Completely I agree with you Barry. I paid 60$ for reaper 2 years ago and still getting update freely with awesome features. And I can do on reaper what protool can do if not more. 🤔
Yeah, I’ve been a Studio One user since 2009. I’ve done the major paid upgrades since but I like the fact that you don’t have upgrade if you don’t want to; it still works.
AVID: we just pissed off a bunch of our users. Adobe: you have no idea. Microsoft: you do this AFTER you achieve vendor lock-in. Me: I evaluated Reaper. I bought a license after legitimately evaluating it for 75 days. Those guys deserve the money.
Sadly, Avid thinks they have vendor lock-in. They're partially right, but the competition is building market share and sooner or later their status as a defacto standard is going to erode to the point of no return.
@@acmeyakko Avid really does have lock in for a lot of people (me included). Believe me, I've tried to switch to something else. I own Logic, Studio One, Live, and Reaper. But they're all incredibly frustrating in how they operate. There just isn't a DAW out there that is as efficient as Pro Tools. The other DAW companies are frankly to blame for Avid's continuing greed. If just one of them stepped up to the plate and got the basics right like PT, than there would finally be a real competitor and we could all jump ship and Avid would be forced to change its ways.
Thanks for covering this. Received the offer from Avid and like everyone else questioned if this extended my perpetual license or was just a one year subscription that had to be auto-renewed at the full price or nothing. You've answered it clearly and I'm not surprised. AVID continues to be a greed filled organization that could care less about their home studio customers. I honestly think they'd prefer we just go away. They're getting their wish with me.
I got suckered into crossgrading my perpetual for the subscription! One more year of paying $99 for it, then I'm converting all my PT projects and getting out of the game! Reaper's great, so is Logic, so I'll just start easing over to one or the other. I'm just bitter I sunk so much money into Avid, whose software does nothing different than the other guys'!
@@bw2937 What the hell are you on about? Both are very capable and used by many professionals. I've used protools in the past and I can't think of anything it can do that I can't in Logic. I can understand you have a preference, but calling one "clunky af" and the other "like a free android app" is ridiculous.
I have been using FL Studio version 11 since I bought a laptop that gave me it for free at the time. I am now on FL Studio 20 with the free updates. I am also now learning logic pro. Really amazing DAWs. I Produce on Logic and Mix on FL Studio. I tried Pro Tools and personally found it challenging to work with.
Avid has owned Digidesign since 1995 ... unless you used Version II, you never used a non-Avid product. But I agree with your sentiment that they've kind of lost the plot over the years.
@@LoaiHaleem actually I used 5 DAWs from logic, NI, Luna, abelton and pro tools. When you go to professional recording studios like IMI where I be… in NY, it’s all pro tools. So what you saying buddy ?
I updated for $99 but didn't know you got to keep paying every year. I thought if I didn't pay I would still have that version.. What a drag. Well I got the latest version for a year anyway but it's a bait and switch. Thanks Barry for talking about this.
I think there’s a misunderstanding. I believe you get updated to the newest version… but if you want to continue receiving updates AFTER, then you have to pay the increased price.
@@MrGogo41 I just paused on the screenshot to read it as it went by too quick when I watched it last night so all I had was what Barry was saying… which I misunderstood. It seems to be trying to entice perpetual license holders to go subscription… it is there in the title though “subscription” not “update and support plan” so when I look at the screenshot, it’s perfectly clear to me what they are doing… but my gut feeling would be that if you went subscription, that you would surrender your perpetual license - Barry says you could do the subscription and then go back to the last version for your perpetual license. Either way, dirty marketing on the side of Avid and why I left in 2018 when they tried this on me then.
Avid is an industry Lamprey. I've been hearing these exact same vociferous complaints for three decades now. To paraphrase the old joke about the weather, everyone talks about Avid but nobody does anything about them. Never has first-mover advantage (and they weren't even 1st movers-- they just bought a company that was) maintained such a lock on an industry for so little benefit to anyone. I jumped off the train when they started deprecating their hardware every two years or so but kept a toe in the water when they allowed other interfaces to run PT. But when they let two major releases go by (9 & 10) without moving to a x64 architecture ( I was constantly running out of memory composing on x86) AND they created yet another proprietary plugin format (AAX) I finally switched to VSTs and never looked back. Have fun with the Mafia holding you hostage forever SMFH.
