Waves Audio Doesn't Care About Me or You!  

I concur. I have spent hundreds on waves plugins. This subscription is bullshit!

You 100% correct! They get no more money from me

I am rethinking plug ins vs hardware. You make a great point. They can't take the hardware from ya

I'm not paying for any plug-in subscriptions, ever. Neither should you.

"Waves Audio Doesn't Care", so true. This is a wake up call to all people interested in making music. The only plug-ins I'll buy will be software synths from here on in. If we subscribe to DAW's, plug-ins, photo editing, video editing, operating systems, etc., etc then we'll have no money to run a car, heat our home, buy food and clothes, and afford gifts at Christmas. Waves will get nothing from me.

In the late 90’s, I had their Renaissance Compressor and EQ. My computer crashed and I contacted them to get the challenge response so I could reinstall the plugins. The said they don’t support that version anymore and wouldn’t give it to me. They told me I had to buy a later version. I didn’t need or want a later version. I just wanted to reinstall the same plugin on the exact same system. I have never bought a Waves plugin since.

Man! Your words along with some ( a lot of ) others, got them to their knees. They will do the old style of business along with subscription now. 4 hours ago.... Thanks!

Yes! You summarized it perfectly, they're holding their plugins hostage and we're supposed to pay for their release.

“What a shame” i felt that one in my chest man 😂

AMEN! This is why it’s important to have hardware and you nailed it. They can’t take it away from you. I use both.

Warning: In the T&Cs it says "All updates are provided to you on a license exchange basis such that you agree, as a precondition for recieving an update, that you will terminate all your rights to use any previous version of the software." Thus if you sign up for the subscription, in turn you update your plugins and no longer have license to older versions (that your perpetual license sit under!) Dont support this company anymore and send a message to the rest of the industry! besides, who wants to put their projects behind a paywall that a company like waves can at any point crank up the pricing? don't do it, own your tools.

Wow, I can't belive they just went back on it. Well done, everyone. I have lost soo much software to rip off subscription only services over the last few years, I wish more companies would care about costumer feedback.

“It’s the principle” .. Facts! 💯

They’re milking on the same plugin code for the last 20 years. They should be ashamed for asking more on those old ones.

It's like buying a house, forced to give it back if you need any repair work, then pay rent to live there

And to further emphasize my point. Ask yourself, why do Windows users not go through this only Apple users. The only time as a Windows user that I had to upgrade my plugins was when Steinberg decided to not support vst2 and only do vst3. Other than that in all my engineering years I never had to upgrade because I upgraded my hardware. This is entirely an Apple thing. And I'm only emphasizing this to say that Apple are kind of in collusion with these software companies to force customers to continuously pay out-of-pocket. And they are equally to blame for situations such as this.

I remember talking with a, "big time" engineer about 12-15 years ago on this very topic. he said this was going to happen, and now it has, which is why I chose(then) to go with all outboard gear. never did get into plug ins, like most have, and I'm grateful that I didn't.

Fully agree, I’m done with waves. This is bullshit. We spend a lot of money of these plugins over the years. They should have gone the way of Plugin Alliance, you can subscribe or buy. Very stupid burnishes practice and ultimately they will close shop in about 2 years is my guess or change their tune and offer plugins to purchase if enough of us move on.

Kudos for speaking up. Too many youtubers are rounding up the corners, whereas in fact it's a huge shame for Waves.

Thanks for your comments. I haven't bought any plugs in. Will get hardware compressor.

I'm done with Waves, Avid, and SSL if they go full subscription model as well. SSL won't release the 4KB plugin as a perpetual license. That's subscription only, so it's only a matter of time before they do the same thing to drive people to buy their hardware which makes them more money. Waves is about to find out why the customer is always right, unless they don't care. I can't imagine that the pro scene can keep them going. Even if they change later on and have both perpetual licenses and subscription model. Nah, they won't ever get my business again. I already unsubbed from their emails and reported their emails as spam so I won't ever get them again.

Don't be sorry about the rant - you expressed very well how i felt about Waves a couple of years ago when I realised that I would have to keep paying for the plugins I thought I owned. That's when I gave up on them.

Used Waves for years, but I have a hard and fast rule that whenever anything goes to subscription then it gets replaced. Sub models are just greed. You go from buying to renting forever, and there's no excuse. There are loads of great free or one-time buy plugins out there which can do the job just as well.

This is the reason why I don't update my Windows.I don't want to pay again and again.But this time is time for good bye forever Waaves.Enough is enough.

