In 2023, plugin developer Minimal Audio got into hot water when it announced that its new synthesizer, Current, would only be available through a subscription. The backlash was immediate and ferocious. Minimal Audio reversed its decision, making the instrument available for outright purchase or via a rent-to-own scheme instead, a decision that was greeted with nearly unanimous praise.
Software subscriptions remain frustratingly common in the music industry. While they can offer easy access to instruments and effects, they can also come bundled with all sorts of additional problems, not least of which is that you never actually own the product you’re paying for.
