Audiobus: Use your music apps together.

What is Audiobus?Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.

Download on the App Store

Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Wotja 21

edited December 2020 in General App Discussion

In an adventurous first, Wotja Pro 21 is now available for pre-order, dropping 1/1/21, and is a single $24.99 purchase for both iOS and Mac desktop (though this relies on Apple bundling, so Windows & Android don't look to be part of the deal). More importantly still, the app description trails what's new: the headline feature for initial release is text-to-speech and associated changes to the text-generation engine rather than anything in the music engine, but there's the usual new templates pack and Flow schemes, which this year are expanding on last year's drones sets. Meanwhile, of course, Wotja Pro 20 is still on end-of-year sale at $14.99 after fifty (!) updates in 2020 and is itself a rock-solid performer at the top of its game, so if you're mainly just interested in the music engine it may be a more attractive option.

«134567

Comments

  • edited December 2020

    Can someone explain to me what is the idea (except an obvious marketing reason) of releasing basically the same app every year with a separate price tag?
    If the previous version had 50 updates perhaps the developer should release the "new" version as a 51st update instead.

  • @Masanga said:
    In an adventurous first, Wotja Pro 21 is now available for pre-order, dropping 1/1/21, and is a single $24.99 purchase for both iOS and Mac desktop (though this relies on Apple bundling, so Windows & Android don't look to be part of the deal). More importantly still, the app description trails what's new: the headline feature for initial release is text-to-speech and associated changes to the text-generation engine rather than anything in the music engine, but there's the usual new templates pack and Flow schemes, which this year are expanding on last year's drones sets. Meanwhile, of course, Wotja Pro 20 is still on end-of-year sale at $14.99 after fifty (!) updates in 2020 and is itself a rock-solid performer at the top of its game, so if you're mainly just interested the music engine it may be a more attractive option.

    Love it so much, but lately I used very little. I was expecting a little lower price for owners of the previous versions.

  • edited December 2020

    @israelite said:
    Can someone explain to me what is the idea (except an obvious marketing reason) of releasing basically the same app every year with a separate price tag?
    If the previous version had 50 updates perhaps the developer should release the "new" version as a 51st update instead.

    Well, the point is to support rapid and aggressive development. Those 50 updates are more than most apps see in their entire lifecycle. Far from being the same app every year, each year's version drops with a new feature set and new presets, and the annual product cycle sees additional major features introduced in the course of the year (last year notably the pattern sequence editor and mix-level scripting). There's also, for those who prefer subs, a single subscription version which rolls over from year to year. But equally there's zero pressure to upgrade to the new version if you're happy with the existing feature set; Wotja 20 will continue to work for years after it's removed from the store next week and will remain usable as a separate app.

  • @Charlesalbert said:
    Love it so much, but lately I used very little. I was expecting a little lower price for owners of the previous versions.

    Yes, bundle pricing for upgrades is something they haven't yet tried. But it does go on sale periodically, so if you don't see a compelling reason to jump in right away it may be worth waiting for a sale.

  • @Masanga said:

    @israelite said:
    Can someone explain to me what is the idea (except an obvious marketing reason) of releasing basically the same app every year with a separate price tag?
    If the previous version had 50 updates perhaps the developer should release the "new" version as a 51st update instead.

    Well, the point is to support rapid and aggressive development. Those 50 updates are more than most apps see in their entire lifecycle. Far from being the same app every year, each year's version drops with a new feature set and new presets, and the annual product cycle sees additional major features introduced in the course of the year (last year notably the pattern sequence editor and mix-level scripting). There's also, for those who prefer subs, a single subscription version which rolls over from year to year. But equally there's zero pressure to upgrade to the new version if you're happy with the existing feature set; Wotja 20 will continue to work for years after it's removed from the store next week and will remain usable as a separate app.

    It's basically a lot like a subscription model, but with the huge benefit of getting to keep the full version even after you stop subscribing. You just stop receiving updates after one year.

    To be honest, this is my favourite payment "model" in the app store. Not going for a dread subscription where you lose everything when you unsubscrine, but you can still support the developer in the long run.

  • I purchased this a year ago and have not touched it!

    Dear developer, it’s me, not you...

  • I got it in the recent Black Friday sale and find it very impressive and extremely satisfying as a generative app.

  • @israelite said:
    Can someone explain to me what is the idea (except an obvious marketing reason) of releasing basically the same app every year with a separate price tag?
    If the previous version had 50 updates perhaps the developer should release the "new" version as a 51st update instead.

    Now, this is the perfect way for both developers and customers, if that is not clear.

    You can buy a new version, whenever it has some new features that you like.
    And if not, you can simple continue your older version.

    This way, you can give the developer money when he managed to create something that is valuable for you, without loosing anything you already payed for - without going down the dreaded subscription-route.

    What Wotja 21 and see if it offers something you want or need. If not, watch Wotja 22, ... and so on.
    Perfect!

