Introducing Waves Creative Access

Announcements
68

Waves, I’ve defended you for the last time to my more experienced and wiser pro audio buds who sagely advised me to stay away from you ages ago. This is a slap in your loyal customers’ collective faces. :expressionless:

Maybe 10 years ago, before every digital creative and their dog had 18 ■■■■■■ monthly plugin/service/Internet subscriptions they had to budget for, and when the software subscription model was new and not seen as just another greedy and completely unoriginal ploy to get people to buy-in at 12x a year in perpetuity! Really, now??

This stinks of greed, a lack of respect for your EXISTING customers, and one of the most insulting late-to-the-subscription-party marketing ploys I’ve yet seen from you guys. (And the Waves Update Plan was already THE title holder in that department for more years than I care to count).

COVID scammers could teach you guys a thing or two about how to get hardworking people’s money without having to push 25 year-old plugins on them at a monthly price that inflation is telling us we can all afford in 2023. This bold move ought to keep plenty of aspiring young producers stuck in their mom’s basements until all the best music is composed by AIs anyway. (And those AIs won’t be lining up to lease timeless classics from the WAVES GOLD bundle in order to chart on spotify)

So well done team! You’ve converted another customer into a legit hater. I bought a good 50+ plugins from you over the last several years. I use about 4 of them regularly. You’re keeping up with your reputation as THE plugin company every DAW user LOVES to hate. Solid record and consistency in the disappointing-your-existing-customers department.

Almost anything from Hornet, AudioDamage, Kush Audio or even AIR music is as good, more useful, cheaper and SO much better-supported. I won’t mention any of the elite plugin companies, because you haven’t been in that league for awhile, Waves. Quality > quantity every time. And no, none of us needs another “one-knob wonder” to employ on a track once and then promptly forget about for the next 5 years.

What we want even less is for you to DISCONTINUE SUPPORT FOR EVERYTHING WE’VE EVER BOUGHT FROM YOU, just so you can rent it back to us, along with the 384 plugins we never wanted due to how sonically uninnovative or forgettable they are. And your product redundancy is truly industry-leading guys. Well done!

Waves in 2023 is worse than EA in 2013 (The most hated game company in the world then because of infinite microtransactions, half-baked releases and a subtle-as-a-kick-in the-teeth “greed before all” business model).

Your genius approach to innovation this year appears to rest on hoping that there are still a few plugin addicts out there that think a Waves subscription will nicely compliment their (much better value) Plugin Alliance or Slate subscriptions (or Splice, Loopcloud, Protools, McDSP, MS Office, Onlyfans, Twitch, Netflix, Prime, Apple Music, Apple TV, and “Finanacial Mismangaement Quarterly” subscriptions).

As for your loyal and discerning customers, this is how we perceive your announcement:

"HEY YOU, YES YOU LOYAL CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE KEPT US AFLOAT IN THE AGE OF CHEAP DAWS AND VST PLUGIN SATURATION, GUESS WHAT? ALL THOSE PLUGINS YOU’VE BEEN BUYING ON SALE FROM US FOR YEARS? YEAH, WE’RE NO LONGER SUPPORTING THEM ANYMORE. YUP, NOT AT ALL. WHY? BECAUSE WE WANT MORE OF YOUR MONEY AND YOUR TIME OF COURSE! WE NEVER CARED ABOUT YOUR ACTUAL MUSIC AMBITIONS! SO, NOW, YOU CAN PAY US A NOMINAL SUM EVERY MONTH FOR THE REST OF YOUR MUSIC MAKING CAREERS AND HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF OUR SUBPAR PLUGINS -AND THE FEW DECENT ONES THAT YOU ALREADY OWNED- AT THIS GREAT AFFORDABLE PRICE!. WHAT A DEAL! 430 PLUGINS YOU NEVER WANTED, ALL DESIGNED TO HELP KEEP YOU FROM EVER FINISHING ANY MUSIC!!

Because, here at Waves, We’ve always put the “bedroom” in “bedroom producer.” And now, you’ll never be able to leave your bedroom again - because you’ll be broke! You’ll also be unpublished, and wondering why your DAW crashes every two minutes with the 1600 plugins you have installed! All of this for a nominal monthly fee. Think of it like paying rent. Only we don’t own your plugins and don’t ask us for help if maxbass doesn’t get you charting like you hoped it would. So, with that: happy installing, uninstalling, cleaning out your cache 2x a day, clean installing your OS 4 more times times a year, 5 minute DAW sessions and endless troubleshooting of your projects for, well ,for as long as you’re willing to keep trying to actually make music with our suite of 82 CLA, JJP, PUIG, CLA COMPUNDER, DAVE AUDE and CLA VOCAL (1, 2 and 3 through 18) plugin suites. All available for you 24/7 - as long as you still have money to blow on not making music that is, because your music is NOT what we’re about here at Waves audio (just in case it wasn’t clear by now).

Industry leaders in VST, AU and Protools plugins - back in 1996. (Now we just exist to ■■■■ off anyone stupid enough to still be invested in our products)

9 Likes
69

You do actually that many people (especially freelancers trying to scrape by in the music industry) are dealing with a massive cost of living crisis right now? ALL bills in the UK are going up MASSIVELY and you’ve decided NOW is a good time to turn Waves plugins into another monthly bill to pay.

99% of people don’t need hundreds of Waves plugins. We need the few plugins that we like which we then use along side plugins from other manufacturers. A subscription only model is nothing more than trying to squeeze as much money out of your customers as possible. To do that in this economic climate is abhorrent.

Anyone who wants good analogue emulations be sure to check out Analogue Obsession on Patreon. £10 for one month will get you ALL of his plugins to keep and they are fantastic.

5 Likes
70

To not warn customers who have been saving to buy a new Mac that they will lose their chance to WUP upgrade their purchased Waves licenses and therefore not be able to use them on the latest MacOS is disgusting.

I am amazed at how you have chosen to handle this. It is the most anti-customer thing I have ever seen from a plugin company.

9 Likes
71

If you want to make this right at the very least have a sale for a couple of weeks so your existing customers can get their house in order with finalizing trials or upgrading old plugins. Don’t just pull the rug out with zero warning.

You left me with a client mix using a trial period of Abbey Road Saturator which I can now no longer purchase. Awful customer service to do that with no warning.

3 Likes
72

Their greedy idea was that you’d just purchase their subscription since it’s your only option to use the saturator now. Very anti-consumer.

1 Like
73

I am a home studio only user that mostly makes music for myself and I don’t make money at it. I have spent the last few years buying plugins from various companies, including Waves. I don’t get to make music all the time and when I start tracking a project, it might be months on and off before I even get to the mixing stage. Because this is all spare time to me.

And I just went through a period where I dug up old projects from 10-20 years ago, hunting down original plugins I had used in projects on computers that hadn’t been booted in years and migrating them to current projects with current plugins that work on my modern machines.

I was excited to be able to use some Waves plugins I had been able to purchase in the last few years to help me modernize some of these old demos. But not anymore. I like to purchase and upgrade plugins on my own terms, not rent them. I don’t want to pay a rental fee on plugins when I may not be able to use them for a few months and I don’t want to have the hassle of having to cancel and renew a subscription when I want to work on projects. If I have one weekend in a month to work on music, I don’t want to have to spend $25 for the “privilege” of working on my music and then spend half a day doing updates just to get started. That completely robs me of the creative spirit.

Waves has a lot of competition out there. And while I probably actually have spent over $250 bucks a year on purchases and updates of Waves products, it’s the principle that I get to choose what I want and use it when I needed and not feel like Waves is just siphoning money out of me like every other company that wants a subscription.

Now I feel like I have about a year or so to go through all of my projects that I just went through and bounce tracks and replace Waves plugins. And sure, there are some I like that I’ll miss but it doesn’t make sense to me to spend an indefinite amount of money on something that I am not making any money at. While this might make sense for pros and semi-pros, it doesn’t make sense for hobbyists or casual music makers like me.

And I’m willing to bet that even those semi-pros don’t like the thought of being held captive by Waves because they have years of projects using plugins that they paid for and are now being forced into a subscription model with no notice.

I really hope this backfires and Waves has to walk this idea back because there’s no easier way to destroy goodwill with your customers than to pull some sort of BS like this.

5 Likes
74

I mean, honestly Waves? Have you ever noticed that you are not the only plugin company out there? Is it so difficult to mimic the amazing customer service of many other awesome plugin companies?
I recently upgraded my MacBook and I could install the latest (!!!) version of all plugins I ever bought (without paying for any strange Update Plan or what so ever), except for one company: Waves. I replaced my go-to Waves Plugins with other alternatives and wanted to go back to Waves when my WUP goes on sale, but this subscription-only model is the nail in the coffin for me: bye bye waves! I will definitely don’t come back and pay a monthly subscription to be able to use plugins I already bought!

