Dear Steinberg,
Given the current subscription model trend adopted by companies like Adobe, Cakewalk and Avid, to name a few, I have become a little concerned that this subscription model virus may also reach the Yamaha/Steinberg headquarters. I personally love the way you’ve handled updates and upgrades ever since I started using Cubase in version 6, and would hate to see it change into a subscription model such as those implemented by the aforementioned software companies (or any type of subscription model, really). Not only do I find it one sided, benefitting mostly the company and screwing its userbase by striping us from the freedom of choosing when to upgrade or not, since we are forced into paying a fee each year in order to avoid more fees (at least in the case of Pro Tools 12). But you’ll also be missing a great opportunity of taking over the industry by acquiring unhappy customers, especially those coming from Pro Tools, and becoming a bigger presence than you already are.
For this reason, I would love to hear confirmation that Yamaha/Steinberg will not be adopting a subscription model in the foreseeable future, if ever! Not only would this put me at ease, but I’m sure many others as well. There’s lots of unhappy customers over at the Avid Forums, if you haven’t been there in the past months. And now even more as of yesterday, with the release of Pro Tools 12, which offers 4 new features that are yet to be available. It is possibly the worst DAW release in history. This is the reason why I am asking this question today, which I hope you will answer. Thanks for being the great company you have been so far, despite what other people may say. We really have it good
-Jose