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.

Great take on subscriptions and Apple pricing model by Jakob

This speaks from my soul. I SUBSCRIBE to everything @jakoB_haQ said here. Like a lot !

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Comments

  • Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

  • @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    Should we rename the forum?

  • @richardyot said:

    @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    Should we rename the forum?

    LOL :D

    I'm sure it will calm down in a few days. It's been glorious though.

  • @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    A sort of 😂 But really, worth to watch becsuse Jakob is taling about wider aspect of current iOS stage in terms of pricing of apps …

  • @dendy said:

    @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    A sort of 😂 But really, worth to watch becsuse Jakob is taling about wider aspect of current iOS stage in terms of pricing of apps …

    Yep. He makes some great points. I'd be happy to pay £50 for the app and then an additional fee for upgrades. I don't suppose they are going to do it although there has been a lot of back lash about subscriptions.

  • @cyberheater said:

    @dendy said:

    @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    A sort of 😂 But really, worth to watch becsuse Jakob is taling about wider aspect of current iOS stage in terms of pricing of apps …

    Yep. He makes some great points. I'd be happy to pay £50 for the app and then an additional fee for upgrades. I don't suppose they are going to do it although there has been a lot of back lash about subscriptions.

    But would you pay $200 of $300 to own it?

  • @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    This must be some sort of record concering the amount of topics around an app release…
    Michael should perhaps clean all the unnecessary threads…

  • Good vid!

  • @ErrkaPetti said:

    @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    This must be some sort of record concering the amount of topics around an app release…
    Michael should perhaps clean all the unnecessary threads…

    Awww but the parody threads are sending me. 😂 Would be a shame to let them bite virtual dust.

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @cyberheater said:

    @dendy said:

    @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    A sort of 😂 But really, worth to watch becsuse Jakob is taling about wider aspect of current iOS stage in terms of pricing of apps …

    Yep. He makes some great points. I'd be happy to pay £50 for the app and then an additional fee for upgrades. I don't suppose they are going to do it although there has been a lot of back lash about subscriptions.

    But would you pay $200 of $300 to own it?

    And the rest?

    When emagic used to own Logic, the base program cost close to 1000 quid (in 15-years-ago money). And the synths, 'Space Designer' reverb etc. were sold as separate add-ons. Apple bought the product, bundles it all together, then dropped the price by 80-90%, which is certainly not one would expect from Apple.But alas.

    The upgrade from Logic 7 to 8 cost about 230 quid, which was the same as it cost to go from 8-9, then 9-10. So, having reduced the price so heavily, the model was to essential re-buy each new version, conveniently set at upgrade-ish prices.

    All of this leads me to suggest that in all likelihood, the alternative to subscriptions would not be to pay a large one-off fee, but to be charged for a completely new app with every major full-point iteration. I personally think what Apple have chosen is much less prohibitive for the general ios-user, but keeping a vey low price-point for what seems like a very full feature set.

    Even as a long-time Logic-user, I wouldn't be able to buy in at $200. I can't even afford to lay out the $49 in one go. So I'll be paying my monthly fiver until such time as I can.

  • @el_bo said:

    When emagic used to own Logic, the base program cost close to 1000 quid (in 15-years-ago money). And the synths, 'Space Designer' reverb etc. were sold as separate add-ons. Apple bought the product, bundles it all together, then dropped the price by 80-90%, which is certainly not one would expect from Apple.But alas.

    The upgrade from Logic 7 to 8 cost about 230 quid, which was the same as it cost to go from 8-9, then 9-10. So, having reduced the price so heavily, the model was to essential re-buy each new version, conveniently set at upgrade-ish prices.

    All of this leads me to suggest that in all likelihood, the alternative to subscriptions would not be to pay a large one-off fee, but to be charged for a completely new app with every major full-point iteration. I personally think what Apple have chosen is much less prohibitive for the general ios-user, but keeping a vey low price-point for what seems like a very full feature set.

    Even as a long-time Logic-user, I wouldn't be able to buy in at $200. I can't even afford to lay out the $49 in one go. So I'll be paying my monthly fiver until such time as I can.

    I was in desktop music app development at the time. Over night, it became harder to be profitable as a music app developer when Apple dropped the price.

    That was at a time when Apple was more seriously committed to the professional music market..something which changed a few years later.

  • edited May 2023

    Software subscriptions are not like magazine subscriptions, because with a magazine subscription you are getting something completely new every month, not paying for continued access to the same thing. This is why a subscription model works for magazines and not software. Nor is it like Netflix, etc. Netflix evolved out of the Blockbuster model, where you were renting a movie instead of buying it, because you usually don't need to or want to see a movie more than once. (And of course the origins of both magazines and movies involved physical possession of something.)

    Another thing that PaperJakob doesn't really touch upon is the fact that the iOS App Store doesn't support upgrade pricing. That antiquated limitation should have been fixed a long time ago, and is a lesser-known part of what has driven Apple towards a subscription model in this case.

