Trust has been broken.
Reverting to “business as usual” is hardly enough.
In a nutshell, if Waves cannot extend the small goodwill gestures as I have outlined in points 1 & 2 below, then I will not buy any new items from them ever again.
As a dedicated Waves customer that has made a substantial investment in its products within less than 2 years, I am hoping that Waves will review, and consider, the entirety of my note below. Because based on the comments from thousands of Waves customers that have appeared online since last Sunday, I am confident that I am hardly alone with anything that I am saying here.
To Waves:
I closely read Waves’ announcement regarding the reinstatement of “perpetual license” plugin sales (including being able to buy plugin updates and 2nd licenses via the Waves Update Plan once again).
This reversal of Waves’ recent attempt at forcing all of its customers into a new subscription-only model only came about after a colossal outcry from its user base. A quick scan through the thousands of (justifiably) angry online posts revealed that customers were not only enraged by Waves’ subscription plans, they had hit a breaking point with the Waves’ brand in general. Because now, customers were not simply complaining about the never-ending bargain-basement-esque “$29.99” sales, or questioning the fairness of the Waves Update Plan. No… now, countless people, many of whom identifying as loyal, longtime customers — were expressing, in no uncertain terms, that they were DONE with Waves. As in, “I will never buy anything from you again.”
This is serious stuff. The emotion expressed by those customers is clearly real.
Emotion.
Music is built upon emotion. Brands and companies thrive, or die, on the emotions that they cultivate within their audience and customer base. Everything a company/brand does, especially how it interacts with its users, will determine the overall emotional connection that those customers have with that brand. This is especially true in the world of music. As musicians/producers/engineers, we posses a strong emotional attachment not only to the music that we create, but to the brand names of our most prized gear. Legendary names such Gibson, Fender, Moog, Gretch, Ludwig… carry an immediate emotional weight with anyone that has used, owned, or aspired to own, their equipment.
The same is true in the digital world. As producers, we often speak of our “love” of our favourite plugins and digital brands. We get a hit of emotion just thinking about the magic we might create when we load up a specific plugin effect or virtual instrument.
Again, it is emotion that flows through everything in music. But, if the emotion surrounding a brand of gear has become inherently negative, it can easily put a damper on our time in the studio, or, in the worst cases, ■■■■ the life out of our sessions.
What emotions are conjured when the idea of using Waves plugins arises? What are our immediate feelings about Waves, knowing that our trust in them was broken last Sunday, with their announcement that our investment in their perpetual licence plugins would become virtually worthless in the years to come? How does that event affect our joy, or total lack thereof, in using their products? And, with that sudden, previously unannounced event in mind, how do we know for certain that Waves will not try and pull that move again on us?
As end users, we have nothing but a business relationship with Waves. Why is it important to mention that our relationship with Waves is not of a personal nature? Because trust has been broken. And when trust is broken in a relationship — especially a business relationship — actions speak louder than words when it comes to “making things right”.
A return to “business as usual” does not make things right. It does not rebuild the trust that we, the users, once had with Waves. If all that Waves is prepared to do is allow us to continue buying individual plugins, and then charge us an annual fee for each and every one of those plugins, just for the privilege of receiving bug fixes and essential updates… then why would we continue to look toward them when it comes time to seek out new plugins for our arsenal? Why should I believe that the same company that sent its “Important Message from Waves” email last Sunday will not try to retract its support of my perpetual licenses yet again in the future? I have read all of the updates from Waves since they walked back their subscription-only plan, and I am not reassured that they will never attempt to make such a radical shift again.
Trust has been severely damaged, here, in this very non-personal business-to-customer relationship. So, how can Waves possibly begin to convince me that they are serious about making amends, that they are listening to who their audience is, and that they will never try to turn their business model upside down on us again? In order for me to even consider buying anything new from Waves in the future, this is what they need to do:
Extend a substantial gesture of goodwill. Specifically, this would need to be a small bundle of free plugins, as chosen by each existing Waves customer, and which would not be subject to the WUP — ever. A custom bundle of 5 free plugins, selected by us, from the entire Waves library. No blacklisted items. And again, no strings attached (free updates on those specific items only, for life).
Why should this free offer be necessary? Aside from the stress that was caused by last Sunday’s announcement, Waves’ user base had no choice but to spring into immediate action, spending its precious time writing to Waves, posting to social media, and researching alternatives to Waves’ products… instead of doing the very thing we love, which is making music. Time is money, and stress is real — that needs to be accounted for.
A firm statement from Waves that perpetual licenses will be available to purchase for all plugins, indefinitely. I have read through all of the announcements posted by Waves over the past two days, and the only statement that remotely suggests to me that this might be the case is this: Within Waves’ email blast of March 29, Waves’ co-founder says, “you can once again renew your Waves Update Plan in order to update perpetual plugin and bundle licenses. This option will remain in place going forward.” Going forward? For how long? And, does that “going forward” include the option of buying new plugins? Or, will the ability to buy new plugins only exist for a couple of years? Again, trust was broken last Sunday; Waves needs to be crystal clear about what we can expect in the near future, and in years to come.
We need to talk about the WUP. Waves’ competitors are not doing this type of thing. A two-seat license is industry standard. So is providing free updates for bug fixes and essential upgrades — Waves’ competitors do not charge for those things. So, why is Waves hanging on to it? As other companies do, Waves should be charging only for major updates, and should be including, at minimum, a two-seat license for each product. Getting rid of the WUP is not necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but eliminating it would go a long way toward making amends with users (but only if points 1 & 2 above are enacted as well).
To put it simply, if Waves can extend the small, but meaningful, gestures as outlined in points 1 & 2 above, then I will happily return as a customer — perhaps even one that champions their plugins, as I did before last Sunday. But if they cannot, then I am done.