What is Apple's pricing strategy for Logic Pro?

[darkanddivine]

It's been interesting watching the development of Logic Pro over the years as an Ableton/Mac user. They have waxed and waned a little, at times really knocking it out of the park with new features - and at others falling a little behind the new kids on the block.

The new updates, however, are very impressive. The GUI of Logic for iPad caught my eye, and some of the new instrument in 10.8 are superb. I came along expecting Logic 10.8 to be a paid upgrade, and it isn't. I noticed that it's no longer Logic (Number) and simply Logic Pro, indicating the end of numbered updates.

I can't find much info on any desktop Apple apps that are paid subscriptions. And Logic hasn't been a paid upgrade for existing users since what appears to be 2013. I know Apple has the deepest of pockets and they need you to buy hardware, not software, and I heard that subscriptions is a growing area of growth for Apple.

In my mind this means one of two scenarios for Logic - and I'd be interested in what you think.

• Scenario 1: Apple is going to leave Logic Pro as a "carrot." You have to buy a Mac to use it, so an additional $200 is a nice add-on for revenues (assuming pro audio is a very small segment of their customer base.) However, now they've got Logic for iPad, that's another $50 per year, plus another hardware device to support it. Assuming a 4 year lifespan on an iPad, that's another $200 over the $200 Logic license, and 2 machines rather than one.
• Scenario 2: Apple will turn Logic Pro in its current form into Logic "Legacy" Edition. This will remain updated but will recieve no new features, and could be merged with Garageband which will also remain free. Logic Pro for desktop will have the Logic for iPad GUI ported over to modernise it, and this will be a subscription rather than a never ending perpetual license. Apple will need to work out how to balance this, if they're already asking users for $50 per year for the iPad app.

What do you think is going on here? And are there any examples of Apple running desktop app subscriptions that might give a hint?

 

[ArkSingularity]

Personally I'd be kinda surprised if they made it a subscription model on the Mac anytime in the near future, mostly just because they haven't really been trying to overhaul it over the past several years. They've added plenty of interesting stuff, but for the most part, they haven't really tried to change a winning formula.

I suppose there would be a lot of money to be made if they did go for the subscription model, but if money were the direct driving factor for maintaining Logic, Apple could have easily done that years ago. I suppose it's mainly just meant to be a really solid DAW to get people into the Apple ecosystem, and for that purpose, it works really well.

Logic is very easy to use (and very complete) compared to some of the other DAWs I've tried. Its painless workflow is one of its biggest selling points in my opinion.

 

[MajorFubar]

I can't make my mind up if I'd be tempted by a subscription Mac Logic Pro. On the one hand I object to subscription models: perpetual payment to rent something you never own (like how most people now consume music and video content). On the other hand, it financially-incentivises app development: there have been a few nice additions to LPX over the last ten years but I don't think I'm being unfair to say it's not exactly being 'proactively developed'.

 

[rm5]

• Scenario 1: Apple is going to leave Logic Pro as a "carrot." You have to buy a Mac to use it, so an additional $200 is a nice add-on for revenues (assuming pro audio is a very small segment of their customer base.) However, now they've got Logic for iPad, that's another $50 per year, plus another hardware device to support it. Assuming a 4 year lifespan on an iPad, that's another $200 over the $200 Logic license, and 2 machines rather than one.
• Scenario 2: Apple will turn Logic Pro in its current form into Logic "Legacy" Edition. This will remain updated but will recieve no new features, and could be merged with Garageband which will also remain free. Logic Pro for desktop will have the Logic for iPad GUI ported over to modernise it, and this will be a subscription rather than a never ending perpetual license. Apple will need to work out how to balance this, if they're already asking users for $50 per year for the iPad app.

Logic for iPad is absolutely useless for me, and I've already made my case on this forum about that. In my opinion, Apple's really trying to squeeze out as much money as possible from customers by making an iPad version that's a subscription.

Honestly, the Mac version of Logic has been getting geared towards EDM people ever since the 10.5 update with Live Loops. Less attention has been paid to stuff I use (i.e. external sample libraries), and the performance of such libraries (and Logic in general) has gotten worse since the 10.5 update.

Look, Avid did the same thing with Pro Tools fairly recently—now you have to pay $1000/year for PT. Sonar (who made a DAW called Cakewalk) is gonna do the same thing with their new platforms Next and Sonar. A lot of products are going to a subscription model now.

I will tell you, that between Logic's performance degradation in the past few years, along with the possibility that it will move to a subscription model... I might be forced to stop using it at some point.

 

[olavsu1]

Sonar (who made a DAW called Cakewalk) is gonna do the same thing with their new platforms Next and Sonar. A lot of products are going to a subscription model now.

What? It was Cakewalk who made DAW called Sonar.
the original Cakewalk is dead by parent company bankruptsy. Now are Sonar developed by BandLab, who infected Sonar with spyware.

 

[rm5]

What? It was Cakewalk who made DAW called Sonar.
the original Cakewalk is dead by parent company bankruptsy. Now are Sonar developed by BandLab, who infected Sonar with spyware.

I'll admit defeat here, I was completely wrong about that! My apologies...

 

[thingstoponder]

I don’t think there will be a new paid upgrade. If there is it will be subscription. Same with Final Cut. Remember, Final Cut is still on 10 and it’s been 12 years. I used to think they wouldn’t change the version number because they were both X and Apple loves that number, but some time ago they dropped X from the names of both. I’d say there’s basically no chance of a Logic 11 and Final Cut Pro 11, but I wouldn’t rule out a subscription model.

As for the business model? I can’t imagine they make money directly on them, but they do sell hardware because people love these apps and don’t want to worry about paid $500 upgrades every year and dongles and all the other stuff you deal with with pro software.