Subscription software - why the trend?

[Bercy]

I had a nice computer put together - SSD's and as much RAM as I could load. I am starting fresh with Light Room. I have LR2 but I would obviously want to set up clean with LR5. However everything is leaning to subscription based soft ware e.g. Office 365 and now LR%/CC PS. There have been a couple of forum discussion but these were early on. How useful is the Photoshop CC/LR5 combo, or is it subscribing to what in my limited hands could be bloat. Could be worth a poll! - if upgrading would you subscribe or buy. Not sure how to set up a poll? Help appeciated!!

[I @ M]

I have added a poll Bernie.

For future reference, the option to add a poll is in the thread header under "thread tools" where you can select the various options for a poll.

[Bercy]

Thanks for setting up Andrew - appreciated! Cheers Bernie

[jev]

A subscription model assures the software company from a steady revenue without having to focus on maintenance so much. From a business point of view this model looks attractive. Customers OTOH don't need to invest in the software up front, so purely from a financial point of view it looks like a win-win situation (even though I'm not sure if a subscription like this is tax-deductible).

Now, being (semi-) private customers however we typically don't like this type of arrangement for gut-feeling reasons: (one) a continuously re-occurring payment like this feels like paying ransom money (don't pay and you won't be able to get to your photo's anymore), (two) it is a vendor-lock in construction written in large capitals, (three) we fear prices will go up over time and (four) the overall cost of ownership feels more expensive than the sum of a single payment (it most probably isn't but it feels like it).

Personally, I chose software that (for the time being) does not require subscription (and it's a good sack of money cheaper than PS+LR). It's a matter of taste, really. YMMV.

[ricktas]

I agree with Jev.

We are moving to a world where monthly payments on everything is the way of the future. Phone bills were the start. Remember when your phone bill came three-monthly?

I reckon we will see more and more of this monthly payment model across not just software, but a huge range of things we use. If most are like me, I work on a monthly household budget, and put aside money from my income above what my regular bills are as savings. These savings are what let me buy things like LR, Photoshop, new lenses etc. I believe the finance guru's have realised that is how most people budget, and they have also realised that some companies and products can be shifted from the savings component to a piece of the monthly expenses budget, rather than a bit of the savings every now and then. They know that once we incorporate an amount into our monthly expenses, it becomes a part of our regular lives, rather than a direct decision to spend from our savings.

[Bercy]

I think Rick has this nailed. On the one hand we all feel that we would prefer to buy the product outright, but the way we actually work is different to that. Nobody puts $30 in a tin each week until they have saved enough for Lightroom and photoshop. Rather we put it on credit, and then pay $30 a month in interest, and for some people they never pay it off!! So on Rick's logic it is actually a a good way for a lot of people to operate. Heaven forbid some people may get bored with their camera and begrudge the $1,000 investment in software. (Heresy). If they had hired they could just cancel the subscription. Interestingly also, have you noticed quite a few charities don't wan't your $5 but do want you CC details for a monthly "donation".

For Christmas I am getting a subscription! I'll just a have to wait a few weeks. Time to clean my sensor which is another matter ....

[MissionMan]

I have seen this a lot in business. In many cases it works well for business because its an operating expense as opposed to a capital expense. Its easier to get approval for opex over capex. For small businesses it works well from an affordability perspective and ties in with the whole cloud model. I.e. I don't have to install a sharepoint environment on my own servers and then worry about the hardware getting too small when I grow, I just buy users as and when I need them and cancel when I don't.

I don't mind the subscription model too much, I think it makes it more affordable for a lot of people. Adobe Create Suite is $2500 but people can get away with $50/month and always have the latest greatest version. You can also cancel when you don't need it so if you need it for 6 months, you can pay for it for that period and dump it when you're finished.

[agb]

I have seen this a lot in business. In many cases it works well for business because its an operating expense as opposed to a capital expense. Its easier to get approval for opex over capex. For small businesses it works well from an affordability perspective and ties in with the whole cloud model. I.e. I don't have to install a sharepoint environment on my own servers and then worry about the hardware getting too small when I grow, I just buy users as and when I need them and cancel when I don't.

I don't mind the subscription model too much, I think it makes it more affordable for a lot of people. Adobe Create Suite is $2500 but people can get away with $50/month and always have the latest greatest version. You can also cancel when you don't need it so if you need it for 6 months, you can pay for it for that period and dump it when you're finished.