I had the same reaction when they first sent me the promo. It's even worse for me since I have a perpetual license plus "support" through late 2022 (when Avid introduced the subscription model, they had a discount on a year of what they call "support" so I bought a few years). That means for me it was: pay $99, get nothing, get pushed into a subscription at the end of the year of nothing. Thanks Avid! I think I echo a theme here, but once my current "support" runs out, I'm going to strongly consider another DAW. Avid's pricing isn't just complicated, it's poor value versus what I hear about the competition. They remind me of a lot of businesses that leverage their position in the market like this, which results in some nice short-term profits with minimal overhead but ultimately leads to failure.
Avid sucks so hard at communication. I have gone round and round with them many times. They really just need to be honest. People have no problem supporting a cause but they hate being lied to or fooled. Avid learn to develop a biz model based around honesty and taking care of your customers who have been with you for decades. We will support that or move on.
I have been in the music business since 1984... When sadly PT became the " industry standard " in the late 90' I was a SoundScape user. My DAW was faster, very very reliable and sounded just great. EVERY PT user I knew at that time had to pay HUGE amount of $$$ just for the Apple computer, HUGE amount for the crappy hardware and got multiple crashes on a daily basis. SoundScape cost 1/4 of the price and never crashed...Or so rarely. And the converters were just much better. But as a studio owner and mixing music for film we had to by a PT system in early 2000... What a nightmare. I kept the projects I produced on SoundScape till 2019 ! I then had to chose a replacement... Long story short I choose Studio One... Now, in this video, I still see how a company that used to have an undeserved monopoly in our market still acting like 25 years ago with over priced everything... My opinion hasn't changed. You keep on PT if you already adopted this DAW as your platform and got used to it. But as a newcomer in the pro business, you just DON'T go PT ever. So many other much better and cheaper options available now....
Thanks for sharing ... I have two Cubase license's ... one that is ver. 11 and the other is ver. 10.5 ... while it is not a subscription there is a cost to update ... so to keep current every year or update if you will, I pay Steinberg a fair price ... the longer you wait to upgrade the more it will cost ... so though it is not a subscription outright keeping current is an expected annual cost ... I have not had a Protools lic. for over six years but I am aware of the disdain of some of my friends who do ...
It's like I keep saying, Avid needs an entirely new leadership team. Their whole corporate culture is completely dysfunctional. The fish rots from the head down.
@@joed3483 Perfectly said. 100% agree. Looking at this whole debacle is like... just how greedy and far removed from your client base can you actually get? Right now I feel like they deserve to fail
Or AVID sell Digidesigns assets and part ways and Digidesign goes back to a private company. Most DAW platforms are owned by private software companies. Some of them have been bought out like Yamaha that owns Steinberg.
@@todddammit4628 Well PT hardware and software is not their only product FYI. They had Media Composer long before they took over Digidesign. Digidesign is better being back independent like it once before. Nothing is going to change as long as AVID owns and controls Digidesign. Large corporations with investors are all for capitalism and profit. Private companies tend to care more about their customer base.
@@eman0828 I agree with you. But I think it's wishful thinking to believe Avid will just suddenly drop Pro Tools. It still makes them money. Plus, there really is no Digidesign anymore. Avid has off-shored most of its support staff, and cycles through replacement coders like they're socks. Avid would never simply drop Pro Tools, especially for nothing. Best case scenario is Avid gets in extreme financial trouble and some other massive corporation buys Pro Tools from them.
All DAWs do the exact same thing, it comes down to the workflow you like/want to use. For me I prefer Cubase but recognize that protools is used by lots of people. A lot of young musicians can only afford reaper and that’ll work excellently for them. No need to change daws unless you need to.
Totally agree. As a Windows user it’s been worse as the software constantly crashes. I have moved to Studio One and haven’t looked back. If you pay the $99 then is your perpetual license upgraded and the frozen at that new level until you pay again or does it revert back to the original version you had? Can you sell your license during the 12 months?
Hi Barry. This is another shocker from Avid. I found out a month ago that I'd lost my perpetual licence somehow and was put on a subscription. I don't know how this happened as I would never have knowingly given up my perpetual licence. I contacted Avid but was told tough luck basically. I'm really disappointed. The only way I can see to get my perpetual licence back is to buy it again... Thanks for your videos by the way, I really enjoy them.
