Subscription based selling....
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The main drawback of a subscription based model (apart from me as a customer hating it) is that you need a constant internet connection.
Also to be honest, all subscription models in the audio industry are coming from big players (eg. EastWest offering their entire catalog worth of 10k+ for monthly rent). Offering a bunch of plugins which might sell for 20€ - 30€ would not be incentive enough to justify a monthly subscription (and if yes, it would be something like 1-2 bucks a month).
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@christoph-hart I have no experience on the market. I trust your words :) the only thing I learned is initial traction for a VI is good, then it drops fast. So, converting guys to a subscription or rent to own model sounds interesting. also we can all join to do a subscription model offering a huge collection of VIs and FXs made with Hise.
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I hate software subscriptions.
- Subscription models almost always require users to install non-free software on their system to communicate with the developer's servers
- The client-server setup allows a developer to spy on a user, logging what software they use, how long they use it for, when they use it. The fact that the client software is usually non-free means there is no way to know what other data the developer is gathering.
- If the developer's servers are shutdown for any reason the customer will be cut-off from the software.
- The developer can intentionally cut-off the user from the software.
- The developer can change their prices at will and any users who rely on the software for their jobs will have no choice but to pay the new price. Possibly with no new benefits.
- A permanent internet connection is required to use the software
- There is less incentive for developers to update their products or develop new ones.
Rent-to-own is software marketing BS. There is no rent-to-own model for software because customers will never "own" the software. They will only own a license to use the software under the terms the developer dictates. A license that the developer can terminate at any time.
There is no benefit to the user to keep paying for software over and over, the only goal of software subscriptions is to benefit the developer.
The customer should be your priority. If what you are doing has more benefits for you than your users you should choose a different path.
If you really want some kind of subscription then ask them to subscribe for support and updates. So they pay for a month or years subscription and in that time they will receive all updates that you release and can request support. If they decide not to continue their subscription they don't lose access to their software but they won't get support or updates until they resubscribe. This is very user friendly and encourages developers to improve their software, release updates, and provide good support. It also doesn't require the user to install any extra software or allow the developer to spy on the user since it can be entirely managed through the developer's website.
Libre Wave - Freedom respecting instruments and effects
My Patreon - HISE tutorials
YouTube Channel - Public HISE tutorials -
@d-healey Yes you are right in most cases. But subscription method is a very useful way for a customer and a company that has 100 products for example. Software company serves this 100 products to the customers usage with just $5 or $10 in a month. (Normally it costs thousands of dolalars if you want to buy them)
Also users can pay as long as the usage. And the account can be freezed whenever the customer want.
I think this payment strategy is the future. Besides, we can make the customer choose the way they want. One time fee or monthly subscription. Some people prefer subscription method.
With that way, software companies will be able to earn much more money because of the bulk customer amount. With this way customers will be more happy because of the huge amount of software usage with such a low cost. With this way, the cracked softwares will be history. There is no way to crack. There is need to crack, because softwares will be so cheap ;) :)
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@remarkablex
Yes you are right in most cases.
Well I think we are talking about most cases here. I don't see any point in Christoph developing a subscription system that would only be for a small number of developers to use.
But subscription method is a very useful way for a customer and a company that has 100 products for example. Software company serves this 100 products to the customers usage with just $5 or $10 in a month.
This is the only advantage to the customer I can see, but very few VI developers have 100 products. Of those that do a lot of the products cost less than $100 so wouldn't provide much reason for a $10 a month subscription. And just because a developer has 100 products doesn't mean a user will use all of them, they might only want a few.
Do you have more than 100 products? and do you think they are worth $10 a month? EW has 10000+ instruments and they charge $25 a month so you have some competition there. I wonder how many people actually use all 10000 instruments.
I can see this having more use in a business setup where there are multiple composers who all want to use the libraries. But that would require a system that allows users to share their licenses which I don't think is possible with systems like the EW composer cloud.
Also users can pay as long as the usage.
But why should they, isn't it nicer to actually get something for your money, software is a product not a service. If you buy a chair you can use it whenever you feel like, you don't have to pay every time you want to sit down. And what happens if the developer goes out of business? The user will have no access to their software, even if they paid the subscription.
And the account can be freezed whenever the customer want.
Or when the developer wants ;)
I think this payment strategy is the future. Besides, we can make the customer choose the way they want. One time fee or monthly subscription. Some people prefer subscription method.
