Today we’re announcing VCV+, a new way to get instant access to VCV Rack Pro with an extensive library of premium modules.
Unlock risk-free exploration of the entire VCV universe.
For $29/month, or $19/month billed annually, customers get access to a growing collection of products:
VCV Rack Pro: DAW plugin and standalone application.
I have so many questions, but will only ask one for now. If one already owns a license to Rack Pro and some/several premium models, what would be a reason to subscribe?
Didn’t know that. I emailed support about Host not having a dark panel a few days ago.
(EDIT: While I get that having an open support forum would get tedious with the same questions being asked over and over again, having it private also means lack of proper info being available - and even lack of collaboration when it comes to feature requests).
I don’t have a problem with this, as long as we’re not forced into a sub model and can keep lifetime licences we’ve aleady bought (which we can). If it raises income that can be used to improve Rack and develop cool new stuff, then great. Personally I wouldn’t subscribe as I’ve already got Pro and quite a few collections, and I don’t think it’s value for money. Imagine you pay monthly for 5 years, you’ve spent $1,740 on software and probably won’t use most of the modules you get access to. Wow.
Then again, if loads of amazing commercial collections are released that cost a lot more, and you don’t want to weigh out for Pro all at once, I don’t know, maybe it kinda works.
Well, if this optionally, why not. I know couple users who found sub’s usable, from some vendors, despite my doubt by joy from such process. To each his own.
There is a problem with this thing actually. Maybe I am way too pessimistic, but right now with this VCV+ bs there are two methods or ways to access premium stuff. And one of them is much more profitable, cause it renews every month. Now let’s say I decided to subscribe for 1 month and then I liked it and bought VCV Rack Pro and a bunch of modules. Well that’s no good for VCV, cause now I am not subscribed. What to do, how to lure me back in? Well,
new collections are now only available on VCV+
VCV Rack Pro now costs 500-600 bucks. Sorry… But you know what? There is VCV+, it is like $20-30 bucks per month.
some of the old collections are now not available. If you had them - great, you will still have them
oops, remember when we said “you will still have them”. Yeah, sorry. But for all of our old VCV Rack Pro users the yearly subscription to VCV+ is just 50%. You can sub for 5 years! That’s a steal.
Sadly we have to discontinue our VCV Rack Pro product, but you can sub to VCV+.
I hope I am wrong, but we’ve seen it many times now and I recognize the path.
*I am being overly dramatic with some of the steps to the final decision of discontinuing the VCV Rack Pro one, just to show you the outline, I hope nobody reads and when VCV Rack Pro becomes like $200 instead of $500, they’d be like “phew, we are not there”. lol
this is lit the same reasoning i told to one of the only two poeple that thought this is a good idea on the instagram post. and no, i dont think you are being overly dramatic. rn there is absolutly no apparent reasoning to why you would spent that amount of money on a sub instead of just buying the collection you want or the Pro version. the things you describe will be the way to go…
I was subscribed to VCV on Distill because I was going to buy the bundle the next time it went on sale (was assuming it would around Black Friday). Glad I never bought it! When are companies going to realize these subscriptions ARE NOT POPULAR. Especially for us hobbiests who might go months between getting into the studio.
Interestingly, it looks like Voltage Modular is on sale. Guess I’ll need to take a look at that.
that’s why I have no subscriptions. no amazon prime, no netflix. no ssl…and so on.
a couple of years ago I needed an orchestral library, and I decide to pay more or less 250$ once instead of going for a subscription of 10$/month, even if my sounds are a little bit “weaker”. every 1/2 years they offer me to upgrade to the next version for 50/100$ and it’s up to me.
most young guys can’t even understand that I have no cracked software on my PC. probably they don’t understand that I don’t want more things that I need!
I really love VCV Rack as a software as their philosophy as their licensing model for paid plugins. and I hope their business is going well.
every time a paid plugin comes out AND I find it interesting AND I can afford 10-30$ I buy it. next on the list is Pluck and another one for a 3rd part developer.
I just hope that I can keep using it this way as long as I am healthy LOL. may Rack 3 be the same.