They keep changing it! I updated two months ago for $200 for two years of updates. Now if your plan isn't expired you get one year for $200. If your plan is expired you get one year for $250. I feel like it's still a subscription. You can still use the version you own as long as it works, but if you update your OS or get a new computer and your plan is expired, you'll have to pay for updates.
I caught Native on sale for 99.00 annual and pocketed my overlapped 2019.12.0 license. I will be going back to ver 2019.12.0 perpetual after the 1 year instead of going to a subscription.
@@CaseJams Correct and it's an attempt to increase EPS. Right now, they believe this model is generating sustainable free cash flow. They've lowered their OpEx nicely which has increased their free cash flow. But, it's not sustainable. In my opinion, they are benefiting from the pandemic in a number of ways. Mortgage and rent moratoriums, extended UEM benefits, and more people WFH (or not working) has temporarily increased the number of subscription users. As the pandemic winds down, UED benefits end (or are greatly reduced) and people eventually have to begin paying their mortgage or rent, those subscriptions will end. And with top producers using Logic and S5 in videos and tutorials, more people will switch. Lastly, a lot of former Avid developers have moved to UA and are working on Luna. It's not on PT's level yet, but it's quickly gaining ground. Look at Avid's financials closely I don't think their current model is NOT sustainable.
Avid is like a pretty girl who thinks her behavior won't affect how people think of her. I was once part of an Avid Customer Advisory Board. They actually used a couple things I suggested. You think they would give me credit or throw me a bone? Nope. Logic Pro or Ableton Live for me. I was a PT user for many years before they got greedy
@@bw2937 False. Logic is used in numerous pro studios for music production and for film scoring. Music that you listen to has probably been produced with logic
So back in March 2021 I hopped on a a subscription offer for Ultimate for $399 for a year. I'm guessing come March 2022 I won't be able to continue for that $399 if I understand this correctly?
Thanks Barry! Put me on the “I don’t get it” list! I anticipate upgrading from PTHD to PTHDX in the next year but these subscription rates are pretty harsh! My only delay at this point is on the Mac side which is my platform of choice and the next Mx version of the Mac Pro is most likely where I’m moving to mostly because of their multi PCIe slots. Hopefully Apple releases a smaller/less costly version of what’s currently available.
Stopping reinstatement plans was a huge PR mistake imho. A lot of my clients were very upset when they went away.. if they are coming back (currently watching your vid) then it’s a huge positive
Uurggh so it’s a one off perpetual extension then you get nudged to goto subscription!? They are insane.. shooting themselves in the feet at every turn
@@BarryJohns well that’s when I will say goodbye to PT then… it’s a pricey subscription… and many of my clients will follow as they are super resistant to subscription model
I don't think that's right. At the end of the year you don't have to go to the subscription, but you do have to pay for the next year of updates or keep that vs. you have.
That’s right, that’s what I said. You either pay the $$$ for the next year if subscription, or you go back to the latest version you were at before you took the offer.
At the end of that year they don’t even let you keep that latest update, but send you back to the older version you had before you pay! Dirty deal spotted from a mile away!
Yep, I had a lengthy email thread with Avid last month and after what they said, which is what you just said, they lost a customer. They are smoking something I think. I refuse to pay subscriptions for software. What they did is just not cool.
Sad that PT did that! My perpetual license PT version don't work on my upgraded Mac. So I have now lost PT 299 to renew is good but 700+ after that no way I'll go to Presonus/Studio one if you cancel your subscription PT does not give refunds. What a punk company Avid is. I wish I seen this video before my upgrade.
@@bw2937 You don't get out much huh... Wake up dude... Pro tools is getting dumped by the masses and is left behind by the newcomers. Stay loyal if you want but you're seriously living in the past if you think PT is still the industry standard. Sure, the big studio's may use them, but who uses a big studio anymore?
They really don't get it. My tracking rig is still on PT10 with a control 24. I will run that till it fails. My mixing rig is 3 years out of date, it works fine for me. I am at the the end of my recording business. I will be retired by 2025. If they were reasonable I probably would have updated both. I started on protools 5 and bought upgrades and new hardware numerous times early on, no more $ from me for AVID.
