Yes, much like the Amplitube model. You buy the base product, then add “musicians” when you find one you like. And pay once. The musician gets a cut from every purchase. Popular “musicians” will get paid more, as in a proper market.
I think what makes me more sympathetic to the subscription model in this case is that there seems to be a lot more flexibility built into the tool, giving you more of each player than a simple sample or even set of samples.
Yes, this is like the Toontrack model I mentioned above (or was it in another thread on the same topic?). Mind you, I don’t know what the financial arrangements behind the scenes are, but I’m at least guessing the musicians get some royalties off product sales for the EZX and SDX packages they participated in creating.
I will say that Tonalic seems to adapt to time signatures changes better than the Toontrack models do. But I’m also guessing that is more likely related to the engine than the playing. However, I’m not sure you necessarily get “more of each player” here. Also, in some ways, Tonalic isn’t as flexible as the Toontrack model. In particular, the Toontrack models (at least for SD3 and EZD3 – I don’t have their other EZ products) let you mix and match kits from any package (base or add-ons) with grooves from any package (ditto), and that provides a lot more flexibility than with Tonalic, where, for example, any given set is with a specific guitar (and probably some basic processing, without the ability to take the patterns from one set and apply them against the sound of another.
I think the general thing with Tonalic that favors the subscription is the intention of continually adding to what is available, and the potential for enticing musicians to contribute. Whereas with Toontrack, each EZX or SDX is more or less a major production. That may mean that Tonalic can expand much more quickly, and this could be beneficial for users if they find what they want, whereas, with the Toontrack model, there is the question of if there is a package that fits your needs, and if the goods included in the package that seems to fit really do.
Of course, Tonalic is also adapting to your chords (I assume EZ Bass and EZ Keys would, too, but it’s not applicable to SD3 and EZD3), and it’s not just fixed MIDI on that front, and it also follows your groove master pretty well for feel (more work to achieve with SD3).
All that said, given my history (I’m a pretty heavy music software junkie – check out Equipment and Software • Rick Paul if you want to get some perspective on that), not only with Toontrack but also other companies who use a similar model, and my current financial considerations, Celemony would be likely to get more money from me over time if they used a model similar to Toontrack’s. In particular, a one-time purchase of an engine with some basic set of patterns, and later decisions on whether to add some specific add-on, where you get to use both the engine and the add-ons you purchase “forever”, is a much easier decision than an ongoing subscription, where the money you put out over time is gone if you ever need to cancel your subscription. If I’ve counted correctly, beyond EZD3 and SD3 (and the earlier versions of both products), over the years I have purchased 30 EZXes and 9 EZXes, not to mention a whole bunch of additional MIDI packs. As it stands with Tonalic at this point, I’ve only used the free Essential version. I may or may not ever end up going for a subscription. $250 for a single year is a big bite! Some of my EZXes are already 20 years old (and probably cost less than $100, maybe even some less than $50, and even the SDXes were less than $200).
I just can’t get myself to feel that way. It comes out to about $20 per month, and for that you get access to all these musicians, in principle. To me that’s very little money if you’re doing this for a living. It should pay for itself pretty quickly I think.
And the other thing is that for at least some composers there’s the composition stage and then there’s the production stage. So creating a demo is one thing and then producing the actual recording is another. From a traditional perspective it’s pretty easy to just pay for the service when you need it. Do the comp and demos for a couple of months and then get subscribe once you get into production for a while, and then drop the subscription again when you’re done. If monthly subbing is possible at least.
I’m doing this full-time (I’m technically “retired” – i.e. no day job), but, at least thus far, not making a living at it. The recording side of things has been, and still is at this point, a big net cost (the biggest factor on that front is pretty much always plugins, virtual instruments, and other music software – to the tune of a bit over $1.3K last year). (While I was mildly profitable the last couple of years, that was due to the live performances side of things.) On a fixed income, every ongoing cost is an issue.
That’s really not my scenario. My main focus on the recording front is as a singer/songwriter. I am pretty much constantly recording my songs, whether to target a specific (sync) opportunity with a new song, where there is a, typically short, deadline where I need to write, record, and submit, or I’m catching up on recordings songs from my back catalog (or the occasional new song not written to target a specific opportunity), where it’s write/record/release (i.e. a single, potentially being collected as part of an album later on). I really don’t do demos at this point, but, even when I did (e.g. for pitching my songs to other artists), I was always doing my own demos, be it just piano/vocal or a full production.
I’m not particularly quick on the recording front. I’d guess each full production song takes on the order of a month (probably a minimum of a couple of weeks), and I don’t do assembly line recordings. My arranging is all done in the context of the virtual instruments I’m using, coming up with the parts as I go, be it by programming/sequencing MIDI loops and picking sounds (e.g. in the Toontrack drums case), playing/comping/editing (including dealing with keyswitches and CC overdubs and/or writing – the case for most virtual instruments), or auditioning/sequencing/programming (the case where loop-based virtual instruments like UJAM Virtual Guitarists and Tonalic come into play). Then there is the vocal tracking, BGV arranging (also done on the fly as I record it in most cases), and the related comping/etc., and ultimately mixing/mastering.
While I can knock out very minimal recordings in much less time, most of my songs are the sort that want a full band treatment. For example, on my current project, which is traditional country, we’re talking drums, bass, three guitars (two acoustic, one electric – all Tonalic Essential), piano, lap steel, fiddle, and vocals (haven’t gotten around to those yet, but I’m guessing two doubled harmony parts in addition to the lead). That’s relatively stripped down compared to my “average” (to the degree I have one). This project is going at a pretty good pace, but I’m already 13 days into it at the moment (with only 2 of those days off due to other priorities), having only just finished the arranging/tracking, and at least most of the editing, side of the instrumental tracks. I probably only used Tonalic 2 days (though I haven’t rendered the tracks to audio yet due to having only tweaked my tempo map yesterday), one for the acoustic guitars and another for the electric guitar. But had I been doing a similar thing with UJAM or Session Guitarist instead of Tonalic, that probably would have expanded to at least double that amount of time. I’ll probably finish this recording in the next week or two, then deal with the other things to get it into the distribution cycle and prepare the project archives. Then I’ll start on the next song (I am actually working toward an album concept), where I’ll probably use Tonalic for another couple of days, then rinse and repeat the cycle with the song after that…
With the UJAM Virtual Guitarist series, I think I’ve paid about $50 for each instrument, but I’ve used them on multiple recordings over a period of years, and I can still use them into the future. The Toontrack instruments may have been more expensive for the basic products, and anywhere from about $50 to $130 for any given add-on, but it’s the same thing – a one-time, predictable price, and I can use them anytime I need them (and I’ve used Toontrack products for almost all my drums for way more than a decade). With Tonalic, I’d have to keep paying $250 a year, which might end up using it on maybe a dozen recordings each year. The rent one month now, one month next time I need it, would likely end up costing more since it would be the monthly rate instead of the annual rate as I probably would use it on the order of once or twice a month. So, yes, it is a big bite (for me).