If Serif moves to Subscription based biz model, can they cripple use of existing apps with an update?

[Affinity Rat]

It appears that there is a likelihood that with the advent of a merger of Canva a subscription based editor and Serif, that Serif products may become subscription based in the future. 

If that happens, can Serif/Canva cripple existing Affinity apps to force a transition to the subscription based model? ie will old unadulterated software versions still be available?

Not having a subscription based model is a large contributing factor in Affinity products success.

Looking at Canva and its reviews on iPad, I dont see the benefit to me. Canva seems to target non-artists that want a simple way to produce multimedia. The iPad already has issues regarding memory management and throwing in video and audio into the mix will only exacerbate an existing problem on the iPad. Reviews tell of the problems with video editing…. no surprise.

 

 

 

 

[Sonny Sonny]

I think it's not about the one time purchase or subscription at all. It's about the price. Most users complain about the subscription business model of Adobe. So, if Adobe down the price much more cheaper, would you switch to Adobe?

Now, take a look back to Affinity, if they made a change, switching from one time purchase to subscription with cheaper price than Adobe but still acceptable to the users, I think there is still no problem at all.

Overall, everyone talks sh!t about the subscription business model, but actually I think they are complaining about the price. They are just afraid of Serif would charge the subscription price too high.

[Affinity Rat]

I have no desire to pay for bling I wont use, this is true for Photoshop too. Most people only use at most 10% of Photoshop features, so maybe great for real pros that use more features, but the masses wont ever know they exist or how to use them, and certainly not willing to pay for them. 

I suspect that many users particularly one-off multimedia users will not be willing to pay for a regular subscription.

The subscription based business model is the way all companies want to go, it allows to predict their income in advance.

If a subscription based model allowed a very cheap base price and allowed users to choose and pay for specific features they actually need would be much more palatable option than paying for functionality the user doesnt need or want.

The business model should follow the pizza restaurant model, base price, packages with set ingredients then option to build from the base, extra cost for extra, cheese, mushrooms, olives, pepperoni no anchovies, no pineapple (just shootem for even considering).

 

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[Sonny Sonny]

2 hours ago, Affinity Rat said:

If a subscription based model allowed a very cheap base price and allowed users to choose and pay for specific features they actually need would be much more palatable option than paying for functionality the user doesnt need or want.

This is a good point of view! Price base on features choice.

[Affinity Rat]

2 hours ago, Affinity Rat said:

If a subscription based model allowed a very cheap base price and allowed users to choose and pay for specific features they actually need would be much more palatable option than paying for functionality the user doesnt need or want.

This option would also be great to provide feedback to Serif invaluable info regarding who their audience is and what they want and use. This would allow devs to put their energy where it will pay off, and not merely do what most devs do, ie build what they want or are interested in, then expect users to be appreciative, when they have to learn new ways to do the same old thing. Existing users that have invested time resent having to relearn what they already spent time learning.

Microsoft , Apple et al do this all the time Windows 8 for example and countless others.

 

 

[walt.farrell]

8 hours ago, Affinity Rat said:

It appears that there is a likelihood that with the advent of a merger of Canva a subscription based editor and Serif, that Serif products may become subscription based in the future. 

Why do you think there is a likelihood of that?

Ash said: 

 

 

[Affinity Rat]

I hope so, we’ll see.

Politicians always try to say what the public demand, but the final outcome not always consistent with the rhetoric.

I see Ash responds to posts re issues in Affinity products, not usually a role attributed to individuals making management decisions.

Again we’ll see, I just hope the financials and Canva allow this path to be followed. 

[Alfred]

9 minutes ago, Affinity Rat said:

I see Ash responds to posts re issues in Affinity products, not usually a role fulfilled by people making management decisions.

Ash has always been refreshingly ‘hands on’ in the software development side of things, right back to the days when (as Sales and Marketing Director, if I remember correctly) he pushed through his idea of a digital scrapbooking product which became hugely popular as Serif CraftArtist.

[Affinity Rat]

7 minutes ago, Alfred said:

Ash has always been refreshingly ‘hands on’ in the software development side of things, right back to the days when (as Sales and Marketing Director, if I remember correctly) he pushed through his idea of a digital scrapbooking product which became hugely popular as Serif CraftArtist.

@Alfred that maybe true no reason to question that, but what is his role in the direction the company pursues once the company is under the wing of a larger company. 

[Affinity Rat]

What is Ash’s role now?, his profile labels him as staff.

[William Overington]

For me, the issue is that I only use Affinity products from time to time, there have been times when I have not used Affinity Designer for several months.

Having paid a one-off fee for a licence, that is not a problem. I can go back to Affinity Designer when I choose and even a year or more later pick up a .afdesign file that I had generated and develop an enhanced later version.

Having a subscription would probably mean that I would have to keep paying or my previous files would not be available for me to adapt later.

So the cost level of the subscription is not the main issue for me, I take the view that if the software is on my computer then it needs to be there for me to use indefinitely at no extra cost.

William

 

[walt.farrell]

11 minutes ago, Affinity Rat said:

What is Ash’s role now?, his profile labels him as staff.

He is still listed as Managing Director at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02117968/officers

 

[William Overington]

12 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

He is still listed as Managing Director at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02117968/officers

 

That page is interesting as it also lists some new appointments from 20 March 2024 and some unaltered from before,

William

 

[Affinity Rat]

5 minutes ago, William Overington said:

That page is interesting as it also lists some new appointments from 20 March 2024 and some unaltered from before,

William

 

Yes I found it interesting that there are 4 directors roles, Ash being one, with occupation labeled Managing Director, a director resigned Occupation secretary and when Canva and Serif merged, Carpenter took 2 roles of both director, occupation chief legal officer and role secretary when occupation director Bates resigned 20 March 2024.

The info on the link not clear to me that someone’s role of secretary has occupation of director.

However there was a director juggle, at that time of the merger, no surprise really.

Yes, it good to see Ashley keeping his foot on the ground, regarding the status of Affinity products.

 

 

 

 

[Alfred]

54 minutes ago, William Overington said:

Having a subscription would probably mean that I would have to keep paying or my previous files would not be available for me to adapt later.

Not necessarily. The way Adobe seems to do things is that you can reactivate your subscription as and when the need arises, so that instead of paying for a whole year you can pay for just a month or two. The cost per month will be higher, of course, but the overall cost will be significantly lower than it would be for a largely unused annual subscription.

[Affinity Rat]

@Alfred, so that works like an online based app, ie, no active subscription no access to even for your old files and using your old software, ie you must logon to use it.

 

[walt.farrell]

19 minutes ago, Affinity Rat said:

The info on the link not clear to me that someone’s role of secretary has occupation of director.

In my experience on Boards, generally the Secretary is also a Board member/director. So it is not surprising to me that someone shows up twice.

[Affinity Rat]

1 minute ago, walt.farrell said:

In my experience on Boards, generally the Secretary is also a Board member/director. So it is not surprising to me that someone shows up twice.

ok thanks for that clarification.

 

[walt.farrell]

I have seen application subscriptions work in two ways:

1. If your subscription lapses, you lose access to all your files. 
2. If your subscription lapses, you no longer get updates to the program, but you can keep using the program at the last update level before the lapse.

In #2, you retain access to your files and the work in them. 

In some ways #2 is like the Perpetual system Affinity has had so far, except that in the #2 subscription model you would need to make an annual payment, unlike Affinity where one payment has so far been good for several years.