I've had the PluginAlliance Mega and Mix&Master bundles for a couple of years and it's good for a few bits but not so many as I'd hoped they would going into it. A mixed bag of great and suck. Worth getting a bundle or two and then using vouchers during their sales. Careful with that auto-pay in your account setup; I got burned by it once, asked for a refund and was ignored. You can get all their best stuff for well under $800-1000 with good timing - some nice channel strips (esp. the Focusrite and Neve), the Elysia and SPL stuff, the Vertigo and Black Box saturators , and BX_rooMS. I like the Amek 200 but not many other of their other EQs. The generous use of M/S and the 'mono maker' are very handy in many of them. But many of the GUIs can be a waste of space and hard to read, most wont resize. I suggest looking into TDR and Klanghelm for some bread and butter tools that beat both waves or brainworx for similar or less money. And if you don't know who Chris at *airwindows* is yet, then you probably should.

Well said, thank you for taking the time to do this. Hopefully if enough engineers speak up things will change. No need to apologize, it’s not ok to take advantage of their clients like that. I’m p o as well.

This is why i tend to shy away from DAW recording and production. I use it, yes, but sparingly. I'm absolutely fed up with the constant 'update' regime of digital! 👎

They wont be getting any more cash out of me - Plugin Alliance & Arturia here I come!!!

People still use Waves? That's so 90's.

They were like "People only bought the same software from us 3-4 times, we should have them "buy" it every month instead."

A lot of people are with you. That's why hardware always wins, even though it's more work, especially on re-call. But, I love my hardware.

This is why I don't update my studio computer. Found a system that works and have kept using it for 8 years now.

What a sham. I've been using Waves since '90. No more money from me!

Damn this man has the physical boxes that’s an OG

Waves your hands in the air, and Waves 'em like they just don't care.

it's like buying a house and then one day you're kicked out and offered to stay against a high monthly rent.

Lotta people saying "This is the future." Not if you don't want it to be! Vote with your wallet. Steven Slate will never get a dime from me, nor will Waves.

I bought renaissance pack back in the day. Got the train to London, bought waves, went back home excited. I didn’t have an ilok, as they were new then and I’d never heard of them. Back on the train to London, I buy an ilok and go home excited again. The waves bundle doesn’t work. It was when Mac switched to intel/binary - I rang waves and they said I had to pay £200 for their aftercare to get the updated AU units. I said I just bought the bundle as a new product and why were they selling old products - they did not give one single care. £850 later, I had a £600 pack of plugins. Since then, I’ve boycotted Waves and would never go back. I have many multi-platinum discs without them.

completely agree. I think I need to migrate away from Waves completely. The only thing I can't replace is Clarity

I stopped giving them money when they wanted upgrade payments al the time. Ive still got a small handful left but eventually they will all disappear. Just a rip off company and I wont ever spend any more money with them. Absolutely zero customer loyalty. I think they will reverse this as they are about to lose the bill of their customers in my humble opinion but I will never go back. Thanks for the video.

Use stock plug ins. Because the average consumer couldn't tell the difference between ableton live EQ or waves EQ

Waves just said they are not going through with the subscription models now 😂😂😂 They still never gonna get my money again!

Yep..waves can wave me goodbye! Thanks for the video.

Yeah, Waves always has always sucked in some regard and this is just the natural progression of that suckage! I understand paying something reasonable now and then for maintenance (HW or SW) but this is ridiculous. Personally, I'm going to take that $250 and spend it on FabFilter or some other company that isn't hostile to me. But on a happier note, your studio looks really amazing! What kind of board is that?

looks like Waves has apologized and is reenabling perpetual licenses and upgrades; Just got an email from the CTO (which most of you have prob too if you are a Waves user). The sub model will continue, likely for new users or users who seldom use their plugins and benefit from a monthly cost basis. Good job guys for standing up! This is good news.

The first time that Waves required me to pay again for the new version of the same plugin was the last time I gave them my money. That was years ago. Live, learn, and move on.

Couldn't agree more. Huge piss-off. I suspect they're gonna pay for this in time.

Welcome to the club. I bought so many of their plugins, and they want to charge me a fee to re-activate them because my activation stopped working? So now I just pirated the whole Waves library. No regrets!

UR RIGHT MAN! I use waves also, and they hurt me very much!

I’m so glad you made this video. Without your feedback (and others like it) they wouldn’t have reversed their decision.

Thanks you for making this video. I am in exactly the same boat. So, so pissed with Waves. Was a loyal customer paid the WUP only 2 weeks ago!! The WUP was bad enough a rip off. Now this! Younglings in the game you must avoid Waves for your sanity.

