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Waves Discontinues Perpetual Licenses (UPDATE: They have gone Subscription Only)

Martin H.

By Martin H.
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RSMcGuitar
RSMcGuitar
Fleer
Fleer

So it was all some manager’s magic to make us register all those plugins we had lying around

Larry Shelby
Larry Shelby

Well...for ME...it's GOODBYE WAVES!  Don't let the door hitcha where the good Lord splitcha!

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MusicMan

MusicMan

Posted
Posted

I remember saying that I wouldn't bother starting to use their free sampler, or studio rack in projects because they would move the goalposts and do something shady.. and well here we are.. glad I expected them to suck and they did not disappoint.. 

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Nick Blanc

Nick Blanc

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, cclarry said:

Look up "Klaus Schwab".  He's the "Leader" of the WEF (World Economic Forum).  He has a book called "The Great Reset"
and in it is stated the "You'll own NOTHING...and you'll be happy" motto.  Their GOAL is to
RESET the World Economy under which you will own NO PERSONAL PROPERTY WHATSOEVER! 
It's not funny in the least, and they are DEAD SERIOUS!

As I've done before with the IK Multimedia Group buy thread, I'm going to risk closing one the more popular topics on this forum by getting political ?. Well not really, just a bit of factchecking, but still risky. I'm sorry Larry, but someone lied to you. Opinions about WEF aside, this is not their goal and they did not say this. The line "you will own nothing and be happy" was a prediction (!) made by a Danish politician (Ida Auken) (!) in an opionion piece (!) on the WEF website in 2016. The title was something along the lines of "How life in my city can change in 2030". She desbribes a city without ownership where things like energy, communication and transport are free. She later added "Some people saw this article as an utopia or dream for the future. It isn't. It's a scenario about how things can change for better or for worse". It is not a goal and it is not mentioned in the Schwab book.

What Schwab DID say was: "The pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future." It was a vague statement about how the pandemic could be used as a moment towards greater sustainability. He was not really clear about the specifics, which was also the main criticism about his book. Basically, anyone who claims to know the specifics and says some detail is 'all part of the plan', is making it up. Because even Schwab himself didn't go into the specifics. So, as I have come to know you as a man who doesn't bullshit, I say again, someone lied to you.

As for Waves, I'm a bit sad I didn't get Clarity before this, but I'll manage. I never wupped, never will and I will never subscribe. I happened to have used one of my very first plugin purchases ever this weekend, One Knob Pumper for a quick sidechain effect. The sudden move is shady at best. It feels like a long 'pump and dump' scheme.

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PavlovsCat

PavlovsCat

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, husker said:

Not sure I agree with that either.  How so? 

Consumer buying behavior is very different than the behavior of B2B buying behavior, especially with regards to things like subscriptions, which are often viewed favorably by business buyers, such as IT professionals. However,  consumers often view software subscriptions very differently.  I realize that you have an IT background.  I come at this from a different perspective,  as a strategist that assesses buying behavior (with technology my area of specialty). I've managed, written and spoke on this area for decades with B2B and B2C Fortune 500 experience and these are very elementary observations I'm sharing.  But after you've sent me more than one very hostile PMs making insults at me. I'm not going to reply to you further.  So, you can have your own opinions. But if you notice the backlash that Waves is getting for going to a subscription only model, it's really not surprising,  because of the way they did it and because they're largely serving hobbyists, which is where the vast majority  of money is in this market.  

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John1984

John1984

Posted
Posted (edited)

When it baffles to distraction how a company as old as Waves would make business decisions that are this divorced from reality at the ground level, I can't stop thinking about it. Generally, the people who own and run a business as large and as mature as Waves Audio are not stupid people; there must be an over arching driver (or drivers) to this.

The more I step back and think about this, the more I consider the notion that Waves' joining the market's propensity to list plugins at an absurdly high "retail price" in an effort to persuade a buyer that 80% off is a good deal not to be missed (FOMO) was one giant misstep. It's one we see so many vendors -- in and out of music -- make every day.

The problem with sales and heavily discounted promotions is you attract people who like sales and heavily discounted promotions. It is axiomatic that you get more of the behavior you reward. Customer loyalty is maintained so long as those discounts are on the menu. With so many options to purchase plugins, Waves became just another listing on someone's Deals of the Week. That does not promote steady cashflow.

Moving away from retail sales to subscriptions does promote steady cashflow. There are lots of reasons to level out income away from the capricious peaks and valleys of the never-ending sales cycle. Anyone who has built and sold a business understands one of the bigger reasons.

Edited by John1984
typos
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Johnbee58

Johnbee58

Posted
Posted (edited)

This wasn't a mistake on their part.  They knew exactly what they were doing and expected the backlash.  What they want is to lose the "Home Recordist" market and just serve the pros.  The pros can afford $300.00 a month.  "Bedroom engineers" can't.

I checked the comparison chart between the two plans.  Only one of the current plugins I own would be in the $14.99 plan.  The rest would be in the $24.99 plan.  No way can I do that.

I wouldn't be so offended if they would just let us continue to UPDATE what we have.

?John B

Edited by Johnbee58
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simon

simon

Posted
Posted
43 minutes ago, Johnbee58 said:

What they want is to lose the "Home Recordist" market and just serve the pros.

I really think that's an incorrect assumption.   On the contrary I think it's probably the other way round (very simplistically)

Of course I'm guessing neither of us were in the boardroom when it was discussed so of course we are guessing :D 

 

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smallstonefan

smallstonefan

Posted
Posted

The one thing I do agree with here is that Waves has handled this situation just about as poorly as you could handle it.

I totally get the desire to move to subscription so I don't really have an issue with this as some do (I won't be subscribing), but this is going down as a textbook case in how NOT to do this.

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