Plugin Alliance as of the 15th of July decided to introduce a subscription model. Which we could all see coming. Basically how it works is quite simple. You pay $249.99 a year and you get access to every plugin on the Plugin Alliance platform. Believe me it won’t be long before UAD follow suit. As soon as I heard this announcement I instantly said a big NO WAY. Only because I already owned over 40 to 60 plugins of the 100 you get. And lets face it of that 100 I only actually need maybe 20 of them. At this point I was highly disappointed but Dirk said there will be a custom second email. So I waited and low and behold there was a second email. This time taking into account how much I had originally spent with Plugin Alliance. Now were talking.
The deal I was offered was branded as the “DEAL OF YOUR LIFETIME” and to be fair it was. The deal I was offered was get every plugin new and old for a subscription every year of $179.99. This works out at $14.99 per month for as long as I want to use the plugins. Which lets face it for business that turns over a lot of money each month is peanuts. I wanted to work out if this was actually a good deal or do I want to just go down the route of buying plugins in deals and intro prices.
I did some math and came to the conclusion I would commit to the subscription deal I was offered, as I know full well I am never going to be offered one this good. The math I worked out was this.
- I will be in this industry for an estimated 30 more years before I retire.
- 30 years of payments of $179.99 is $5399.70 (which actually isn’t a lot)
- Plugin Alliance on average will release 10+ great products every year.
- I was just about to buy the Focusrite Console for $249.99 any way.
It just makes sense. It’s not like Plugin Alliance are going anywhere. They are here to stay and their products are only going to get better. Ok you never actually own the plugin and will have to pay consistently every year, but as company that’s fine. Will maybe be a different case for a young producer.
THE DOWNSIDE TO PA GOING SUBSCRIPTION
Now the issue for me that they’ve gone to the subscription model is this. I already own all the plugins I really need and the ones I don’t own I have bought on the UAD platform. But I have spent upwards of $2000 on plugins at Plugin Alliance. Which I now essentially have two licenses of. In order to recoup the $2000 I had previously spent at Plugin Alliance I would need to be paying the subscription model for 17 years. I am saving $120 a year with my subscription. It will take me 16.6 years to save on my subscription $2000. Which as a company that has a long future in the music industry we will end up saving money. But where as a music producer working on their own tracks at home maybe wouldn’t.
The summer sale has just finished. Everyone, me included rushed to the sale bought a load of plugins which now that I have signed up to the subscription all become redundant as I now have double licenses. So all that money I spent in the sale was for nothing. I could have saved that money and not bought anything then the next month signed up to the subscription model and got every plugin PA have to offer. This angered a lot of people.
THE UPSIDES TO PA GOING SUBSCRIPTION
I know own every plugin. I know it’s obvious but I own most of the plugins on the UAD platform so having native versions is really good for DSP chips. Today I used the Maag EQ2. I’ve always had the EQ4 in hardware and software form so I never saw the point of getting the EQ2. But today I used it just because I can.
I now get every new product they release. So when a new product releases I instantly get it. No waiting for a sale or intro price. Because lets face it you only buy a Plugin Alliance plugin if it’s on sale these days.
They will be introducing in Q4 a month to month payment. So this will be a lot more manageable for most people.
WHAT WOULD I HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SEEN FROM THE DEAL
I would have liked PA to have introduced a rent to own system. Where over time I would own everything up until the latest releases. So that I keep my subscription active based on them releasing new content. Wishful thinking but I love to own the plugins I buy. Which is why I signed up to the pick pack, as I would eventually own the plugins.
CONCLUSION
After doing the math I was sold. I signed up that day to a subscription. Plugin alliance have the best plugins on the market. There is no question about that. The deal I got $14.99 a month is a seal for what is probably $20-30,000 in plugins. I’m future proofed for anything that comes out. If you are serious about your music and want the best ITB gear, get this subscription. It’s the best on the market.
