Avid Dips Their Toes into the Subscription Waters

Creative COW by Walter Biscardi

My favorite thing about NAB is connecting with folks who don't follow the same discipline I do. If all I did was hang around Adobe users, we'd all just share what we love about that singular suite and I wouldn't really learn much new. A chance breakfast meeting with someone I've never met before (thank you Twitter!) has made me go back and re-visit the slew of Avid press releases I've received over the past few days. Turns out I missed something potentially huge for our Post Production industry, especially the "little guys" and small shops like mine.

There it was: "Subscription Offerings" Two little words that I've been waiting to see for over a year from another major NLE. Adobe rocked the boat pretty good last year when they went 'all in' on the Creative Cloud to use all their latest software and for me and my company, it's worked out perfectly. Now Avid is dipping their toes into the subscription model and for editors everywhere, this is a GREAT development.

Now before you throw your pitchforks and get the torches lit (see Adobe Creative Cloud: The Debate Forum for reference) Avid has not thrown away the perpetual license. You actually have a choice of ownership or Subscription right now. This introduction is obviously a lesson well learned from Adobe's hard cut off of the perpetual license to the cloud. No matter how good Creative Cloud is (and it's awesome) taking away choice from the consumer abruptly created negativity that still permeates today.

Avid offering the subscription model plays well into the small shop / independent editor / independent post house extremely well and here's why. In order to truly serve the end client, you need to have access to and be proficient in all the major NLEs out there. In my mind today that's Adobe, Avid, Apple. Apple is easy at just $300 no biggie to have that in the toolbox, but when it comes to Avid / Adobe, generally you have to make choice as to which one you're going to commit to just from a purely financial standpoint. You had to pay for Avid outright whereas you could spread the money for the Cloud over time or even just pay when you needed it for the month. read more...

NEW License Options from AVID

Avid Media Composer | Software
will Now be Available in 3 Different Types of Licenses
as Part of the New Avid Everywhere

The Avid Artist Suite is a new grouping of solutions that encompasses all of Avid’s creative tools for audio, video, live sound, and graphics production. From industry-leading Pro Tools digital audio workstations and Media Composer video editing, to award-winning control surfaces, live sound systems, music notation software, and on-air graphics systems, these tools enable you to maximize your creativity and deliver content faster than ever before. In addition, you can choose to work on premises or through the cloud with some solutions now—with more to come—and get all of the same media access, regardless of your location.

Avid Media Composer Software will introduce 3 types of Licenses.

• Subscription Licenses (RENT the software)
• Perpetual Licenses (OWN the software)
• Floating Licenses (SHARE the software)

This is of course a very simple way of explaining it... You can find more details here: