Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
Amen.
Adobe Premiere
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Andrius Simutis
Veteran
I'm not a fan of the subscription model, but I understand why Adobe is doing it.
From a bean counter's perspective the cash flow of a company that only releases an update every year or two, that not everyone buys is a tough thing to manage. You have to spend a lot to keep the company going and pay the development costs and you're not sure how much you'll make off it next year. Compare that to subscription where you know how much money is coming in every month, a relatively stable amount, and you can then fix the rest of your expenditures around it. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of financial forecasting.
From the development side, they too have it better under the subscription model as they can keep adding features as they go and build the products up without having to wait for a major update that could be a year or more away.
It's all just for bottom line stability.
For the consumer however, there's a lot of emotional reasons to not like it but if you run the numbers it's not very different than buying it and then upgrading somewhat regularly.
From a bean counter's perspective the cash flow of a company that only releases an update every year or two, that not everyone buys is a tough thing to manage. You have to spend a lot to keep the company going and pay the development costs and you're not sure how much you'll make off it next year. Compare that to subscription where you know how much money is coming in every month, a relatively stable amount, and you can then fix the rest of your expenditures around it. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of financial forecasting.
From the development side, they too have it better under the subscription model as they can keep adding features as they go and build the products up without having to wait for a major update that could be a year or more away.
It's all just for bottom line stability.
For the consumer however, there's a lot of emotional reasons to not like it but if you run the numbers it's not very different than buying it and then upgrading somewhat regularly.
adkimery
Veteran
I'd split the difference and say Adobe got big by selling software to people that used it day in and day out as their primary source of income. Some of those people have already upgraded to CC and some of them have not.
You CAN upgrade your software to the latest version and get access to new features you just don't want to because of the new business model. Not having a choice and not liking your choices aren't the same thing. Again, what deal did Adobe specifically make with you? Did Adobe promise you that their business model would never ever change? That new software would always be available? I doubt it. Have you seen Adobe Encore, Shake or Avid Express Pro recently? Probably not since all those programs are dead.
How can Adobe just coast now? CS6, Final Cut (7 and X), Media Composer, Lightworks, etc., still exist and $600 a year for software isn't an insurmountable hurdle. Many people that took out multi-year loans to get their $100k Avid setups made the switch to FCP back in the day so, IMO, $600 a year is far from a lock-in price. Not to mention that the door has been opened for competitors to poach upset Adobe users. Sure, it might be a few years before some of the competing software is good enough but it's a crack in Adobe's user base that didn't exist before.
-Andrew
hscully
Veteran
I appreciate the heads up on Avid, guys. I have been working with the free download. It's OK. It feels a little old compared to PP or even Vegas.
It is a good business model for them, and I'm glad it keeps them all working. I write software, so I'm always happy when software developers get to keep their jobs. Their health is good for everyone I suppose.
Things do certainly change, Matt. I may have to just bite the bullet and subscribe if, and when I need to. I'm suffering from an aversion to this model but there's no need for you all to have to suffer any more of my griping!
So, I'll just let this go and see what happens.
It is a good business model for them, and I'm glad it keeps them all working. I write software, so I'm always happy when software developers get to keep their jobs. Their health is good for everyone I suppose.
Things do certainly change, Matt. I may have to just bite the bullet and subscribe if, and when I need to. I'm suffering from an aversion to this model but there's no need for you all to have to suffer any more of my griping!
So, I'll just let this go and see what happens.
adkimery
Veteran
I'm suffering from an aversion to this model but there's no need for you all to have to suffer any more of my griping!
I was in a similar boat (planning on staying with CS6 until the dust settled a little more) until I was offered an editing gig where they were already using Creative Cloud. Amazing how quickly you can make a decision when there is a paycheck involved!
-Andrew
Mike Harvey
Veteran
I guess I'm confused as to where Adobe has stated (or even implied) anywhere that buying a particular piece of software with a perpetual license entitles me to indefinite updates. Every piece of software I've ever bought has always been under the understanding that the company will support it as long as it makes financial sense for them. Now it usually makes financial sense to support more expensive pieces of software, or software that sells in high volumes until for a while with minor updates and bug fixes. But the idea that I should expect Adobe, Microsoft, Apple, whomever to keep updating their software with new technology after another version comes out makes no sense. Creative Cloud is effectively CS7. Expecting them to keep CS6 (or 5, or 4, etc.) up to date with the latest technology indefinitely when newer versions are released makes no sense. No one has ever done that before.
Also, looking on Adobe's website, they say they plan on selling CS6 indefinitely, which means they plan on supporting indefinitely. But that's like Ford saying they plan on selling the 2009 Taurus' indefinitely. It would be a unreasonable to expect them to perpetually update a 2009 design with 2014 technology, and every following year's tech.
Also, looking on Adobe's website, they say they plan on selling CS6 indefinitely, which means they plan on supporting indefinitely. But that's like Ford saying they plan on selling the 2009 Taurus' indefinitely. It would be a unreasonable to expect them to perpetually update a 2009 design with 2014 technology, and every following year's tech.
hscully
Veteran
Yeah, I didn't say that, or didn't mean to imply that they should update the old version. I want to upgrade to the new version with a perpetual license, not the Cloud and that, when I bought it, was available to me. Now it's not.
What they've done, to follow the car metaphor, is to tell me I can lease a new Taurus but I can't buy one. Which is their right and good on 'em and all who lease Taurus's.
What they've done, to follow the car metaphor, is to tell me I can lease a new Taurus but I can't buy one. Which is their right and good on 'em and all who lease Taurus's.