I pay $9.99 a month for Ps and Lightroom.

[Kym]

I pay $9.99 a month for Ps and Lightroom.

Which is Adobe's best anti-piracy move ever.
Make the price palatable.

[MissionMan]

I pay $9.99 a month for Ps and Lightroom.

Yup. That's the photographers bundle but you can get creative suite as well (depending on whether you need it)

[ameerat42]

I can think of a few [unprintable]"Gravy"[/unprintable] options!

[bcys1961]

I bought LR5 outright . As I teach at University I was able to buy the "Educators and Student" version which was $108 ( compared to $199) . Therefore after 11 months I am in front financially. I don't see any reason why I would need to change anytime soon but if they bring out LR6 and it looks compelling I would upgrade by buying outright. Often the upgrades may not really be worth it . Even if I had to pay $199 I would still buy outright as unless you plan to upgrade or change within two years you are in front.

I'd do the same if I buy Photoshop but so far I have not found I need it.

I think the move to subscription based pricing is just a means to get more money out those who subscribe.

[MissionMan]

I bought LR5 outright . As I teach at University I was able to buy the "Educators and Student" version which was $108 ( compared to $199) . Therefore after 11 months I am in front financially. I don't see any reason why I would need to change anytime soon but if they bring out LR6 and it looks compelling I would upgrade by buying outright. Often the upgrades may not really be worth it . Even if I had to pay $199 I would still buy outright as unless you plan to upgrade or change within two years you are in front.

I'd do the same if I buy Photoshop but so far I have not found I need it.

I think the move to subscription based pricing is just a means to get more money out those who subscribe.

True, but Photoshop also is included which goes for about $800 (less obviously on student pricing) so at $10 a month, it takes a while until you get in front if you need photoshop. You can also get a complete student/teacher subscription for only $11.99 which includes all their apps

If could live with just Lightroom, I would probably buy it outright as well, but as a lighter user, I'd probably stick to a cheaper app

[bcys1961]

True, but Photoshop also is included which goes for about $800 (less obviously on student pricing) so at $10 a month, it takes a while until you get in front if you need photoshop. You can also get a complete student/teacher subscription for only $11.99 which includes all their apps

If could live with just Lightroom, I would probably buy it outright as well, but as a lighter user, I'd probably stick to a cheaper app

Can you still but PS outright?

Office works have "Student and Teacher Edition of Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements 13." for $165 .

[RJD]

No, PS6 was the last one you could buy outright.

[Kym]

The discussion is moot; subscription is the only option for future versions.
I'm not even sure that LR will remain purchasable

[Greengrass]

Why the trend? To stop illegal download, thats wy.
Even a eight-year old can download the most recent version of software these days.

[MrQ]

The only thing I don't like with the CC subscription is that you lose access to everything when your subscription expires. In the past, if you didn't want to upgrade to the latest version you could keep using your existing software. That is no longer an option. I know they do the pointless cut-down post-subscription LR, but that's not even close to being the same. They need to let users keep using the software (without future upgrades) once they've been subscribing for a year or two.

[Kym]

They need to let users keep using the software (without future upgrades) once they've been subscribing for a year or two.

Probability of that ... less than zero

[arthurking83]

My thoughts on the subscription model echo MrQ's

IN the Nikon world, we have CNX2. Nikon have recently ceased maintenance for this software product, but it still works.
The way it works is that it embeds the edit steps into each raw file.
if this were subscription model software, nearly 10 years and nearly 100K images would be 'lost'.
Lost in the sense that all edit steps for each raw file can't be viewed as CNX2 is the only software that can red the edits properly. To get to a point where all my images would be similarly edited, using other software would mean revisiting all these images again.


The subscription model isn't the issue .. file format 'lock-in' is.
Because CNX2 was bought and paid for, even tho it's old software, I still have full access to those images .. no matter what the computer hardware(or even the OS).

Going on past history from Adobe .. future compatibility may not be 100% assured.
I remember a recent update in Lr where the catalog from an earlier version was incompatible with the newest release. So a catalog import step was required to maintain your archive of images.

There is no reason think Adobe could see this sort of situation as another way to extort money from 'part time' users.


I don't think that the subscription model is the problem. Neither is file format lock-in. But both issues together represent a serious dilemma in a possible future scenario.