Future of Plugged-in Membership and Beta Testers

[PBuryk]

Greetings, All -

I've was thinking of posting the following directly to Harrison, but also thought that it might an appropriate topic for discussion here as well:

Given the merger of Harrison & SSL, I was wondering what the fate of Harrison's "plugged-in Membership" and "User Beta-Testers" was going to be like moving forward?

I've been a plugged-in contributor for some time, being very supportive of the MB/MB32C & Ardour products. And, for the past couple of releases, I've also provided effort
as a Beta-Tester. For me, both involvements were a way for me to show my appreciation (aside from my actual purchase of these products) for Harrison's (& Ardour's!)
recognition of the need for a quality DAW for Linux based users. MB/MB32C has truly made my work in music production more enjoyable. 

But, now that Harrison is under the direction of SSL, I'm wondering if either of these Harrison "associations" will be needed or appreciated further?
For instance: I would have expected some word on this to have been issued from Harrison by now, either by announcement here in the forum or via direct email to all participants.
Moreover, I'm sure Harrison as an accurate view of its long-term users and and those who have made significant contributions in terms of communal support here on the forum.
I wonder if SSL has had the opportunity (or even the interest) to assess these metrics in the interest of retaining this user base?

As mentioned by several forum members, company mergers are rarely for the sake of both parties; they're mainly for the combined customer and projected income thereof.
I see many SSL products that might be tempting now that that are part of the SSL/Harrison merger. However, I only see this as a positive if SSL does not move to alienate
current Harrison users with undue product lock-downs or platform reductions (ie, drop Linux support). The result of this would be the (potential) loss of both user opportunities.

Discussion??

Cheers!
Patrick

[Sojuzstudio]

It is difficult to discuss this, because no decent and reliable answer has been given regarding the future direction, related to the things you mentioned.

But silence is often not a good sign. And wonder why there are no SSL decision makers here to talk to us if they are making those decisions.


Another concern is future pricing. With SSL, you can hardly get updates at an affordable price anymore. I would NOT be surprised if the prices at least double. Because SSL can.

The biggest problem will be that Linux support. If it goes out, it affects all Linux pro audio. According to many, there is no such thing, Linux pro audio.

Let's just say I'm not enjoying this
https://youtu.be/5Er_3bEv0SA?si=a0VPdp_NceUOZweP

[madmaxmiller]

Let's say, my Plugged-In membership ends the day the Linux support is driven back and/or Plugged-In members are charged extra for updates. The money goes directly on top of my Ardour donations. My then current setup will be freezed and backed up and maintained, it will be good for recording and mixing as long as there is hardware for it available. If I need newer stuff for production (unlikely unless I tinker with film scoring) I will make a new machine for this.
End of story.

[Theotherguy]

When the purchase (It's NOT a merger)  of Harrison by SSL was announced by Ben I sent him an email asking what would happen to the Plugged-In Membership program under the new ownership. I never got an answer, no RESPONSE. a BAD SIGN. 
i am not happy with SSL, I am not happy with Harrison.
There is only one path that this situation will take. A downward spiral for all users of MB and MB32C. I run two systems, one Windows system, one Linux. Two years ago I built a computer to use in my studio exclusively to run MB32C. Sound proof case, quiet cooling. It's OS is AVL/MXE. I only run MB32C on this computer. It does not have a WI-FI adapter. I use a Cat 6 cable when I need to update MB32C or the OS. This system is near flawless. MB has never crashed on this computer. Actually my Windows system has never crashed running MB . I'm not a computer person. I could not have done this by myself. I was assisted by MMM (Thanks Max). He walked me thru the entire process. I met Max on this forum. The help that this forum has given to so many user is now in jeopardy. As I see it. Others my have a different opinion I'm sure.
This is so disappointing.
Alex

[Ben@Harrison]

@Theotherguy: I'm unsure how I missed your email, sorry!

I do not anticipate any changes to the existing Plugged-In members.

The 'plugged-in' membership hasn't been an official product on our website since ... 10 years I think....?

I know most of our PI members personally. Many of you are also on our beta list.

Your continuing support is greatly appreciated and I don't see why SSL would want to compromise it.

-Ben

[Theotherguy]

Ben, Thank you so much for your response. Sorry for getting so upset about the email not being answered. I should have resent. I do recoil when the iLok issue pops up.
I purchased V3 in January 2016. I have loved it ever since. I started my Plugged-in Membership on May 18 2016. Back then we got a 50% off coupon for plugins. A new coupon every month. I have kept the membership since then, I consider it a good investment and money well very spent. It was offered as a purchasable item on the plugin page. I thought it was a great idea. It helped me build my plugin collection, and I appreciate the savings over the years. I will maintain the membership as long as the ILok doesn't effect Mixbus or Mixbus32C or it's non-AVA plugins. I would hope that SSL would not want to compromise the support of the Plugged-in Members and Beta Testers. I hope that they will consider the iLok issue that exists for some. My fear is that SSL will want to assimilate their acquisitions' into SSL's practices of doing business. Ultimately, those decisions will be made by SSL/Audiotonix. We will see how things work out, Only time will tell. Again, my apologies for my ranting post. 
Thank You for your thoughts about these concerns.
And thanks for listening 
Alex