Looks like we're back! -Piracy

The biggest problem with subscription based product, is while all these various product and services want you to subscribe, people have a limited amount they can spend each month. So something has to give. Something has to miss out. Sub for your streaming service, your internet, your plug-ins for various brands, an online collab service, and more. This may be fine if you are a busy pro- studio using all this constantly to generate income, but what of the greater number of less full-time users who are prepared to buy a licence for something they can justify on their budget. Very tunnel vision, short sighted move for a company to remove the purchase option. Slate have a great subscription model, but still allow you to purchase licences if you choose.

And this is why I don’t use a computer anymore to make music. Waves said “fuck all y’all!”

Couldn’t agree more - Waves no longer has my hard earned £’s in future - this is daylight robbery…

analog obssesion is free and sound better trust me!!!

I left using Waves completely , the moment I realized their "Version Upgrade" BS. Now I happily use Slate Digital, Plugin Alliance and UAD Native.

Waves must have found a deal on bankruptcy insurance. If someone really likes the subscription system, UA or Plugin Alliance has one.

Stopped buying there stuff cause of the update but I wanted that tape emulation plug-in but I'm going with someone else, I have one with my Daw . But waves crazy. If my stuff stops working,or doesn't work if I upgrade my computer it ok I'm done with them. I know enough now to find other VST's that do what I want.

I am done with Waves. Not another dollar. Goodbye. I will find alternatives.

When a person has theat much equipment and he/she is still pissed off from the robbery of these plug-ins, you know that its genuine! Great stuff my guy! Thank you! I quit using plug-ins a while ago because of stuff like this!

Guys, there is life outside of the Waves Audio environment, trust me! There are still so many amazing companies out there that can easily replace Waves. I'm sure that if you want to prove it to yourselves, you could mix an entire album without any Waves plugin. Just start with a song for now. Just one song! You'll see I'm right.

I'm just a small home studio guy recording and mixing my own music. Had 3 waves plugins I paid for twice already after a system update. The third time I switched to other plugins that are at least the same in quality. Never buy from them again!

We are hurt❤ hope they recall the decision.

No corporate fascist subscription plan for me thankyou very much! There's plenty of superior competition that doesn't force their users to 'own nothing but be happy'! Bye bye Avid and bye bye Waves!

"THIEVES Plugins" WAVES = THIEVES .. We do not like Being FORCED into Subscriptions - When I Open An Old Session for a Client I Want To Know My Plugin Investments Will Be There and Active. *Mercury, *Abby Road, *Studio Classics, Owner - 20 Years Invested and Stolen Away In 1 DAY 🤮

Truth. I ran into the same thing. Ck out Brainworx SSL. I like it better than the Waves one. And SSL endorses it. Plenty of other fish in the sea. Same goes for DAW’s!

As Klaus Szwab said, you will have nothing, you will be happy. So if you don't own anything, you'll be happy. And everyone is doing a subscription model now. Reason 12 came out and now they have subscriptions too. Only Fruity loop behaves to clients as it should.

I have a lot of hardware and trust me UAD, acustica audio and goodhertz are the three plug-in companies that are closest to analog equipment，the absolute transparent plugin is the Fabfilter company，waves has no more than ten plug-ins comparable to these.

I was just getting into doing some recording myself and was thinking about purchasing a few of their plugins for $29.99, to which were on sale recently. I got TONS of emails…buy buy buy…and then Boom…nope. Subscription-based only. They lost any future business from me, and I hope many many other people. What’s with these companies anymore. Fucking greedy. $30 for some software code you get to sell to thousands isn’t good enough? Lame. I hope their shit news opens up the doors to some really cool plugin companies that we can all support.

few years ago i was debating buying a waves audio plugin bundle, glad i never did. i ended up getting Native Instruments Komplete, and I've been very, happy.

I mix on single ended silver wired Class-A valve (tube) gear and I dropped Waves plugins because they are mushy as hell. Get Universal Audio!!!

@4:18 I've always preferred software over hardware, but your argument right here has definitely got me reconsidering my position!

Great Video I used to pay WUP every 1-2 tech cycles Now I am leaving, I'm in the process of replacing the Waves plugins, doing good so far.

Months before all of this- I started buying Warm Audio stuff. I agree 100% hardware sounds WAY better, and in 5, 10, or 15 years from now, when I go through new computers- I don't to buy these plug ins AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN...GREAT rant, I'm a NEW fan- I'm on the EXACT same page with you! Liked, and Subscribed~ Btw- The Tegeler Creme is AMAZING...It exceeded ALL expectations. It's worth looking into~

Done with Waves. Not another dime.

You said it very well man. Plugin makers appreciate customers on the way up but once everyone relies on the products they leverage that to get more money out of you and they owe their success to us in the first place.