1 Like
75

What a great idea… NOT really. I own a ton of your plugins and use them on a daily basis. But I really don’t want another subscription. Either I save some money and take the Essential subscription and won’t find many of my goto-Plugins or I have the Ultimate version and pay for stuff I never even touch. Bad move Waves. I am out.

76

In a way, I’m kind of grateful to Waves for simplifying some decisions I needed to make, namely where to invest the money I’ve set aside for plugins. Right, UAD it is! So long, Waves.

4 Likes
77

So goodbye waves! I spent below 100€ per year for you, I won’t spend 200€! As I know that plugins won’t last long without updates I am already gone and won’t look back. This is an easy decision. You won’t get any penny from me in the future!

1 Like
78

As we say in Australia, “yeah…nah”.

2 Likes
79

Hello Waves,

I’m not pleased that your products are now only future-proof to use as subscriptions. So far, my creativity has not been constrained by having to make a conscious purchase decision for one of your plugins. With the demo period, I’ve always been able to make a good decision as to whether a particular plugin will benefit me in the long run and justify its purchase price.

With the change to a subscription model, you have now only spurred my creativity to the extent that I will look for and use alternative products for upcoming projects, so that after the technological end of your plugins, I will in any case no longer need products from Waves.

To be clear, you will not see a single dollar of subscription revenue from me, ever!

2 Likes
80

What’s next, NFTs? Nah, way to kill your customers, I’m done with this company, there’s MANY other options out there, plus analog seems a better money investment. I think I’m even gonna save more money thanks to you haha

Goodbye, Waves!

1 Like
81

You want to sell me presets? For Eq and dynamics?
How pro is that?

82

Well this comment section shows what actual customers think of this move and I can’t disagree. I’ve used waves for years but I’m done with them now. Well done Waves for showing how much respect you really have for your customers.

1 Like
83

Are transfers still possible?
How are the fees now calculated when there are no list prices anymore?

84

Wow, way to wake up.

How is it possible for Waves to change their business model without timely informing existing customers and offering some sort of compensation?
There have been sales left and right up to the very last minute and nobody thought to inform customers their purchase would be dead in the water within a year?

Won’t be a huge issue in my case: I like a few of your plugins but the statement that they are industry leading in 2023 seems quite far-fetched to me, I doubt many will pay a subscription for a handful of worthy plugins.

I do however feel badly for sound engineers and producers of all levels that would have been forced to upgrade because of architectural changes in their DAW machines - Apple M1, for example - and now they can’t upgrade unless they subscribe (this practice has a name, and it’s illegal in most Countries, b.t.w.).
Users of Mercury might be ok with a subscription if they upgraded every year… but if I was one of those I’d start packing even faster: Waves cannot reasonably expect users to not see the stunt they just pulled for what it is. And no, even if you will reintroduce ‘so-called’ perpetual licensing I’ll stay far away - and, of course, suggest everyone to do just the same.

Well, I’m off to print effects to some tracks and make backups, then I’ll start looking for alternatives. What a disgusting turn of events.

2 Likes
85

Hi Everybody!

Welcome all newcomers to the Waves Forum :slightly_smiling_face:

My name is Adi and I am a moderator here @ The Waves Forum.

Over the years we received many customer requests to move away from the Waves Update Plan for plugins and bundle updates. Waves Creative Access is the direct response to these requests and provides many additional benefits beyond updates for our customers. The many benefits are listed in the OP above.

We hear the discourse here and want to emphasize a few points:

  • Waves licenses that you have purchased remain yours. We are not taking them away and will continue to support them.
  • Moving forward, any new plugins, features, and components will only be added to the subscriptions.
    That being said, there is no rush to purchase a subscription until you need a newly released plugin, or to update Waves software to a newer version in order to support a new or updated system.
  • You can continue to use the plugins and bundle license versions that you own, on systems, operating systems, and host application versions they are compatible with, for as long as needed.
  • Answers to most questions can be found here:
    https://www.waves.com/support/waves-creative-access-frequently-asked-questions
  • Any customer who feels wronged can feel free to contact our Inside Sales department to discuss what their options are, we value our customers very much.

We are listening, and appreciate your feedback.

86

I am also very disappointed by this news. I’m just a hobbyist who does a little music production at home. I played the game by paying almost 500 euros in a few weeks for your plugins… What is the interest for me to pay a subscription to use them? And how long will they work ???. I don’t have a lot of money, I still enjoyed myself because your prices were affordable but now I regret it… This is not fair.

3 Likes
87

I have been very happy with your plug ins to this point. I think now is the time to begin to go to other providers. I am sorry, but I fear that you made a mistake with this move.

2 Likes