Avid announced Pro Tools 2022.4, with some new additions, but the headline news that’s got the internet on fire is the new pricing tiers. Some of the critics have some valid points, although some people need to get beyond headlines and read details before smashing their computer keyboard in a rage filled rant. Facts are always a better place to start a discussion from… if that is what they want.
However, there’s a bigger discussion to be had that extends beyond the software with this announcement, and that’s what a subscription only pricing model really requires from any brand that moves to this model.
The Headlines
Avid are discontinuing sales of new perpetual licences, though licences will remain available while they remain in the sales pipeline. To be clear, perpetual licences which are already in use will continue to operate as before. There are incentives to encourage ‘off plan’ perpetual licence holders to get current and the cost of this has been reduced for non-Ultimate users. While for some the subject of software subscriptions is a red line and many of these users will never be open to a subscription scheme, the fact is that it has happened, and from our perspective Avid have been accommodating in making sure that there are options for everyone. Some will say they are being forced onto a subscription but that is only the case for new customers. For perpetual licence holders support and upgrade plans are still available and there are new options for ‘off plan’ users to get current.
Beyond the licensing changes the really big news to us is the clear commitment Avid have made to the new/emerging artist with Pro Tools Artist. For some time there has been an assumption from many that Avid were concentrating on Post Production users and big studios, and weren’t prioritising the bedroom producer/singer songwriter end of the market. To be fair, that assumption was based on Avid’s behaviour over the last few years, their commitment to the lower end of the market wasn’t evidenced by their business decisions. Now, that assumption has been thoroughly disproved by this root and branch overhaul of not just the software offering but also the work around bringing new users to Pro Tools with the new, more user friendly onboarding process and the new announcements around the getting started support materials.
The introduction of surround and immersive formats to Pro Tools Studio brings the middle tier of Pro Tools even closer to Ultimate. If one thinks about the division of features between Pro Tools and Pro Tools HD of a few years ago, nearly everything which was an HD-only feature is now available to the middle tier product. HDX support, the number of tracks and IO, particularly the number of video tracks, and a selection of post-specific features like satellite linking of multiple machines, track and destructive punch record modes, field recorder workflows and advanced video editing are the remaining points of difference between Studio and Flex. On the subject of HDX support, it’s good to see that the Digilink licence is now rolled into Ultimate as standard.
The new offer is well-defined at the first two tiers, though we would still really like to see a free product. Many started their Pro Tools journey with the 8 mono audio tracks only Pro Tools Free back in the 90s. Many of us may probably have never bought our first LE systems without that experience.
That said, for many Pro Tools owners the new pricing model is a win. They get lots of the features that used to require a higher cost. For quite a lot of users the new $10 a month plan will be ample. We’ve all been spoiled by the infinite track count, endless plugin bundles, but tens of thousands of great albums were recorded on 24 tracks of tape, or less. For many mere mortals the entry level option is great value.
Pro Tools Flex is harder to understand at present as much of the additional content is yet to be announced but it’s something which will become more attractive as it is populated with new content, in much the same way as the Pro Tools Inner Circle offer is growing over time with over $2000 worth of plugins and content for all annual Pro Tools subscribers. It will be interesting to see what Flex looks like when it matures but in the meantime we are sure the conversation around subscriptions will be the main topic being discussed.
The Change Avid Need To Make
But here’s the one big change Avid need to make if they are to use this moment for growing rather than shrinking their customer base. A subscription product requires a consistent value proposition. What do we mean by that?
We mean timely updates and additional features. Not just bug fixes. That’s a support plan not a value proposition. ARA implementation is one that gets mentioned a lot, a feature in virtually every other DAW that doesn’t claim to be industry standard. Pro Tools users are rightfully annoyed at this gaping discrepancy in the Pro Tools feature list. Watching other DAWs get a list of new and sometimes free features that can be as long as your arm, makes Pro Tools users wonder why they keep paying for a subscription. A case in point is the latest release of Steinberg Nuendo 12, which has an almost limitless list of powerful new features.
Pro Tools requires much faster OS compatibility too. For example, Apple are now on their second generation of Silicon Macs and plan to complete the transition soon, but there’s still no Silicon compatible version of Pro Tools. One could argue that’s because porting a DAW is hard… not according to PreSonus, Steinberg, Ableton, in fact almost all DAWs, plugins and more. Avid can’t even blame PACE for the delay, that ship has sailed.
One could also argue that Avid has a team in Ukraine which are currently working in the middle of a war, this has affected the development of their software. However the slow updates and OS compatibility pre-date the war in Ukraine by some years. It’s a reasonable defence taken at face value, but not when this game of catch up has been going on for years.
Whilst it may be technically true that Pro Tools is running without issue under the amazing Rosetta 2, it is a little disingenuous to imply this doesn’t affect performance. If there are any elements in the DAW chain that are running under Rosetta 2, then everything reverts back to Rosetta. That means all your M1 compatible plugins are running under Rosetta 2 in Pro Tools. It’s a defence, but a flimsy one and it needs addressing sooner rather than later.
In the past there was an answer to the complaint that subscriptions offered poor value for money, that was to go perpetual. That’s no longer the case for new investors in Pro Tools software. The music production software industry is a competitive market and those looking for a DAW are wanting value for money, especially if they are paying for a subscription.
It’s Only Industry Standard Inside The Industry
In the past Avid could use the ‘industry standard’ line to make a compelling case. The industry standard claim is, on the whole, a fact. However, this is only the case for those working in studios where workflow compatibility matters, the professional music and post studios. If Avid is now trying to win market share with those working in smaller and more fluid set-ups the argument doesn’t really have the same clout. It may offer some aspirational value to the product, but it’s not going to keep the app generation committed to the product if they find themselves attracted by something else. Many of the new subscribers they hope to attract have neither the years of experience or hard drives full of Pro Tools sessions they have to consider before switching.
Selling perpetual software is very different from selling subscriptions. Subscribers are relentless, quite rightly, to see value for their monthly payments. Avid need to up their game on delivering on all the above, otherwise a subscriptions only Pro Tools model may well be a mistake. There’s a global cost of living crisis that means we are all looking at ways to cut our monthly outgoings, nothing is sacred.
For many brands, the software as a service model is seen as the goose that lays golden eggs, it can be. But one only has to look at the woes befalling brands like Netflix and Peloton to see what happens when subscribers leave en masse. There’s an excellent op-ed written for Jing Daily about this.
We don’t write these things to put down Avid’s efforts, but to be frank, it takes more than a pricing model to make a compelling case for a subscription.
Avid has worked hard to change over the last few years and made great strides, for which they need to be congratulated. Some of the criticism levelled at Avid is lazy and nothing more than as one person so wisely commented muscle memory kicking in, some criticism is valid.
However, now Avid has, as some have suggested, “done an Adobe”, the product and development teams have to come up with the goods, again and again… and again. No excuses.
One person on social media quipped “this could all end in tiers.” We hope not!
Discuss.