Buying Cubase license upgrades - Steinberg Fail?

Cubase
1

I’m wondering when and if Steinberg are going to make it easy for customers to purchase additional Cubase license upgrades. A recent case in point: I needed to get an additional C6 license upgrade for a laptop running C5. The studio computer had already been updated to C6. It was a rather urgent situation (my boss was going overseas and needed C6 on the laptop) but I still required access to C6 on the studio system.

Now trying to just get a copy of Cubase here in Australia is not always that simple as there’s often none in stock and individual orders have to be shipped in from overseas anyway (was told 2 weeks). After much frantic calling around to Yamaha, I managed to track down one last upgrade copy that they sent to a store across the other side of the country that thankfully hadnt been sold yet. I called them and paid for it over the phone and got the guy to open the box while I was on the phone and tell me the activation code and throw the box in the bin. We already owned the dongle from the V5 copy and already had the V6 installation disc from the other copy. All we needed was the code - no hardware. It was kinda silly to go through that process just to get an activation code.

Surely Steinberg can offer an online means of buying license upgrades via MySteinberg in cases such as these, which would not be unusual cases for many studios? It seems an extremely inefficent and wasteful system when all your after is a simple written code.

Cheers

2

I was just thinking about this for the last one week…to ask my friend in Germany to get a halion sonic upgrade and tell me the activation key…cos no upgrade is available in india…I have hypersonic 2, and got halion sonic with my cubase 6 upgrade(got it from singapore)…there is no way to upgrade it online…so buying Halion 4 upgrade( which is available online )is also getting delayed…

3

I imagine this is more of an issue for those of us not in the US or Germany. Supply seems to be pretty erratic for the rest of us. Now that the 6.5 update was downloadable, I hope this will encourage Steinberg to move over to making a downloadable installer for Cubase that can be purchased online.

4

Actually it should change for all cases- any sales.

I agree its an antiquated system and it is really surprising that we cannot get download only activations. After all this is a leading edge technology company. Had the problem here in canada for ugrades on C4 and C6- boxes that needed to be shipped - and now with all that you dont get a printed copy of the manual.

This is one of the few things that Steinberg makes me go …?! but I think this is a hangover policy from contractual obligations with distributers that has not been changed or upgraded. that’s the only logical reason i have come up with.

5

You know that’s a pretty good point regarding contractual obligations with distributors etc. Its hard to think of any other valid reason for the current system. I wonder if Yamaha’s involvement has made this point even more relevant now. Especially now that you dont get the printed manual, it is a little absurd ordering an empty box with a slip of paper in it for an upgrade. I do hope Steinberg can implement something rather like Abelton’s system where you can buy and download online, but the boxed version is also available should you want it. Im sure it would provide for a more streamlined and cost-effective delivery system and a win-win for Steinberg and its customers.

6

Fully agree … its a win win situation 4 both …s

7

Aloha guys,

I totally agree with this thread.
However as much we want this IMHO there is no way this is ever going to happen.

Reason: Steiny make $$ the way things are.

If they are going to make a business model change,
it is going to be in the direction of
more $$$ in the coffers; not less.

But we can always hope.

Guess I’m watching too many financial television shows. :slight_smile:

{‘-’}

8

Well, at the moment, we still need the product box as not everyone is able to buy and download a product online and then download several gigabytes of data. I do agree though that offering both a box and a download for every product we have would have prevented things like Atardecer describes in his post.
Providing more downloads is something we want to do in the future but there are many things to consider regarding business and distribution beforehand.

9

whats in a Box ??? all updates etc are already downloadable , if it was like the earlier days where u got the printed Manuel Book which i appreciated , that was ok , so those who dont have a fast internet connection , can still buy thru the dist. not me , as they charge 2wice the rate here in India thru the dist… a big big margin , sure will put off potential buyers , specially with the currency weak against the $… Steinberg will have a lot more sale in India if they bypass the Dist n sell on line…directly … hard facts … SC

10

+1

11

I have to agree with Samwax here & many others Eckhart.

The distribution Model currently offered by Steinberg is extremely antiquated, compared to many other software companies. The market segment Steinberg is currently residing in, I would like to think that someone within the organisation would deem it appropriate for a review (Quickly) I may add.

Steinberg should make things easier for the customers, OLD & NEW, by not having to jump through hoops. The only thing that is needed to be purchased thru a Distributor locally would maybe be a Elicensor key. (Understandable, though not unreasonable to expect Steinebrg to be able to post it form Hamburg???.

Just give us the OPTION to either download of buy disks?., you already done away with the Manual, in a (save the planet moment) so saving more of the planets plastic output, by giving us a download option on ALL your products.

ALMOST ALL countries nowadays have a decent broadband service…I purchase regularly from NI online, & also from other audio software vendors with, upwards of 4gb files…so it IS being done sucessfully.

Using the “what about the people who have slow connections” reasoning , is now non applicable in the current worldwide marketplace., as the people who DO have a decent connection, FAR outweigh those who do not.

I DO NOT want to deal with my Steinberg Distributor, as their Markup is scandalous to say the least, never mind their exorbitant delivery charges. (do you see a problem here for your customer base Steinebrg??).