  • Toeachizown

    Ok, after diving deeper, I see that they have also a subscription model and this is an alternative.

    It was just a bit fishy at the first look and could be confusing also for other potential buyers.

    I am rather used to when developers release a new version when the app is rewritten from scratch, like Cubasis 2 and 3.
    If Steinberg would choose a model of releasing Cubasis 2020 and a number higher after one year, I would think twice (or perhaps even four times) before investing in an app that basically becomes abandonware after one year.

    Wotja could be just one solid app with IAP as features are becoming developed and added. A lot more logical and transparent approach, IMHO. Also allows users to be more flexible with their buying choices.

  • tjatja
    edited December 2020

    @israelite said:
    Toeachizown

    Ok, after diving deeper, I see that they have also a subscription model and this is an alternative.

    It was just a bit fishy at the first look and could be confusing also for other potential buyers.

    I am rather used to when developers release a new version when the app is rewritten from scratch, like Cubasis 2 and 3.
    If Steinberg would choose a model of releasing Cubasis 2020 and a number higher after one year, I would think twice (or perhaps even four times) before investing in an app that basically becomes abandonware after one year.

    Wotja could be just one solid app with IAP as features are becoming developed and added. A lot more logical and transparent approach, IMHO. Also allows users to be more flexible with their buying choices.

    That may be very diffecult to implement or maintain. It may even be impossible for major rewrites.

    For me, new major versions as new Apps is the perfect solution for problem of giving new money to developers without reverting to subscriptions. It is perfect for both developers and customers.

    IAP, as difficult as they may be, have another problem:

    They get useless and make the App useless, when the developers stops his business or Apple account. Even if you could install the App from a backup, you will never be able to activate the IAP - this really makes an App abandonware!

    But yearly Apps don't have this problem.

    And until recently, you could not offer IAP to your family accounts too!
    Which is another problems of them.

  • Anyway, back to topic (non pricing-model related topics).. I’m waiting for the new TTS feature demonstration. Really curious about this one!

  • @god said:
    Anyway, back to topic (non pricing-model related topics).. I’m waiting for the new TTS feature demonstration. Really curious about this one!

    I think, that the pricing is an important part of this topic
    But then, I think everything was written about this already ;)

  • edited December 2020

    Hmmm ... I’ve been waiting for this but I don’t understand the pricing model here. I hope they will release an iOS only version as it seems to disadvantage iOS only users who can only use half of the bundle, despite paying full price, unless I’m missing something?

    I notice that it now includes Commercial Use which was an IAP before so maybe that explains the significant price hike. But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    I really like this app and the devs are friendly and responsive, so I had hoped to support them with. Wotja 21 Pro purchase, but this preorder does require some explanation/clarification, so have written to them for more info about their intentions.

  • tjatja
    edited December 2020

    Just get the subscription version for 2,99 Euro per month?

    But that's nearly 36 Euro per year and you loose it as soon as you stop the subscription.

    The one time purchase is more appealing to me.

    But for the time being, i stay at Wotja Pro 20 (currently $14.99) and watch what new stuff get's added to the version 21 or even 22 until i decide to buy buy the next version.

    It seems, they increased the price for 2021 to include the MacOS version, which is a bad idea. 27,99 Euro is too expensive, esp. as I don't need the Mac version.

  • @craftycurate said:
    But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    Why should it do that?

    The price is $24.99 or 27,99 Euro.

  • @tja said:
    Just get the subscription version for 2,99 Euro per month?

    But that's nearly 36 Euro per year and you loose it as soon as you stop the subscription.

    The one time purchase is more appealing to me.

    But for the time being, i stay at Wotja Pro 20 (currently $14.99) and watch what new stuff get's added to the version 21 or even 22 until i decide to buy buy the next version.

    It seems, they increased the price for 2021 to include the MacOS version, which is a bad idea. 27,99 Euro is too expensive, esp. as I don't need the Mac version.

    I totally agree.

  • Just pre-ordered! Very excited for Jan 1st! :smiley:

  • For more casual use they recommend a stop-start subscription; stick with the free version, buy a month when you need it, and then your files remain playable in the free version (with timeout). Also, in case this is useful to anyone here, subscriptions are grandfathered: I'm still on 99p a month all-in for iOS and desktop together, which feels ludicrous. But they do tweak their pricing strategy quite responsively, and there are bound to be sales at some point, so there's no particular urgency about jumping in immediately on launch.

  • @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:
    But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    Why should it do that?

    The price is $24.99 or 27,99 Euro.

    Because that price is advertised as 50% off.

  • edited December 2020

    @tja said:
    Just get the subscription version for 2,99 Euro per month?.

    I’m not interested in subs as a rule. Anyway, that doesn’t really address the issue at hand, is that why there isn’t an option to purchase just the iOS version. But have contacted them and will see what they say.

