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pottering

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Posts posted by pottering

  1. Anyways, it is not only a Ableton 30% sale,  there is the Max For Live Pack I already mentioned (Stray Cats Collection), another Pack of sounds (Spectral Textures),  and for people that don't use Live there is a very good book (Making Music: 74 Creative Strategies for Electronic Music Producers) in  .pdf, .mobi, and .epub formats.

    https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/ideas-offers-making-music-home/

    That book is really good, recommend everybody gets it.

  2. The Standard 9 to Suite 10 for $249 offer lasted months, it was valid during the whole beta (the closed and the open ones), and I think it lasted for some weeks after the launch too.

    They did that  offer ("buy/upgrade Live 9 and get Live 10 upgrade free") so people didn't stop buying Live 9 during the beta, after the first news about Live 10 was announced, a flash sale would not work for that purpose.

     

  3. IMO, since Ableton prices are stable, the incentive already is to upgrade in the first sale you see.

     

    You are not saving much money by waiting, even with this rare 30% sale. 

     

    Suite 9 to Suite 10 was $239 on launch, it is $209 now, just $30 for 2+ years of waiting (the beta started in late 2017).

     

    Standard 9 to Suite 10 was $249 on launch,  2+ years later the price is $342, that's $93 MORE (and that's with this 30% sale).

     

    And if you skip this 30% sale, probably only 20%-25% sales after that (assuming things go back to normal after Covid19).

     

     

     

  4. I read a lot of people hate Steinberg's upgrade policy.

     

    Seems they charge more the older your version is, basically forcing you to keep upgrading as soon as possible.

     

    I also read that the best case scenario is $50 per upgrade, and those are yearly.

     

    So $250 over 5 years.

     

    $250 being almost the same price as the Standard to Standard and Suite to Suite upgrades (well, those are actually $160  and $209 now).

     

     

     

     

  5. 14 minutes ago, Anxiousmofo said:

    What Sergio said.

    Further, the fundamental issue is that, aside from being structured in an unfair way for loyal users, their offerings are intensely overpriced to begin with, and their sales are middling.  And they put most of their software development efforts into features for a companion hardware that costs another $799.

    It's their business.  I just think they could have a LOT more business.

     

    So:

     

    1- Ableton is bad because they don't give better deals to older loyal users (users from older versions, like Live 1, as described by you in previous comments).

     

    2- Ableton is bad because they charge too much.

     

    So you claim if they lower the price, then the older users that paid Ableton, let's say $1500, will feel great about new users getting Suite for $200?

     

    I find that very unlikely.

     

    I think if they lower the price, users will simply perceive Live as less valuable, and the older users will feel betrayed at the sudden shift in pricing policy.

     

    Lowers resale/trade value too, even Bitwig users that are trying to sell their old Live copy would be pissed.

     

    Your advice for Ableton doesn't contemplate the existence of the numerous Ableton haters out there, that will certainly do their "best" to put the worst possible spin on such a price change.

     

    They will claim you shouldn't buy Live because it will soon go out of business, they will claim Live is not worth even that, that Ableton is "evil" for charging the reduced pricing, much less the older price, etc. etc.

     

    The more I think about it, the crazier a shift in price policies looks to me, considering how successful Ableton was in the last few years, despite the emergence of new competitors and the lowered prices older competitors are offering.

     

    In fact, the whole point of my first comment is that this 30% sale is already a pretty big shift in policy for them, a rare over-25% sale.

     

    The free Packs they offered are a rare shift in policy too: 

     

    https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/ideas-offers-making-music-home/

     

    It is the first time I saw a 30% sale since I started watching for them, 6 years ago (when I got Live 9 Intro), their sales are always 20% or 25%, usually 20%, and the first time I've seen them giveaway a paid Pack.

     

    (I paid for that Pack actually, also paid for most of the Max For Cats devices in the new free Pack, it is good stuff)

  6. 14 minutes ago, Sergio said:

    Except that if you upgrade since version 1 you'd have paid looooooads more for the same product than a newcomer.  I'd say that this policy is geared towards getting new people on board. OTOH this discourages many people (Iike me) from upgrading. Arturia uses the same tactics and... well... I'm still on version 5 of the V Collection bundle. Maybe they could get more money by giving their loyal users a better deal.

     

    You are quoting me out-of-context, gluing stuff that was meant as an answer to another user with stuff that was just info about Ableton sales.

     

    I wrote "product TIERS", like Intro/Standard/Suite, not major numbered versions  like Live 9 or 10.

     

    Ableton's upgrade model is the same as the vast majority of paid software out there. 

     

    (Of the few that don't use that model, many use models people hate, like WUP and subscription models)

     

    Besides audio software, I buy graphic design software, illustration software, video software, game design software, plus games and utilities.

     

    The vast majority charge for upgrades just like Ableton, even the discounts are similar, 40-60% of full price.

     

    Can't recall any software that gives a bigger discount the older version you have.

     

    Can't recall ever seeing a table with separate upgrade prices for each separate older version.

     

    Pretty much every software I've seen has a single upgrade price.

     

    Some companies even stop offering upgrade paths to older versions after some years, you can only update recent versions.

     

  7. 30% is is the biggest discount they offered in at least 6 years, their sales are always 20% or 25%.

     

    $342 (non-sale price $489) is not simply "from 9 Standard to Suite", but "from Live 1 - 9 to 10 Suite", it is not only for Live 9 users.

     

    Also, when Live 10 was on beta and for some time after the launch, Live 9 (or earlier) users could upgrade to 9 Standard or 9 Suite and get the Live 10 upgrade free, like from 9 Standard to 9 Suite (plus 10 Suite) for $249. 

     

    1 hour ago, Anxiousmofo said:

    I will never understand their business model, but apparently it works for them, at least. 

    So it goes...

     


    It is simple, Ableton upgrade prices are structured so everybody pays about the same prices for the same product tiers.

     

    Getting Suite is not cheaper than getting Intro + upgrade to Suite, there is no "special deal" for paying more upfront.

     

    You can skip versions to save $, but then you have to wait a looooong time.

  8. 5 hours ago, Anxiousmofo said:

    Very much agree.  I wish Ableton would take this opportunity to, for once, provide existing Standard users with meaningful discounts.

     

    Ableton didn't do any marketing, they only rose the trial time discreetly.

     

    Doing a sale would be exactly what OP complains about, using a calamity as a marketing opportunity.

     

     

    Anyhow, I don't think people should be overthinking the motivations for the sales.

     

    I did see a couple sales with somewhat insensitive wording, but I would file that under just "laziness",  and just assume people simply used the same wording they always use for sales, forgetting the circumstances, which is a bit dumb. but not malicious.

     

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