The sticking point is that we are using the Waves plugins on three computers at the same time. But not all 220 but only 10, which are only in the most expensive version for $24,95. In order to receive updates we would now have to use the subscription model 3 times for a total of $74.85 per month. For something that we have already paid dearly for. Waves just dug her grave. We will gradually replace this plugins.

it's not just waves its the whole industry. what a scam

I despise all subscription models… same crap with adobe… screw those companies

Waves have been like this for ever. Eg, you had to buy the same thing three times AND you might have spent 7 grand straight up. BTW, in Australia, it's around 40 bucks a month

This is why I’ve always told people hardware is better and plugins - while they are basically a necessity today - they are a bad investment... yea. A lot of them sound great... I love my UA plugs ... but I know that they have a shelf life... my Dolby 361a’s in my rack... they are for life.

Don't simply just be mad at Waves also be mad at Apple. Whenever Apple upgrades the OS Mac users end up with compatible issues. As a Windows user I never had to deal with this issue ever. Over 15 years and 5 different studio computers. All my old plugs including Waves will work with no need for an upgrade. Not to say I agree with Waves. They suck big time for this. I know I'm not going to be using Waves plugins in the future because of this. But the way Apple treats their customers when getting a new computer, phone or tablet is aiding and abetting the issue.

Pro Tools and Mac OS updates caused major issues and the cost of those updates was ridiculous so I made a major decision, I took my Studio Computer setup offline and it was a great move. My Mac Pro runs OS 10.6.8 and I run Pro Tools 9.0.6 and I have been running this setup since 2008 without any issues. I was tired of booking a recording session, going to the studio to start up the Mac to discover that Pro Tools is turned off and an email in my inbox telling me I need to update Pro Tools to the next version and oh, your Mac OS is out of date too and the update costs $399. I can happily say I have at least a studio setup that works without the "Dog & Pony Show" of constant updates. I would be considered an "Old School Recording Engineer" so I use recording techniques to get the job done, I don't get excited about plugins, for me they are just an effect like a SPX1000 or a DBX compressor. The plugins work, the mixing board software works and my interface is working well. All I do is occasionally do a "Mac Disk Aid" and I re-install the Pro Tools update program for PT 9.0.6 and all is good. To have a presence online, my office computer is connected to the internet and has email and any audio files I transfer to the studio by a USB stick. It is something worth considering, get a system that works well, and sticking with it. It is hard enough to make money in the music industry these days and to have companies like Pro Tools and Waves sucking money out of my pocket and into their gigantic bank accounts really sucks, I want to buy groceries, buy gas for my car, pay bills, have a nice home and give my family a good life too. The big music industry companies should visit a small studio to see how the other half live. That's my thoughts.

That is why many people pirate this software ......no need for subscriptions or dongles and you can use it on any OS meaning Windows 7 64 bit etc......they even do free updates no charge what a great package. I don't condone it but when companies start slapping you into a monthly online contract time for PARADOX, CORE , and R2R and simply sit back relax and enjoy the free version with no BS!!!! I hate these software corporations they steal from you but its legal for them.....time to find some free stuff and let them choke on it....cheers mate

I feel you. Time to move to hardware. Just going to take me a little time to get the pieces I would like to have. Haven’t used Waves for a while now and not about to start.

I'm right with you on this 1. I have hardware 2. There are so many other plug ins UA and Plug in Alliance. But here is something cool. I just got an Antelope interface and the full Plug in library comes with it. The plug ins they have sound great. And...you can track through them.

Agree, f 'em!

Wave sent out a message this morning that they will now go back to include the perpetual licenses along side of the new subscription for their current customers. Enough of us complained and they changed their tune. Good on them, step in the right direction.

Let’s hope they change their minds!

Good video and thanks for speaking up. I avoid subscriptions. The only Waves plugin I have is R-Bass and I use it frequently, but I'm going to quit using it now. I'm sure there's workarounds for doing what it does.

I’m glad I invested into UAD before I spent too much on waves. They went subscription too but you’re still able to buy them outright aaand now native as well. I

I'm now down to my last 2, and I'm seeking alternatives. They mis-sold them to me.

Spot on.

This is not ok. Fab Filter for the WIN.

Ive always pirated all software and ALWAYS will

And it seems the whole software industry is shifting towards this abusive way to do business, the times when you will not own anything and you will be happy. I guess they are pushing us to buy hardware once again, stuff that you actually own and that it will keep its price over the time

Please copy and paste this to waves support. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ypVBJKJ1P5Y.html Above is a link with hundreds of negative comments about your horrific decision to force subscriptions on your loyal customers.

Microsoft have done the same thing to people who use Microsoft Office. Adobe have done the same thing to people who use Photoshop or other parts of Creative Suite. This is about turning customers into cash cows.

The FCC needs to get involved imo and I want the gov out of most things