Are subscription models a cure for GAS?

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bmanic wrote: Wed Apr 24, 2019 5:56 pm A person who constantly buys every plugin is weird beast though.. perhaps subscriptions were indeed made for these whales?
That coming from you... :lol: :hihi:

Every plugin? No, that not - but I will freely admit that I easily purchase a dozen times the amount of plugins I might sensibly ever need - and I don't think I am much of a bigger plugin-slut than you. :razz:
"Preamps have literally one job: when you turn up the gain, it gets louder." Jamcat, talking about presmp-emulation plugins.

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In SOME ways, yes.....financially. Up to a certain point relative to that specific person.

Every other aspect, no.

I only deal with Slate's subscription. That's it. That's all I'm doing.

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If you were to buy (=permanent license) a new plugin every month for 5 years (I expect a plugin from a serious company to be usable at least for that amount of time from the original release), then you would have bought 60 plugins over that amount of time. If you spend 50 for each new license every month (it's likely a reasonable "cheap" amount for an "impulse buy", but it's also a "realistic" fixed cost once you have a few subscriptions going on), does spending that same amount of money for multiple subscriptions give you those 60 plugins every month, right from the start?

I'm mostly against subscription; I buy my permanent licenses and I rarely spend more than 30-50€ on a single item (unless is a daw upgrade or something major in my setup... and I already have a lot, so I'm quite picky in my purchases). And I avoid spending more than 50-100€ on a single month, unless I really need to (because every software purchase cuts into my hardware budget :lol: ).

Some plugins actually sit unused most of the time BUT... they don't stop working after a pair of months. Some are regularly updates while others just work fine without any need for maintenance, but the result is that I can keep on using them for years after the purchase. Of course I usually buy from reputable brands...

If you spend 50€ on a plugin and it works fine for 4-5 at least years (some will be broken earlier, some will continue to work for more time... let's assume 4-5 years as a reasonable amount of time, if you keep on upgrading your computer and you run into incompatibilities, or if you just replace then with new, more advanced, tools), then it's 10-12,5€ for year, or 0,84-1,42€ each month for that plugin.

If you spend 50 € every month to purchase new plugin licenses and those plugins work for 4-5 years, then it's not that different than getting a few subscriptions, with these important differences:
- you can choose the tools you really want from different manufacturers (while the subscriptions are sold as "pre-arranged" suites of tools)
- you're not forced to pay every month to have your tools running (if you need money for something else, you can avoid new plugin purchases for a while).
- you can resell your license (actually not always possible) and get back part of your money
- you get gas-satisfaction with every time you get a new tools (you know the feeling of going shopping and then taking money out of your pocket and receiving a good? it's not the same when you pay upfront for a subscription, I suspect it's more akin to getting a "not-so-free" gift).

From a certain point of view, buying a plugin license (vs subscription) it's like paying upfront for a multi-years subscription for that specific plugin, but your license for that plugin never ends.

Subscriptions could make sense if you were to buy a lot of new stuff every month (and I mean really a lot) or for a specific project (if so, just call it rental), or if they give you all the stuff from the very beginning (and you don't have the money to pay upfront for all the permanent licenses you would need); but most of the time in the long run it's hardly cheaper than buying...

Usually, most of the software I use works fine for more than 5 years, so I get a better deal by purchasing a permanent license instead of subscribing.
Also, I wrote about 50€ each month: some months I don't buy anything, while some other months I spend up to 100-150, sometimes I buy one or two cheap plugins (say 25-30€ each), sometimes I buy a plugin suite (usually through an upgrade deal from something I already own)... I mean: it's not that hard to increase the plugin count and even go past the 60 plugins in 5 years of my example.



I see almost no advantage in subscriptions, so I'm against them. And, as already said, they won't cure the gas, you will start looking for tools outside your current subscriptions to satisfy your gas (so you will spend even more).



Just my opinion, of course.
free multisamples (last upd: 22th May 2021).
-------------------------
I vote with my wallet.

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jens wrote: Wed Apr 24, 2019 9:55 pm
bmanic wrote: Wed Apr 24, 2019 5:56 pm A person who constantly buys every plugin is weird beast though.. perhaps subscriptions were indeed made for these whales?
That coming from you... :lol: :hihi:
I don't purchase every plugin, quite far from it. Do I test pretty much every plugin? Hell yes! That may give the illusion I have tons of plugins.. well I DO have tons of plugins but I do purchase selectively. :D
Every plugin? No, that not - but I will freely admit that I easily purchase a dozen times the amount of plugins I might sensibly ever need - and I don't think I am much of a bigger plugin-slut than you. :razz:
Well, I have this silly way of justifying my purchases: If even a single client had one of the plugins in a project.. then it has potentially "paid itself". Naturally this isn't a sane way to look at it as I sometimes end up being without a salary as the plugin ate all the costs. So yeah.. damn. Perhaps I am indeed "The Whale"? :hihi:
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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I don't even have customers... :cry: :lol:

Like I said: I don't nearly purchase every plugin that comes out, but I DO purchase a lot nonetheless and it's certainly total overkill.

(I should really get at least rid of those I never use AT ALL such as e.g. Kilohearts' the Works and Izotope MPS (okay, I use Ozone now and then) :help:)
"Preamps have literally one job: when you turn up the gain, it gets louder." Jamcat, talking about presmp-emulation plugins.

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Yeah same here. I have a few companies whose plugins I literally never touch.

I don't remember when I last used an IK Multimedia plugin (though I do like some of them a lot.. like Saturator X!). I should probably just get rid of them but due to how they have that stupid CS shop thing I don't quite know how. Anybody know if it's legal to sell the whole account somehow?
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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I get how one can easily dislike IKMM-stuff - personally I wouldn't want to do without them though, for one special reason: the brilliant way in which almost every T-Racks offers control over both channels (LR or MS) - that's just so convenient and makes it so easy to achieve better mixes.
"Preamps have literally one job: when you turn up the gain, it gets louder." Jamcat, talking about presmp-emulation plugins.

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jens wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:23 pm I don't even have customers... :cry: :lol:

Like I said: I don't nearly purchase every plugin that comes out, but I DO purchase a lot nonetheless and it's certainly total overkill.

(I should really get at least rid of those I never use AT ALL such as e.g. Kilohearts' the Works and Izotope MPS (okay, I use Ozone now and then) :help:)
Kilohearts is amazing, couldn't do without 'm. But yeah, i didn't need everything from the whole bundle, guess that was the gas kickin in :)
More BPM please

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rewrite history wrote: Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:28 pm The subscription model seems to be a perfect fit for those that tend to buy a lot of things on impulse.

And those who quickly get bored with their plugin libraries and are always looking for the next "silver bullet" plugin.

It may also be a perfect fit for those always looking for a creative spark through presets and other elements they might not have thought about before.

Even though you might be stuck with only a brand or two, it would also tame that itch you get every time you see the next "game changer" plugin, that is being hyped up as the next must have plugin.

There might actually be a useful need for the subscription model after all, besides a long term demo rental at an affordable price.
The only cure is to put focus on something that doesnt make you think that you need that or another plugin/gear.

Make music. It works, trust me and make it only with tools you have - you will realise you dont need any of that stuff you think you need.

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Elektronisch wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 4:34 am The only cure is to put focus on something that doesnt make you think that you need that or another plugin/gear.

Make music. It works, trust me and make it only with tools you have - you will realise you dont need any of that stuff you think you need.
That's really what it boils down to. Making music and purchasing new plugins are two, mostly unrelated, and often conflicting activities. Buying a plugin gives you a dopamine kick and makes you feel like you're making progress, all while requiring no mental effort. You can get the same dopamine kick from finishing a track, but it takes more effort.

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AdvancedFollower wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 11:28 am
Elektronisch wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 4:34 am The only cure is to put focus on something that doesnt make you think that you need that or another plugin/gear.

Make music. It works, trust me and make it only with tools you have - you will realise you dont need any of that stuff you think you need.
That's really what it boils down to. Making music and purchasing new plugins are two, mostly unrelated, and often conflicting activities. Buying a plugin gives you a dopamine kick and makes you feel like you're making progress, all while requiring no mental effort. You can get the same dopamine kick from finishing a track, but it takes more effort.
It is partly true, but if you only separate activities as BUY and Make Music.

But exactly in hobby case, i accept these 2 not being separate because: you buy the tool accordingly to your hobby a.k.a reason - make music, thing that actually kicks in the dopamine when you achieve good result. Certain tool in this case plugin can be a help or even a mean to reach that point. This is how i view it. And in my personal (again personal opinion) its actually the right way to view that when you are primary a music producer, otherwise if you buy plugins just to buy but not really use them accordingly then you are not hobbyst/pro or any kind of person who is related to music production/post production or anything else, you are just a horder, your hobby is to buy things, horde.

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Not sure if it'd be a cure for GAS... after all, you don't own the plugins, but lose them when you stop the subscription. On the other hand, yeah, it pretty much seems to server the peeps who need to get every plugin on the planet. I have one software subscription at the moment, and that's my Microsoft Office 365 subscription. And i keep wondering the whole time if it is really worth it, or if i should not get one of the Office 2019 persistent licenses instead. On the other hand, those have some big disavantages, like being restricted to the use on one PC. The Office 365 sub isn't exactly expensive, actually, it's very cheap, but, still, disliked the idea of renting software instead of owning it. When you ever happen to only still rarely use the software, a subscription will hurt, because you will shell out money for something that doesn't get a lot of use, while, when you frequently use the software, it surely can make sense. Difficult topic.

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I am on Slate subscription and I really like it...
It costs me 14,99$ a month which is for me in Euros less than 14,-€
For this price I get basically 39 absolutely top notch plugins, which I mostly love all... and the number is raising... they added a lot in the last 2 years and Bulent already leaked that Synthmaster will be included as well...

This means I pay for each plugin atm less than 36 cents/month...
Quality plugins like these easily are sold for 70,- -100,- € each... golden middle= 85,-€

This further means I would need 19 years at this price till I have payed the full price... and it´s getting cheaper with every plugin they add...

If I don´t want them anymore... I just cancel the plan... no problems with selling second hand with much loss... no worries about silly license transfers with additional fees and raising the loss even more...

I don´t really know, what´s wrong with that...
36 cents a month/plugin...? It´s quite affordable in my eyes...
And comments like "it´s adding up" etc... are in this sense silly that you don´t buy 100 plugins in short term period neither... respectively this is the real meaning of "it´s adding up"!!!

On top of that for people saying "...but I just want this or that plugin... the rest is covered..." I didn´t see a company in audio land, which doesn´t offer you to buy a single plugin... why ranting about subscribing an everything bundle... that´s a complete different topic...

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I think there are just alot of personal things conflicting in here like hording (not to be offended) and not having an expiration date on that because of inner voice saying i will use it sometime.

IN the essence subscribtion is nothing wrong if you are using majority of those plugins, it can even be cheaper. But if its only few plugins, its indeed not very economic to use subscribtion and instead its better to get full plugin licence and not to have that expiration date hanging, but then you have to deal with the fact you will not gonna have other plugins (despite the fact you dont need them).

Having a conflicting personality is actually a problem here, not the subscribtion model.

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Subscription models are tools for consumer abuse, and nothing but.
- dysamoria.com
my music @ SoundCloud

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