    They seem like reasonable fellas to me and I would like to support ongoing development, as it’s a brilliant app, and as a previous poster said, they offer a whole bunch of free upgrades throughout the year, but my budget won’t stretch to buying a bundle I can only use half of.

  • @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:
    But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    Why should it do that?

    The price is $24.99 or 27,99 Euro.

    Because that price is advertised as 50% off.

    Hmm, where are you seeing that? The app description only says "a saving of 50% on last year", which I suppose it would be if you'd bought both the OTP iOS and desktop versions at full price.

  • tjatja
    edited December 2020

    @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:
    But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    Why should it do that?

    The price is $24.99 or 27,99 Euro.

    Because that price is advertised as 50% off.

    It isn't.

    I recommend reading texts until you understand them, not reading just a number and trying your own interpretation. In general 😉

  • @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:
    Just get the subscription version for 2,99 Euro per month?.

    Not interested! Anyway, that doesn’t really address the issue at hand, is that why have they forced us to buy both versions. There should be an option to purchase just the iOS version. I really don’t understand why they’ve opted for this? But have contacted them and will see what they say.

    I agree on that. Such a bundle is a bad idea, as long as it isn't optional for those with interest in both platforms.

  • edited December 2020

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:
    Just get the subscription version for 2,99 Euro per month?.

    Not interested! Anyway, that doesn’t really address the issue at hand, is that why have they forced us to buy both versions. There should be an option to purchase just the iOS version. I really don’t understand why they’ve opted for this? But have contacted them and will see what they say.

    I agree on that. Such a bundle is a bad idea, as long as it isn't optional for those with interest in both platforms.

    Well, there's an assumption here that if the two platforms were unbundled the app price would be lower. Wotja 21 desktop has been coded to run in Silicon; I think part of what we're seeing here is a developer initiative to head off the possibility of Silicon users running the iOS app in a sub-optimal environment, and consequently diverting limited developer time and resources to user support, when there's a much better desktop version already there.

    Incidentally, it looks as if I was wrong to claim that grandfathering will continue into 2021; there's a helpful blog post from 1 December about this that explains the changes.

  • edited December 2020

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:
    But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    Why should it do that?

    The price is $24.99 or 27,99 Euro.

    Because that price is advertised as 50% off.

    It isn't.

    I recommend reading texts until you understand them, not reading just a number and trying your own interpretation. In general 😉

    Please see response by Masanga for how to respond to a possible misreading of information by another user without sounding self righteous and preachy 😉 I remember it saying 50% off during pre-order period or something like that, but it was late and I may be misremembering what I initially read of course ...

  • edited December 2020

    @Masanga said:
    Well, there's an assumption here that if the two platforms were unbundled the app price would be lower.

    I did wonder about that, given the recent conversation about apps working on both platforms with a single purchase.

    Also I guess any bi-platform app development from now on is going to cause an increase in pricing if the dev is going to have to recoup more costs from iOS purchases which can be used on desktop?

  • edited December 2020

    @Masanga said:

    @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:
    But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    Why should it do that?

    The price is $24.99 or 27,99 Euro.

    Because that price is advertised as 50% off.

    Hmm, where are you seeing that? The app description only says "a saving of 50% on last year", which I suppose it would be if you'd bought both the OTP iOS and desktop versions at full price.

    Dang, coulda sworn ... but then it was quite late last night so I might possibly have misread it.

  • @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:

    @tja said:

    @craftycurate said:
    But if it jumps to £48 on 2nd Jan then I certainly won’t be purchasing this time round.

    Why should it do that?

    The price is $24.99 or 27,99 Euro.

    Because that price is advertised as 50% off.

    It isn't.

    I recommend reading texts until you understand them, not reading just a number and trying your own interpretation. In general 😉

    Please see response by Masanga for how to respond to a possible misreading of information by another user without sounding self righteous and preachy 😉 I remember it saying 50% off during pre-order period or something like that, but it was late and I may be misremembering what I initially read of course ...

    I did not write anything that was meant as "self righteous" or "preachy", i just gave a valid recommendation.

    The rest is your interpretation.

    I am sorry, if you got this impression.

  • I took the plunge and subscribed for a month to see if I would click with Wotja....enjoying it a lot so far, the pro features really add a lot

    can anyone tell me if there's a forum or online community specifically about Wotja? I couldn't see anything official on the Intermorphic website

  • @drewinnit said:
    I took the plunge and subscribed for a month to see if I would click with Wotja....enjoying it a lot so far, the pro features really add a lot

    can anyone tell me if there's a forum or online community specifically about Wotja? I couldn't see anything official on the Intermorphic website

    I have a vague memory of previous discussion about this - in the days of Mixtikl and some of the other older apps which merged to form Wotja, there was a thriving community apparently, but I remember it being said that this wasn't as active nowadays as it had been. If someone else knows better please do share.

    I'm not aware of any currently active forum or community devoted to Wotja but would be happy to be wrong as it would help to get into some of the more complex and powerful features.

Sign In or Register to comment.