The Software Subscription Bubble May Be Set To Burst

[kitekrazy1]

https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/the-software-subscription-bubble-may-be-set-to-burst

We can only hope.

[Shane_B.]

It depends. Sometimes it makes sense to pay more throughout the year so you owe less to the government in the end in taxes.

I'd have to guess that does not apply to the vast majority of audio software users so a that point it's personal choice.

I have never, and never will subscribe to anything for home use audio related.

I had to subscribe to a few things for my LLC and in the end ... it works out in my favor.

I'll switch back to tape and other hardware before I ever subscribe to a DAW and VST's, but I'm a sporadic user. I'm not in my studio every day like I used to be 

If you are a heavy home user, I can certainly see why someone would subscribe to Adobe or audio related stuff. I don't think people are wrong if they do is what I'm saying.

I think having a choice to buy or subscribe is great. I just worry about the slippery slope of sub only like Adobe.

[Notes_Norton]

I prefer to purchase something than to subscribe. I keep them at the absolute minimum.

As a musician, my income is not regular. By not having a bunch of subscriptions, during the COVID lockdown, I didn't have to break into my savings.

 

[mettelus]

Rebelle just announced yesterday that they are going to the same model that Splat had (1-year window of updates from purchase point). The downside of that model is folks can wait for a feature they actually want before buying in and catch up to everyone else in one go. The bean counters need to get a better grasp on reality sometimes. They almost gave away Rebelle 7 Pro (even to new users) for $30 (normally $149) and seem lost about "what happened??"

A couple problems with that model is developers feel compelled to release "something" each month, and keeping track of who is on what version just becomes a  circus. We all know how that turned out with Splat...

[Rain]

The subscription model saved me a ton of money. I steer clear of that type of scheme (mostly).

I must take the opportunity to raise my glass to companies like Lennar Digital, developers of Sylenth1, an extraordinary synth, who went the opposite way. Rent to own. They will allow you to buy  and use their synth on a monthly plan. If you decide to interrupt payment for a few months, it's ok. You temporarily renounce access to Sylenth. You can pick right up when you are ready and start making monthly payments, and it all goes towards your permanent license. 

[kitekrazy1]

18 hours ago, mettelus said:

Rebelle just announced yesterday that they are going to the same model that Splat had (1-year window of updates from purchase point). The downside of that model is folks can wait for a feature they actually want before buying in and catch up to everyone else in one go. The bean counters need to get a better grasp on reality sometimes. They almost gave away Rebelle 7 Pro (even to new users) for $30 (normally $149) and seem lost about "what happened??"

A couple problems with that model is developers feel compelled to release "something" each month, and keeping track of who is on what version just becomes a  circus. We all know how that turned out with Splat...

and it's often not quality with those monthly promises

Studio One and Bitwig are annual upgrades.

Acronis went sub only and now offer perpetual again,

[Terry Kelley]

It’s like when the food take-out place turns the cashier display towards you so you can enter a tip.

No.

Edited July 30 by Terry Kelley

[Gswitz]

I like it when cakewalk is getting improvements. How we fund those,idk. I love cakewalk though. It's my computer home -- the only app I really use. 

[kitekrazy1]

On 7/29/2025 at 5:17 PM, Terry Kelley said:

It’s like when the food take-out place turns the cashier display towards you so you can enter a tip.

No.

We always come up with new entitlements. Everything is a tipping industry.  There are no longer contracts but charities.

[Nitrate Audio]

I agree to some extent. Software subs really suck and do cost more in long run. But with the security landscape and big push for more security, I think this gives big companies leverage  to make the case that subs and constant behind the scenes updates are here to stay. What I am finding in the case of Adobe monopoly, the costs is driving folks to find cheaper open source alternatives. 

[Notes_Norton]

If I can find an alternative to subscriptions, whether paid or open source, I'll usually take it. 

If they want to update, and I think it's worth it for functional or security reasons, I'll pay for the update. But I don't want to pay by the month for something if I don't have to.

[Starship Krupa]

On 7/23/2025 at 9:34 AM, Shane_B. said:

It depends. Sometimes it makes sense to pay more throughout the year so you owe less to the government in the end in taxes.

I'd have to guess that does not apply to the vast majority of audio software users so a that point it's personal choice.

I have never, and never will subscribe to anything for home use audio related.

I had to subscribe to a few things for my LLC and in the end ... it works out in my favor.

This jibes with my belief: software subscriptions make good sense when you're using the software steadily to earn income that you'll be declaring.

For hobbyists and even semi-pros, not so much.

Adobe seem not to care about the small time market. They want the people who will go from educational license to full subscription. Photoshop has always been so expensive that for people who must have Photoshop, maybe it's a wash.

It's telling that in the land of content creation software, the only companies (present company excluded) I can think of who have tried to pull off subscription only, Adobe, Avid, and Waves, all had reason to believe that their products were essential to people earning money with them. And two out of those three have backed off and brought back a perpetual option.

As a consumer, I prefer the MeldaProduction truly perpetual model, where you pay once and then never again until death do you part. I guess Image Line (who own a chunk of MeldaProduction) do something similar with their DAW. Both product lines seem to be doing pretty well, so the licensing model must somehow work for them. I guess they do well enough with new sales? In my time as a MeldaProduction customer, they seem to have gone from being relative outsiders to up and coming to preferred secret weapon of many pros. And Image Line's DAW is supposed to have the largest share of the market.

But I also understand that companies need cash to stay afloat and that model may not be the best for all of them.

[Starship Krupa]

On 8/18/2025 at 1:21 PM, Nitrate Audio said:

Software subs really suck and do cost more in long run. But with the security landscape and big push for more security, I think this gives big companies leverage  to make the case that subs and constant behind the scenes updates are here to stay. What I am finding in the case of Adobe monopoly, the costs is driving folks to find cheaper open source alternatives.

Enterprise applications are different animals from DAW's and video and image editing suites. They're both computer software, but for different markets. The financial and security concerns are different.

I've never heard of a malware exploit for a DAW or photo editing program. Some people are still using SONAR 8, and they probably don't feel they're in much danger security wise.

So I don't think one can apply what's true for, say, an operating system or office suite to what's true for a DAW. The office suite is used in....offices, which makes it a target for exploits. I guess someone could theoretically ransom my sample libraries....

Subscriptions are often/usually a good idea for business software and the businesses who use them. This extends to businesses who use audio and video and photo programs. One licensing model doesn't fit all, it's like automobile leasing. Almost always the best choice for company cars, but not for family cars.

[Nitrate Audio]

On 8/22/2025 at 11:38 PM, Starship Krupa said:

Enterprise applications are different animals from DAW's and video and image editing suites. They're both computer software, but for different markets. The financial and security concerns are different.

I've never heard of a malware exploit for a DAW or photo editing program. Some people are still using SONAR 8, and they probably don't feel they're in much danger security wise.

So I don't think one can apply what's true for, say, an operating system or office suite to what's true for a DAW. The office suite is used in....offices, which makes it a target for exploits. I guess someone could theoretically ransom my sample libraries....

Subscriptions are often/usually a good idea for business software and the businesses who use them. This extends to businesses who use audio and video and photo programs. One licensing model doesn't fit all, it's like automobile leasing. Almost always the best choice for company cars, but not for family cars.

we use adobe in the enterprise. this includes photoshop and illustrator. they are sub model's. the people that use them are on managed computers. there are exploits for everything. some are more widely publicized than others. 

 

https://www.fortinet.com/blog/threat-research/adobe-photoshop-vulnerabilities-discovered