New Licensing

[wafare]

I just read through the FAQ sheet on the new licensing/subscription for Pro Tools and I have to say that I'm REALLY DISAPPOINTED!!! I'm a HD 11 user and I own a perpetual license. According to the FAQ, I have until Dec 31, 2015 to upgrade to the subscription/support model or not be able to upgrade after Dec 31!!!! I have upgraded when I've deemed worth the cost but being forced to upgrade for fear of being blocked from future upgrades is total BS!!!! Get this, if I upgrade, and I choose to not upgrade in the future and my subscription expires, I loose the ability to use my software. When you upgrade, you relinquish the perpetual license!!!!!! As a HD user, I have spent many thousands of dollars and I'm officially ticked and giving serious consideration to abandoning AVID.. I'm sure there are many people like myself that have stuck with AVID through good and bad times and this is just unacceptable.

Even a vanilla owner of Pro Tools literally gives up a perpetual license who just paid $699 for Pro Tools 11 if the purchased before the $299 upgrade announcement. So you pay $699 for something you own perpetually and relinquish it if you upgrade??? That's just crazy!!!! I'm out!

[BCnSTL]

Me too.

Kinda sad but I'm not a customer AVID wants to serve.

Not that big a deal for me. I'm pretty comfortable in Logic and the 10.1 update looks pretty good.

[Benoni]

Originally Posted by wafare

I just read through the FAQ sheet on the new licensing/subscription for Pro Tools and I have to say that I'm REALLY DISAPPOINTED!!! I'm a HD 11 user and I own a perpetual license. According to the FAQ, I have until Dec 31, 2015 to upgrade to the subscription/support model or not be able to upgrade after Dec 31!!!! I have upgraded when I've deemed worth the cost but being forced to upgrade for fear of being blocked from future upgrades is total BS!!!! Get this, if I upgrade, and I choose to not upgrade in the future and my subscription expires, I loose the ability to use my software. When you upgrade, you relinquish the perpetual license!!!!!! As a HD user, I have spent many thousands of dollars and I'm officially ticked and giving serious consideration to abandoning AVID.. I'm sure there are many people like myself that have stuck with AVID through good and bad times and this is just unacceptable.

Even a vanilla owner of Pro Tools literally gives up a perpetual license who just paid $699 for Pro Tools 11 if the purchased before the $299 upgrade announcement. So you pay $699 for something you own perpetually and relinquish it if you upgrade??? That's just crazy!!!! I'm out!

That's not accurate. If you are on a SUPPORT PLAN (not subscription) you will still have a working version of Pro Tools even if you let your Support Plan lapse.

Q. Will my Pro Tools license expire at the end of the one-year support period?

A. No, you can continue to use Pro Tools after your upgrade/support period expires since you will own a 'perpetual' license. If you want to continue receiving upgrades, you will need to renew your upgrade/support plan. Pro Tools 11 owners will have through the end of 2015 to get on an upgrade/support plan

Q. What is a perpetual license?

A. A "perpetual license" is a license that does not expire—you own the software. You get a perpetual license when you purchase a new Pro Tools or Pro Tools | HD system or Pro Tools software. New Pro Tools software purchases come with a one-year annual upgrade and support plan. After one year, you have the option of renewing your plan to continue receiving the latest features. If you choose not to renew, you can continue using your software indefinitely at the latest version you have, but will not be able to upgrade it at a later time.

[wafare]

Yeah but if you renew after the support plan you relinquish the license to continue going forward.

Q. Will my Pro Tools perpetual license stop working at the end of the one-year upgrade and support plan period?
A. No, you can continue to use Pro Tools if you allow your upgrade and support plan to expire. However, if you want to continue receiving updates with new features, you will need to renew your plan before it expires or switch to a subscription. Pro Tools and Pro Tools | HD owners will have through the end of 2015 to get on an annual upgrade and support plan. If you don’t get on a plan, you will not be able to upgrade your software in the future.

[Benoni]

Originally Posted by wafare

Yeah but if you renew after the support plan you relinquish the license to continue going forward.

Q. Will my Pro Tools perpetual license stop working at the end of the one-year upgrade and support plan period?
A. No, you can continue to use Pro Tools if you allow your upgrade and support plan to expire. However, if you want to continue receiving updates with new features, you will need to renew your plan before it expires or switch to a subscription. Pro Tools and Pro Tools | HD owners will have through the end of 2015 to get on an annual upgrade and support plan. If you don’t get on a plan, you will not be able to upgrade your software in the future.

What do you mean by "relinquish"? To me that infers that if you get on a SUPPORT PLAN and then let the plan expire, Pro Tools won't work. That's not the case.

[Park Seward]

And if your subscription ends, you then can't use the software until you get another subscription (monthly or yearly).

The perpetual license does not expire but if you go past a year without being on support, you lose the ability to upgrade. So you then have to buy a new Pro Tools version at regular price.

At least that is the way I understand it.

[JCBigler]

Originally Posted by Benoni

If you are on a SUPPORT PLAN (not subscription)

The "Support Plan" IS a subscription. You have to KEEP PAYING it EVERY year, or you lose the access to upgrades (supposedly not updates like bug fixes though). And if you let the "Support Plan" lapse and you want to reup, then you have to either enter the MONTHLY subscription service OR buy a whole new license (which includes ANOTHER 12 month subscription to their Support Plan), and the whole cycle starts all over again.

This whole "The Support Plan is not a subscription" is a bunch of marketing BS to conflate the true nature of what Avid is doing--which is to force EVERYONE to SUBSCRIBE TO THEIR SERVICE. They might as well cal it an "Upgrade Subscription which includes support". It would be the exact same thing (in much more precise and clear language).

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

I think it's time to change professions....

[JCBigler]

Originally Posted by CygnusX-1Bk2

I think it's time to change professions....

I tell myself that every day I walk into the building.

[wafare]

Originally Posted by Benoni

What do you mean by "relinquish"? To me that infers that if you get on a SUPPORT PLAN and then let the plan expire, Pro Tools won't work. That's not the case.

Relinquish was a poor choice of words. The problem I have is if I don't purchase a support plan before Dec 31, 2015, I can NO longer upgrade. HD users have NO choice to maintain eligibility for future other than to perpetually pay for a support plan. This is a huge deviation for us HD folks. Vanilla Pro Tools users have the option to go to subscription but HD users do not. I don't appreciate being forced to pay for a support plan in order to maintain eligibility to upgrade. If a HD user doesn't have a support plan before the end of this year, or let's it expire in the future, the HD user is screwed. Since the only way you can get HD is with a qualified hardware purchase, that's a really precarious position to be in.