Goodbye WAVES! Company moves to Subscription-Based Model.

Mar 27

WAVES just announced that they will no longer be offering perpetual licensing on their products. The production community is NOT happy about this insane change either.

Is The Price Right Though?

In my opinion, no. The base line package is $15/month and the the Ultimate is $25/month. For example, the only WAVES plugin I have is Real-Time Tune and it was roughly $100. In a years time, I would have paid more than that for that plugin.

Do You Need 110-220 Plugins?

The two package are marketed at $15/month, with roughly 110 plugins and $25/month for 220 plugins. Any studio engineer will likely tell you absolutely not. I honestly agree. Especially since they started off differently. WAVES going to their subscription base model could very well signal the beginning of the end of this company. At least in the studio space. They still hold the influence in the world of live audio unfortunately.

What About Companies Like Slate Digital?

I just did a post on Slate Digital’s All Access Pass being something like was a game changer for me. My opinion is that yes, that is worth it, until you find what you want. At that point, you can cancel your subscription, and purchase the lifetime version of said plugins. I’m still experimenting with those but have purchased Virtual Mix Rack and several of its components separately so that I always have access to them.

Following In The Steps of Avid ProTools

If there’s anything that the customer base for DAW’s and plugins have shown, it’s that we don’t like paying monthly for something. WAVES is following in the footsteps of companies like AVID and will more than likely see huge profit losses and a loss of trust from their customer base. I watched over the course of my life as Avid ProTools went from being the industry standard to really having to work harder to share that space with Ableton Live and Logic Pro X.

People Are Angry

I’ve been watching videos on this today and noticed that the general mood I’m seeing from people who have heard the news is sheer anger that a company would want to take advantage of their customers to this extent. One YouTuber, maybe a little over-dramatically, called for the firing of their CEO and Marketing departments for this subscription-based move.

Subscriptions Add Up

Most mix engineers won’t subscribe to more than one service like this. Their customers are smart enough to realize that $30 a month multiplied by however many different services you decide to be a part of, starts to become a good deal of money. This money could have been spent in other areas that held much more importance.

Is This The End of WAVES?

It’s hard to say honestly. Sometimes companies see the light of day and just raise their prices enough to meet in the middle with a perpetual license. Some companies, like Slate Digital, offer both options. There’s a base for both models. Certainly more people favor the perpetual model though.

Will I Stop Using WAVES?

It really depends on what happens to my existing plugins. The customer support and updates situation already leave a lot to be desired. In the meantime, I’ll be searching for a better solution for my church clients. We are more than likely going to stop promoting WAVES products at HoneySonic.

For Those Who Are Curious, Here’s The New Pricing Model

Waves Essential $14.99 month / $149 year

110 industry-leading plugins including Waves Tune RT, Clarity Vx, Vocal Bender, and many more!
All plugin updates included at no extra cost
Select new plugins added at no extra cost
Limited time bonus: 2 free months of Splice Sounds+ included
NEW! StudioVerse – the AI-powered community for plugin chains: Thousands of mixing chains with AI search

Waves Ultimate – $24.99 month / $249 year

Over 220 industry-leading plugins—All Waves plugins in one subscription!
All plugin updates are included at no extra cost
New plugins added regularly at no extra cost
Limited time bonus: 2 free months of Splice Sounds+ included
NEW! StudioVerse – the AI-powered community for plugin chains: Thousands of mixing chains with AI search.