I have current version of Studio perpetual, should I renew support?

[KevinQ]

I have perpetual licence (Studio) at the current version (2023.6.0) I've been buying the support plan for the past few years. My setup is pretty stable at this point. It's about to expire in September and I'm thinking of stepping off. What are the drawbacks? Anything I should be concerned about? Any features that will no longer work? Are there any interesting updates coming that might make renewing support for another year worthwhile?

[cvicente22]

Hi KevinQ,

Since it's a perpetual license, You should be able to use the software even after your support entitlement expire. The only thing that will not work are the add-value plugins (Avid Complete Plugin, HEAT, GrooveCell, and Synthcell) since they are subscription based on your support contract.

Cheers,
Charles

[jgiannis]

Hi. I think I am in the same boat as OP.

I have an old Academic Perpetual plan (last version was 12.5.1). In MY ACCOUNT > MY PRODUCTS > PRO TOOLS 12.5.1 dropdown, I don't see any choices for upgrades or updates or anything of that nature.

However, there is another dropdown for PRO TOOLS STUDIO. This page says that it's a PERPETUAL license, and that I have 44-days left of software updates and plan support. It gives me 3 purchasing options:

- $199.00 Pro Tools Studio 1-year Software Updates + Support Plan RENEWAL
- $299.00 Pro Tools Studio 1-year Subscription, Paid Upfront
- $599.00 Pro Tools Ultimate 1-year Subscription, Paid Upfront

I do not understand why it says that I have 44-days left. I believe that this was a 1-year countdown since last October 2022, but was this countdown automatically activated, or did I potentially activate it??? If I did, it was certainly an accident, as I wasn't ready for an update because my machine cannot handle it.

In any case, what happens if I let the 44-days expire? Will I NEVER be able to pay for an updated Perpetual license? Basically, I do not need an update right now. Even though my version is old, everything works fine. But I might buy a new Mac M-chip soon (December). At that point, I will probably need a later version of Pro Tools. If I come back to this dropdown menu, will the 1st option for $199.00 RENEWAL be taken away from me?


Moreover, if I wanted to actually upgrade my Perpetual License (either the old Academic 12.5.1 or the Studio) to a NEW Perpetual License of ULTIMATE, can I do that? They certainly didn't give me that option in the dropdown menu.

[JFreak]

It means you have 44 days time to renew the plan.

If you do not, your extra subscribtions (plugins etc.) stop working but PT stays alive, but you will not be able to run new versions.

Renewals and reinstatements bought straight from avid.com will be automatically activated. Codes purchased from resellers need to be activated manually.

[jgiannis]

Thanks for the quick response.

Some followup questions:

1. If I let the 44-days expire, I understand that I still retain my Pro Tools Studio Perpetual license, and the software will continue to work (barring any subscriptions, of which I have none). But will I be able to buy this renewal AFTER I let the 44-days expire? I am concerned that--let's say in December--I will want to buy the Renewal, but the only options at that time will be Subscriptions.

2. Is there any way(s) to legitimately obtain a perpetual Ultimate license directly from Avid? For instance, I'd love to upgrade my tier from Studio Perpetual to Ultimate Perpetual.

Thanks!

[JFreak]

No. You must renew when your plan is active.

If you let it lapse, you may still have luck finding a reseller who has reinstatement code available. It is more expensive than renewal code. Don't get confused, these are two different things: reinstatement code works even if you don't have active plan.

[uptheoctave]

Originally Posted by jgiannis

Thanks for the quick response.

Some followup questions:

1. If I let the 44-days expire, I understand that I still retain my Pro Tools Studio Perpetual license, and the software will continue to work (barring any subscriptions, of which I have none). But will I be able to buy this renewal AFTER I let the 44-days expire? I am concerned that--let's say in December--I will want to buy the Renewal, but the only options at that time will be Subscriptions.

2. Is there any way(s) to legitimately obtain a perpetual Ultimate license directly from Avid? For instance, I'd love to upgrade my tier from Studio Perpetual to Ultimate Perpetual.

Thanks!

Following on from JFreak's comments.

You can currently buy a reinstatement for Studio from Thomann- probably other places too.
A reinstatement can be bought and stored for later use, I know a number of people who have done this 'just in case'.

If your current support/update renewal expires you have a 30 day grace period to buy it.
After that date you have to use a reinstatement.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/avid_pro_t..._reinstate.htm

[Side note, I was able to use this reinstatement to reactivate a previously orphaned Studio license that I had previously upgraded to Ultimate, which was surprising but Avid allowed it.]

Reinstatement availability is not guaranteed.
I remember Avid allowed it up until the end of 2021 but there still seems to be stock of these about. For how long? I am not sure anyone knows esp given the upcoming takeover.

I would strongly suggest keeping your support plan active unless you want to be forced onto a subscription at some point.

Avid no longer sell perpetual licenses there is currently no way to upgrade Studio perpetual to Ultimate perpetual.

You may be able to find a used Perpetual license (try Buy/Sell here, on Gearspace, eBay, Reverb etc) and also sell your Studio license.

The current pricing for Studio is $199 a year for the support/update contract for perpetual or $100 more for a subscription ($299).

For Ultimate it is $399 for support/update and $599 for the subscription.

This is a useful document to read:

https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/ar...-Licensing-FAQ

[jgiannis]

Oh wow.

In other words, it sounds like I am essentially stuck on a Subscription plan... without it being classified as such. I have to spend $199.00 every year in order to stay current with Pro Tools updates/support, or else I get frozen into a particular version, at which time there would be no guarantee that I could ever get my license back into an up-to-date standing.

[uptheoctave]

Originally Posted by jgiannis

Oh wow.

In other words, it sounds like I am essentially stuck on a Subscription plan... without it being classified as such. I have to spend $199.00 every year in order to stay current with Pro Tools updates/support, or else I get frozen into a particular version, at which time there would be no guarantee that I could ever get my license back into an up-to-date standing.

They don't call it a subscription- it is an update and support plan but you are not the first person to make this connection.

I don't think anyone is especially happy to have to have pay it.
I have an Ultimate and Studio license so I am paying $598 a year.
It is what it is.

A lot of comments come comparing the cost of Pro Tools to the cost of Logic or other DAW's.
Yes, Logic is $199 and Apple haven't charged for an update for a very long time.

But Apple are primarily in the business of selling computers/devices.
I can't imagine Logic contributes very much to their viability as a business.

Anyway, I hope this helps you make the best decision for you. :)

[jgiannis]

Thanks so much.

Fyi, I've been doing some reading, and it looks like you CAN still get a legitimate Ultimate perpetual license. It comes with the purchase of the CARBON interface. It's expensive, over $4,000 USD. But I think the old PT HD/Ultimate were around $2500, so you're basically paying the $2500 for the license and $1500 for the interface.

Also, back to the reinstatement plan, I found this page:

https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/ar...No-Active-plan

It sounds like Avid is currently keeping the "reinstatement" aka "get current" aka "upgrade" alive. Either that or I'm still not understanding something.