same or a little more. The problem I have is that you are forced to update with the subscription model. Yes, it keeps you up to date, but it also forces you to both update and continue paying.

It is NOT about convenience of the customer, but rather insurance for the company that as long as people want to use the software they will have to cough up the coins. Adobe has been doing this for a while now. I think it sucks the big one and won't pay a subscription unless there is no alternative and even then, I'll keep the running, paid for software for as long as I can run it - bugs and all. That said, I detest Sibelius and pretty much all Avid products, from Pro Tools to M-Audio crapola products. They are greed anthropomorphized to the nth degree, which is kind of OK if you are producing exceptional products. They are not.

[BobK]

It is NOT about convenience of the customer, but rather insurance for the company that as long as people want to use the software they will have to cough up the coins. Adobe has been doing this for a while now. I think it sucks the big one and won't pay a subscription unless there is no alternative and even then, I'll keep the running, paid for software for as long as I can run it - bugs and all. That said, I detest Sibelius and pretty much all Avid products, from Pro Tools to M-Audio crapola products. They are greed anthropomorphized to the nth degree, which is kind of OK if you are producing exceptional products. They are not.

AFAIK, the difference is that Adobe and Microsoft don't have any charges analogous to Avid's 'perpetual license'. They just offer a menu of subscription rates.

While Avid tries to portray it as something separate from a subscription, the 'perpetual license' is really just an up-front fee to lower the annual subscription rate.

Just FYI, MLC, Avid sold M-Audio a while back.

[James Steele]

Yes, it keeps you up to date, but it also forces you to both update and continue paying.

Exactly. It's why I will do anything to avoid the subscription model. It seems to eliminate the option of simply staying behind on an older OS and using a particular app version until your actual NEEDS compel an application update. You pay your bill or they shut your lights off. These are apps with a self destruct feature. This is why I will use FCPX and not Premiere.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk