Subscription works when the company understands the point of subscription. You have to MINIMIZE profit per customer in exchange for the goal of customer growth. That means you have to reduce your monthly access fee to something that is extremely assessable to your customer base. The idea is to actually NOT make much money off of individual customers. It's a bold move and many companies do it improperly because they're scared of this gamble and in some cases, too arrogant about the perceived value of their products. However, if you do it correctly, have respect for your customers, and offer a great product, the return for the company is greater customer growth and acquisition. So for us, I call this a win-win. Customers spend very little money and get access to our whole entire product lineup. They get everything. And we as a company grow by acquiring new customers who previously could not afford our software.
Now, before they can even say it, let me respond to the frequent claims:
1. Subscription is always more expensive, in 10 years you will have spent tens of thousands.
A: No, it's $149 a year so that means in 10 years you've only spent $1500. You can't get around this one, it's cheap no matter how you look at it.
2. What about in five years when I need to load a project and I'm not subscribing then I'm totally screwed!
A: You can get every plugin back fully updated, and have access to even more plugins for the project for $24.99. Nothing to sob over.
3. Owning makes more sense than renting.
A: Not if you're a fan of logical economics. Software is one of the most highly depreciating products you can buy. Its value declines rapidly and most of the time it becomes almost worthless on the second hand market. It's actually a terrible investment, especially if you're paying a lot of money for it. With software plugins, the technology is moving so fast that this makes an even stronger case.
Obviously I'm biased here, but I stand by everything I have just stated. It's up to you to choose how you wish to get your audio tools. Best of luck!
-Steven Slate
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