Will Mixbus 3.0 be for 'sale' or is it only for rent

[jabney]

The idea for renting is OK for many, but not for me. Mixbus 2.5 has a choice. I like that - a lot.

Other companies (Avid [pro-tools 12] and Waves, for example) don't give a choice. Boo, hiss. In fact, I try to steer away from companies that are only-rent companies.

What is the plan for Harrison Mixbus 3?

best, john

1 - Rent only
2 - Sale only
3 - Choice: Rent OR Sale

...
edit: I was asked that I should change the word in the Poll. I can't change the Poll itself. More on page 3.

[clintmartin]

Good question. I do like the new Cakewalk model. It's one price for one year with all updates and upgrades. After one year you own it as is. If you wish to continue getting updates and upgrades you pay again. There is also a slightly inflated price for a monthly payment plan.

[madmaxmiller]

The idea for renting is OK for many, but not for me. Mixbus 2.5 has a choice. I like that - a lot.

Ummm as far as I understand, the subscription is not exactly a rent. It buys you security for future (major) upgrades. Nevertheless you own the version you have paid your last contribution for when you quit.
Correct me (anyone) if I'm wrong.

MMM
(happy subscriber, $9/month don't hurt anyone and it's for something amazing)

[Greg Rband]

I personally, like jabney, steer clear of companies that are only-rent products. Why? Because if I pay for something that I want to use, I don't agree that it should ever "expire". I have seen in various daw groups that many are using older versions of software as it works for them, they are comfortable with it, and do not want to change things. I think that is a valid point for many. The Cakewalk, etc model as I see it is just another way to make more money...but thats me. They are huge, they don't need to squeeze the loyal customers/users for more pennies! I've noticed the Daw market, like most other things, is becoming more and more affordable for top notch abilities/features. It almost seems like some kind of last effort grab to make as much as possible before the whole market turns to affordable solutions. Look at Ardour! How cool it is for Free, or very low donation! Tracktion 6 for $60, Stagelight for $10, Presonus Studio One Artist for $29, Mainstage for $29, GarageBand for $4.99, ........Heck! Harrison Mixbus currently $39! Lots of power in all of those for very little money.
To have to pay $100 or $200 a year just to keep it current seems like a far cry from affordable.....So the guy who wants to use Logic 9 for 4-5 years would pay an enormous amount under the "Cakewalk" model to do so! Not OK! to me is why there are, and will be, alternate options being made and available moving fwd.........
I like the Presonus model as its a one time purchase, all additions/updates/fixes are free per version until they stop offering them (not to mention FREE support!)..... and the upgrade prices for current users to a new version release are very reasonable! Like $50 in past as I've read.......... So you could stay using the best updated version of your Daw long as you want, and if you ever change mind and want to upgrade, its a small cost to do! Customer appreciation is what that feels like to me in the business world as a customer.
With that said, I chose to be a Harrison subscriber recently not because I had to, but because I wanted to help support a worthy cause long as I can maintain for something I feel is a wonderfully unique product.... I want it to be around, and continue to be maintained and expanded upon many years to come. Same with Ardour, I chose to subscribe at a low monthly to do the same there!

So in short, I didn't vote above because its more of a details thing to me........... depends on what and how those options are designed. Make it simple, Leave it as a reasonable purchase price to begin with, updates always free, preferably free support, low cost upgrades for new versions for those already onboard, and offer a floating scale subscription option like Ardour does to accommodate a wide variety of customers and financial abilities ( to help support the cause). Heck, or even offer a pmt plan option that is not gouging as that may invite many more sales too! If you short pay before term, then license becomes default for future updates...... Say $49 down, $10 a month for 10 months til the term is satisfied (IE $149 total price) and all future updates keep coming of course.

[clintmartin]

Not true. Pay once for Cakewalk and it's yours for life. You just get updates and upgrades for one year. After that it's yours forever as is. If you want more...you pay more, but you do not lose your latest version.

[Tassy]

You do not lose MB either. It is yours with the license files for ever and not bound to only one computer and to other foolish restrictions like some other stuff have on the crazy market.

[Greg Rband]

Right, got carried away. Yes, I realize you get to pay once and keep forever with the new Cakewalk plan, but you stop getting updates after 12 months was my point. I look at how many major daws out there have been feeding updates and fixes for 2-3 years and it makes me quickly do multiplication for fee $$$ (cost to own over a typical 2-3 year period if wanting fixes and updates=best it can be)
I know some think its great, but I personally think its a way to sell the same product over and over again in time..... my 2cents

I wasn't implying anything negative to HMB obviously, I'm very fond of as of anew. My comments to a possible MB plan are aimed at this thread and the question posed is all. Don't want to see it go the route too many others are choosing to do at this point.

Not true. Pay once for Cakewalk and it's yours for life. You just get updates and upgrades for one year. After that it's yours forever as is. If you want more...you pay more, but you do not lose your latest version.

[Studio Saturn]

I love to buy. I love to upgrade with a fixed price. The reason I don't use a subscription plan is coz I don't have so many studio to worry about. If I had more than one studio, I would go for subscription plan. Or if I'm teaching Mixbus on multiple computers.

[Tassy]

Seems the same "talk a lot and go nowhere" problem like the ilock thread was

[jabney]

Seems the same "talk a lot and go nowhere" problem like the ilock thread was...

There's a difference though. At least for me. Here's some non-audio background:

I decided to learn video. So we (volunteers) decided to use some second-hand HP workstations. Cheap but useful. There were two video capture card choices (I didn't learn about Aja until later): BlackMagic Intensity and Matrox MXO2. I read about the BlackMagic Intensity and learned that it was:

...a PCIe card for Mac, Windows, and Linux computers.

Cool. I had used Windows (a lot), Linux (some - especially AVLinux), and even some Mac (a little). The video experiment could be done on the cheap - at least in the beginning - because Linux had the tools for free.

ebay had some deals on Matrox MXO2 Mini though. And the results seemed a little more 'pro' to me than BlackMagic - at least in the relatively low low low price area. However, when the used Matrox MXO2 Mini showed up, I learned that Linux and Matrox MXO2 don't speak the same language. No problem, right? I could use Windows 10 'evaluation' for a few months until the OS stops in mid-October. Matrox has a beta codec that works on Windows 8.1 and therefore Windows 10 should work too - right? Well, not exactly. You see, there seems to be no free/cheap pro Windows + Matrox MXO2 software.

Except for Renting.

And remember, I said this was volunteering. At a low low low budget.

Now look at pro audio.

Unlike video, audio is so much 'cleaner.' For example - here's your wire for pre-mix audio: XLRs, (or a few TSRs or even TSs,) a few hundred/few thousand feet of Canare (or similar), a Hako 963, and a pound or two of Kester 44 - add some time, minus the coffee. If you patch some brand new SM 58's and really old EV 15's, you don't care whether the snake uses Switchcrafts or Neutriks or both. As I say, audio is so much 'cleaner.'

Renting is messy. In my opinion. It leads to things like "the ilock thread."

Hopefully, the cleaner mode of buying audio keeps going. Instead of the rent-only mode that runs high-end video.

best, john