Sony Catalyst available by Subscription only

Cliff Etzel wrote on 4/18/2016, 10:17 AM

Press release from SONY states:

"Price and Availability
Both products are available exclusively under a subscription licensing model, bringing users significant new features at a rapid pace and with a lower cost than the standard 12-18 month major perpetual license upgrade cycle previously common in the industry.

Catalyst Prepare and the Catalyst Production Suite are available via monthly and annual subscription licenses. Catalyst Prepare is $14.95 per month or annually at $149.95. Catalyst Production Suite is $21.95 per month or annually at $199.95. More information is available at www.sonycreativesoftware.com/catalyst."

This doesn't bode well for the next release of Vegas Pro from the looks of things - if VP14 ever happens. Too bad SCS couldn't have fixed the bugs in Vegas Pro 13 - seems they bleeding of money in fixing persistent bugs has reared it's ugly head.

Thoughts?

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Comments

monoparadox wrote on 4/20/2016, 9:35 AM

My guess is in the end, "subscription" is ultimately a disincentive for innovation compared to putting a product out front and competing on the basis of what it can do and the vision it expresses.

I grew up in an era where the philosophy of business was deliver more for less. Now it's deliver less for more. Animal spirits have been replaced by those looking for refuge and surety. We'll see how far it can take us.

-- tom

Wolfgang S. wrote on 4/20/2016, 9:38 AM

"Now it's deliver less for more. "

Maybe that is the new spirit. But is the spirit soo new? I remember I learned the wording "shareholder value" during my MBA 15 years ago. Adobe justified the move to the substiption model with increased value for their shareholders.

But what does it mean for the user?

If it means that NLEs are not developed further, it means that we will end up with nothing. No further development of Vegas - even if some may still hope. Is that the better choice really?

OldSmoke wrote on 4/20/2016, 9:54 AM

Just get rid of the shareholders and you are fine. A business should always be customer oriented and not shareholder oriented.

monoparadox wrote on 4/20/2016, 10:07 AM

And in the end, I do believe that will be the ultimate reality. It's just a matter of when it will reassert itself. I may be too old to see it.

-- tom

Kinvermark wrote on 4/20/2016, 10:46 AM

If subscription is a requirement for further development, then how is Blackmagic able to make such great strides with DaVinci Resolve? And they give away a 'lite''version for free!

The difference is the attitude of senior management - maximizing LONG TERM revenues instead of a short term cash grab.

Sony's play makes no sense and I think is fed by desperation.

OldSmoke wrote on 4/20/2016, 10:51 AM

Sony's play makes no sense and I think is fed by desperation.

It does make sense when you have a "decentralized" organization and yes, they (SCS) are desperate.

Blackmagic is very different as other products are allowed to "carry" the weight of the software development.
We can only hope that Sony Corp. will eventually loose interest in SCS and sell it off, hopefully to someone that can see the value in it.

Wolfgang S. wrote on 4/21/2016, 2:14 AM

"Just get rid of the shareholders and you are fine. A business should always be customer oriented and not shareholder oriented."
If you do not find shareholders that are willing to invest in the future developement of a software, because the number of subscribers and the expected revenues are too low for both to maintain the business and earn a fair share for the invested money, you will go out of business. Regardlesse if you are customer oriented or not.

VidMus wrote on 4/21/2016, 6:46 AM

On 04/25/2014, I paid $249.90 for the Vegas 13 upgrade. Divide that by 12 and it is $20.83 a month. And since I have upgraded to every new version of Vegas Since I started with version 6, then for me a subscription would work well. Especially if I can get the entire suite of Vegas related products that I would LIKE to have but cannot afford.

I would have the payments spread out over time and SCS would have revenues it can count on.

Now, I could have put back x amount of money each month myself and then do the upgrades but then, could SCS really count on the future money from me?

Considering how many people there are on here who have not upgraded very often and those who are still using OLD versions and for the most part are not upgrading at all, SCS does not have a reliable revenue stream they can depend on!

Some might say that they will upgrade to every other version or so. Can SCS count on that?

Bottom line is, if we want a continued perpetual version of Vegas then we MUST all reliably support it and upgrade when a new version comes out! Otherwise SCS will either have to go to a subscription model or out of business altogether!

Do not expect SCS to continue investing and working on Vegas with an uncertain and unreliable revenue source from us.

Either we support Vegas AND SCS or we lose them! If we do not support them, they cannot support us even if they most sincerely want to.

Question is, how many people here REALLY want Vegas to continue? If you REALLY want Vegas to continue then SUPPORT IT AND SCS!!!

The OLD way of thinking about upgrading when one feels like it and thinking SCS will continue to develop Vegas is 100% GONE!

A lot of people sat on older versions of Premiere and other related software's, Adobe realized it and went to the subscription model to get a reliable source of revenue.

A lot of people sat on older versions of Microsoft word and Microsoft recognized it and also went to a subscription model.

Users who sit and sit and sit on older versions of software is the reason why the subscription model has become attractive to the companies who sell the software in order to have a reliable revenue source.

For me, history is repeating itself. I went through all of this with Ulead and MSP8. I went to Sony Vegas hoping that would never be the case again. And yet, here it is again! And all for the same reasons! And it pains me a lot! People using OLD versions and NOT upgrading regularly!

Ulead put out a great upgrade with MSP8 in sincere hopes of getting the revenue they sorely needed. The response from many users were, 'we will wait and see' and/or 'we like to upgrade every x version or so' and so on. No surprise! Ulead and MSP was GONE very soon after that!

THINK ABOUT IT!!!

www.dannyfye.com

ushere wrote on 4/21/2016, 7:56 AM

whilst all the subscription arguments make some sense at various levels the one fly in the ointment is:

if you don't pay your subscription your software stops working. so, for example, if i'm happy with what i've got and see absolutely no need for, say, 3d, why should i be forced to update!? no matter what else i think this fact alone is a definite game killer....

Former user wrote on 4/21/2016, 8:10 AM

Agree with Ushere on this. At least with the current, if you for some reason can't afford to update or can't afford the montly payment, you can still use the software and update old projects.