Yes, you definitely have to allow the user a choice, subscription only will turn a lot of people off.
software companies will be able to earn much more money
There are a better ways to earn money. Like selling a good product at a reasonable price :p
With this way, the cracked softwares will be history. There is no way to crack. There is need to crack, because softwares will be so cheap ;) :)
This isn't true. If the software is in demand and there are few alternatives it will be cracked, just look at Adobe or Avid for example. Both have subscription based software that has been cracked.
Libre Wave - Freedom respecting instruments and effects
My Patreon - HISE tutorials
YouTube Channel - Public HISE tutorials -
From a business standpoint, I back subscription based products. All the research I've seen points to increased revenue.
As a customer, I hate it. I like to own my software.
I'm going to be looking into subscription services for my plugins very soon. It's the future business model.Dan Korneff - Producer / Mixer / Audio Nerd
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@dustbro said in Subscription based selling....:
From a business standpoint, I back subscription based products. All the research I've seen points to increased revenue.
As a customer, I hate it. I like to own my software.
I'm going to be looking into subscription services for my plugins very soon. It's the future business model.I had the same thoughts and came to the opposite conclusion. For me the customer is the king, not my business. I'd rather fail than sell something I hate, my customers deserve better.
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It looks like the topic has a traction :)
On the user side, I would love to have Spectrasonics Keyscape for 9.95/mo and if it works for my music I would keep paying till own it. 12 month or whatever. On the dev side, market size for guys ready to pay 9.95 is bigger that guys ready for 100/200+ -
Dear @d-healey
These are your thoughts. Others are my thoughts. But as I said, "thoughts". Please keep in mind that, be easy, be calm, no need to argue :)Yes the subscription is future business model (even me or you like it or not).
As I said, some customers prefer /mo model. I personally prefer "pay as you go style" ;) :) -
@christoph-hart said in Subscription based selling....:
subscription based model (apart from me as a customer hating it) is that you need a constant internet connection.
not so, for all clauses apart from you hating it......
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@d-healey said in Subscription based selling....:
I hate software subscriptions.
Subscription models almost always require users to install non-free software on their system to communicate with the developer's servers
The client-server setup allows a developer to spy on a user, logging what software they use, how long they use it for, when they use it. The fact that the client software is usually non-free means there is no way to know what other data the developer is gathering.
If the developer's servers are shutdown for any reason the customer will be cut-off from the software.
The developer can intentionally cut-off the user from the software.
The developer can change their prices at will and any users who rely on the software for their jobs will have no choice but to pay the new price. Possibly with no new benefits.
A permanent internet connection is required to use the software
There is less incentive for developers to update their products or develop new ones.again: not so in all cases:
http://channelrobot.com/about-everything-4-ever/
But generally the model we use is very like the one you propose for support, so hey, AND it requires Christoph to build nothing at all.
HISE Development for hire.
www.channelrobot.com -
@lindon Perfect!!! you nailed it I think! people will fund your growth looking the coming releases roadmap! The question is... is it working? Got any subscriber?
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@hisefilo well to be honest - we only publicly launched TODAY. We launched to our mailing list a month ago so those are people who ALREADY own at least one of our products - and the results were "not discouraging" Still it's taken a LOT of effort to get to the point where we have enough "back-log" to do this.
HISE Development for hire.
www.channelrobot.com -
@lindon I think will work, on the other side I think many customers will feel proud to be part of your coming releases. Like patrons. Maybe a speech that way or an email
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@lindon said in Subscription based selling....:
But generally the model we use is very like the one you propose for support, so hey, AND it requires Christoph to build nothing at all.
Yes, your system is one I support. It's the same way wordpress plugins work and is also a great model for free software businesses.
Libre Wave - Freedom respecting instruments and effects
My Patreon - HISE tutorials
YouTube Channel - Public HISE tutorials -
@hisefilo If you look down the list or reasons we think you should STAY subscribed, the last one is:
Patronage
Finally there’s that nice feeling that you’re doing something good. Plus if you think the products are worth it then the only way we can continue to do this is if we get paid to do it. We’d be fine doing this for the love of it, but the man at the supermarket wont take “love of it” as payment on our groceries.HISE Development for hire.
www.channelrobot.com -
@d-healey yes to be honest, its the WP world this comes from. I have a friend called James Farmer who runs
wpmudev.org who has spent literally years telling me to do this.Exactly the same model - well his plugins are also open source, but he charges $49/mo, and has 700,000+ subscribers - yeah do the maths.
What the let me.. 49 X 700,000 X 12 = $411M per year....he's clearly not making that but he has a really really nice house now...
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@lindon Ohh, didn't get there. My intuition says this is the MOST important decision maker at the purchase moment. We all buy with heart, not mind (just my 2 cents)
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@hisefilo you may be right....