Won't work. You need an Apollo interface. Not everyone uses an Apollo interface. It's also a bad business model being a propriety closed ecosystem like another AVID. Many people prefer their own interface of choice rather it be Apogee, Lynx, MOTU, Focusrite, Prism etc.
@@YEE941 for the record, I like UA, I just think it’s time to update their DSP chips so you don’t have to buy additional satellite systems to do a mix. The should also reconsider how they offer their plugins. If they did those two things, I think it would be awesome!
Pro-tools sucks. Industry standard my ass, Cubase blows it out of the water and considering Pro-tools uses several of the Cubase patents they put out to get the universal standard DAW to become a reality. Every engineer I talk to tells me what I already know, it's much more intuitive to use as well. I have a friend with Studio One, and the 24 channel old 1st gen console too. Almost bought a new one, but I wanted the Antelope word clock and couldn't afford both...so Antelope it is.
@@MrMixknob well Cubase and Nuendo are essentially the same DAW. Steinberg basically took Cubase and modified it with post production features and renamed it Nuendo. I look it as an upscale version of Cubase. Presonus Studio One is also some what based on Cubase since it was written by the same Steinberg developers that write Cubase and Nuendo.
Thanks for the video Barry. This offer seemed good to me at first glance. But I was skeptical and had questions, so I wrote directly to Avid about a week ago, still no response, to ask cpl questions. 1. Am I getting a new perpetual license with this offer, and will I have to surrender my current license. 2. Once the year has elapsed and I choose not to move forward, will my perpetual license stay at the current version as of time of expiration, or will I revert back to the current version I am on currently that has lapsed? Still awaiting a response. These guys really suck...... Greed is a very bad thing!!!!
You need a different DAW my dude. Protool$ is a stinking hot pile of💩. But I'm a composer not an engineer... so what to I know. I remember was teaching at GCStudios when PT went subscription... and one of the sales guys said to me "People are going to be pissed". 😆
I‘m a german based professional mixing engineer and i haven’t seen protools in the majority studios here at all so for me it‘s def not a requirement. I don‘t even think that it‘ should be a requirement for studios outside the film industry as well. It simply doesn’t make any sense.
Avid current leadership is going to put them out of business. It's insulting how they treat their loyal customers and I'm getting ready to jump to another platform. Might as well just do it now.
Cool video. But it's like you missed a point sir: the offer is for owners of those licenses that are about to expire. So if your license has already expired, it's not for you.
Presonus Studio One Pro seems to be the default DAW that many PT users are switching too. It has all the PT features and PT short cuts. Many Pros in the industry are already using it from Teddy Riley to Luca Pretolesi.
@@BarryJohns My buddy that I work under as an In-house Producer for a few years ran a commerical studio here in the midwest with Studio One. I think we might have been the first in Iowa as a commerical open booking facility to run a S1 rig. The name of the studio was called Elastik Labs but we closed down to focus more on Music Production as Music Producers opposed recording random people day in day out. I prefer to build strong relationships with Artists and work on projects. Being an Audio Engineer is kinda hard to build those relationships when working with all types of people that comes through the studio and out. They may only say a few words and never see them again.
Meh, let avid die. This is how capitalism works. New innovative ideas come out and competition destroys the old and the new paves the way. Avid should cut its losses and go under the way evolutionary economics intends. Screw pro tools, if a studio uses pro tools, all I hear is my demo costs more to cover their daw expenses.
Avid is just not getting it. This is a horrible deceptive and selfish move. My pro tools 2019.5 does everything I need it to do. I even tested the latest version demo and I uninstalled it after day one out 30 and went back to 2019.5. so why on earth would I pay Avid $99 for one year only to go.back to where I am today? Don't make sense
Dear AVID as you can see in the comments below you are going to lose hundreds of customers you stupidity is going to put you out of business. Change you thinking to volume of users so charge low and youll get many and if your worried about your support lines being filled then dont because your support also SUCKS
...not surprising. But Avid will soon feel the pain as the new Apple Chips come to the forefront, more companies will innovate beyond Avid and take a bigger market share. I’ve been mixing in Ableton for maybe 12 years...it’s better, quicker, cheaper, and more intuitive.
Adversarial systems work with the most efficiency, i care for my interest, you care for yours. it's your channel at the end of the day. Just one more thing, who or what is this mythical average guy you keep rambling about ? For a man past his sixties, you seem rather infantile regarding some things....