IT IS CHEAPER FOR ME TO BUY IN LONDON, ALL MY GEAR FROM STEINBERG ( and this list is extensive )…and get it shipped via DHL, than buy it here from my Distributor. So the situation remains, that I would GLADLY welcome ANY modernisation of your purchasing options to be inline with the current market climate.

It totally beggars belief, that Steinberg (even though you decided to distribute direct with a few EU countries yourself, still make these hurdles hard to overcome, with the rest of your EU/Worldwide customer base, you know, those countries not even deemed worthy to offer any email support or telephone support.

It is 2012 guys, worrying about your hardware services & RTB problems, I would think these are small compared to the obvious discontent of the rest of the world, in a very very competative DAW world. (Bitwig is coming, time for Ableton to poop themselves :wink:… JEZUZ even an idiot wouldnt ignore the upcoming surge of interest in India alone in ELectronic Dance music, never mind the US etc, Whereby your interfacing with customers, can & should be improved to aid sales, customer satisfaction, and overall pleasant dealing with your Daw supplier. If I want an update, or a bit of Steiny hardware/Software.

I ask you Steinberg of the following critical question your sales dept should put forward to your Management Board.

DO I deserve to be CONSTANTLY PENALISED for being a Steinberg customer because of the country I live in?.

Answers on a postcard please!..

One last thought. I KNOW this is because of the amount of Distributor reliance Yamaha has with their Hardware range…but Steinberg is mainly a SOFTWARE company. Can someone not point out that a very sucessful german company (NI) is managing to do both? in a way that keeps the Distributor & the customer happy…surely this can be solved, not in 1-2 years, but NOW Downloads Vs Disks?. sounds like a 2002 problem. and here we are 10 yrs later. :wink:

12

It only bothers me since I can’t fill out a form and must pray I’m not on their spam filter.

13

+1 n a slight deviation from the Topic, though relative , though just posted , i would like to get the printed Manual back , every software should come with a printed manual , i hate reading and learning on line , n physical mailing a Manual , aint a big problem even from Germany . sw

14

Sorry but I like cheaper products and if you want it all online you can’t have printed resources unless you are willing (or able) to pay more.

15

Thanks for the response :wink:

I can appreciate that there are various issues of business models and contractual obligations that must be sorted and honoured, and that possibly some of this is out of your hands and directed by Yamaha. I think most of us simply want the option of the download. By all means the boxed copy should still be available for those who need it. As an example, the studio I work in is in the country does not have particularly fast internet, but my home studio does.
Native Instruments are a good example I think. When I purchased Komplete I appreciated having the DVD installers given I was installing 40 GBs or so. But having the downloadable updates is invaluable.

But the difference there is that its not difficult to get Komplete. In fact, I actually just bought it from them direct online from their website and had the box it shipped in a couple of days from Germany. That’s often quicker and cheaper than buying it from a local store/distributor (which is silly, but that’s Australia for you). The problem here and, I suspect, other countries outside the US and Europe is that Cubase is not readily available. Buying Cubase usually menas going to a store and getting the shop assistant to order one from Yamaha Australia because copies are never kept in stock. Then you are lucky if Yamaha even has a copy left. So that means you have to wait until they order their next batch in from you guys. You cant place an individual order - they usually cant tell me when it will be shipped because they dont know. In that case I’d prefer to buy direct from Steinberg HQ in Germany, like I did with NI and Komplete.

I just think its weird that willing customers have to jump through hoops to buy Steinberg products. It’s usually the other way around - developers needing to convince customers to buy their stuff!
Regards,
James

16

Ok , well i can print out my own manual , no probs , as long as the software is downloadable n directly with steinberg , keep the costs low … No more con distributors …i shall never buy thru them again any reasonable fair margin was ok, even the Usb dongle is sold here for 3 times the rate … well even if i have to live with C 6 for a long time till Steinberg wakes to the coffee s

17

I think the best scenario would be an independent printed manual (like Avid did with Sibelius, for example). This way I could be able to buy the software without the cost of a printed manual. At the same time, I should be able to order a printed copy from Steinberg if I think it is necessary.

18

At the same time, I should be able to order a printed copy from Steinberg if I think it is necessary.
this is even better , or if Steinberg is too busy , then get some 3rd Party to do it , n bind it into a proper book , if some one here takes n order n prints who ever wants one, then it would be a good cheap deal 4 a printer , provided there r enough number of orders to make it feasible , some thing like how some forums i seen , order a software or Hardware together n get a group discount , in these times of recession , would help all. SW

19

I agree with you samwax.

I bought online a Sibelius 7 printed reference guide for 49 dollars (Avid website or others). It sounds pricey, but printing the PDF manual (color) in a local graphic bureau was more expensive. Even a monochromatic printing was above the official price.

We don’t have this option with Cubase 6, I have to read the PDF on a screen or pay a lot for a local printing.

20

Regardless of having a printed manual or not, first things first. The pdf manual should be using a normal paper size (A4), so when I print (parts of) it, at least I use the paper to the fullest. Now it’s in a stupid 190 x 228 mm size…