    Software subscriptions may work well for some users who only occasionally need an app for a certain task. But in general it is a user-unfriendly model that relies on people forgetting to cancel their subscription to make money. I know people will say, but it's "only X per month/year etc.", but as soon as I hear ANYTHING per month, it's a non-starter for me. If you live in a high-rent real estate market like I do in NYC, more than half your monthly income is devoted just to housing. You need to find any way you can to keep your other monthly expenses low. And making money in music is harder than ever. I strive to stay out of debt. Renting the basic tool you need to make music only makes it harder to make money off of music, which is of course harder than ever nowadays.

    However, I do agree with him that the Loopy model seems much more reasonable, as is offering both subs and perpetual licenses.

    Just my perspective on a few things...

  • I agree with pretty much everything.
    But I think there is plenty of catchup to do for iOS in order to justify the price raise. It is necessary, and it’s not about quality of the apps generally, but there are major things - file management, app support, OS support, resale, paid updates and probably many other things (all down to Apple, and imo dev involvement is necessary) - that need to change too to justify the increased cost.

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @el_bo said:

    When emagic used to own Logic, the base program cost close to 1000 quid (in 15-years-ago money). And the synths, 'Space Designer' reverb etc. were sold as separate add-ons. Apple bought the product, bundles it all together, then dropped the price by 80-90%, which is certainly not one would expect from Apple.But alas.

    The upgrade from Logic 7 to 8 cost about 230 quid, which was the same as it cost to go from 8-9, then 9-10. So, having reduced the price so heavily, the model was to essential re-buy each new version, conveniently set at upgrade-ish prices.

    All of this leads me to suggest that in all likelihood, the alternative to subscriptions would not be to pay a large one-off fee, but to be charged for a completely new app with every major full-point iteration. I personally think what Apple have chosen is much less prohibitive for the general ios-user, but keeping a vey low price-point for what seems like a very full feature set.

    Even as a long-time Logic-user, I wouldn't be able to buy in at $200. I can't even afford to lay out the $49 in one go. So I'll be paying my monthly fiver until such time as I can.

    I was in desktop music app development at the time. Over night, it became harder to be profitable as a music app developer when Apple dropped the price.

    That was at a time when Apple was more seriously committed to the professional music market..something which changed a few years later.

    Ah, interesting! Cubase seems to have held quite tight with prices, though...no? It's quite an expensive buy-in, with regular paid updates.

  • @0tolerance4silence said:
    I agree with pretty much everything.
    But I think there is plenty of catchup to do for iOS in order to justify the price raise. It is necessary, and it’s not about quality of the apps generally, but there are major things - file management, app support, OS support, resale, paid updates and probably many other things (all down to Apple, and imo dev involvement is necessary) - that need to change too to justify the increased cost.

    Or perhaps the reverse: Maybe the reason it is as low as $49 per year is an acknowledgment that the software will exist is a much more locked-down environment

  • @Lady_App_titude said:
    Software subscriptions are not like magazine subscriptions, because with a magazine subscription you are getting something completely new every month, not paying for continued access to the same thing. This is why a subscription model works for magazines and not software. Nor is it like Netflix, etc. Netflix evolved out of the Blockbuster model, where you were renting a movie instead of buying it, because you usually don't need to or want to see a movie more than once. (And of course the origins of both magazines and movies involved physical possession of something.)

    Another thing that PaperJakob doesn't really touch upon is the fact that the iOS App Store doesn't support upgrade pricing. That antiquated limitation should have been fixed a long time ago, and is a lesser-known part of what has driven Apple towards a subscription model in this case.

    Software subscriptions may work well for some users who only occasionally need an app for a certain task. But in general it is a user-unfriendly model that relies on people forgetting to cancel their subscription to make money. I know people will say, but it's "only X per month/year etc.", but as soon as I hear ANYTHING per month, it's a non-starter for me. If you live in a high-rent real estate market like I do in NYC, more than half your monthly income is devoted just to housing. You need to find any way you can to keep your other monthly expenses low. And making money in music is harder than ever. I strive to stay out of debt. Renting the basic tool you need to make music only makes it harder to make money off of music, which is of course harder than ever nowadays.

    However, I do agree with him that the Loopy model seems much more reasonable, as is offering both subs and perpetual licenses.

    Just my perspective on a few things...

    I think you missed Jakob's point about magazine subs - he was saying that the Loopy Pro model was more akin to that, not the Logic Pro model, unless I'm remembering wrongly.

    Upgrade pricing should come. Why haven't they done it! Does your insider friend have any thoughts on that? Would love to hear them. Bit yes it's crazy we don't have that.

    About forgetting to cancel subs, I'm personally very careful about that. Any monthly ios subs I make, I cancel immediately and then renew again when necessary. Patreon is much worse for this - it seems, at least on any recent patreon subs I have made, that when you cancel you lose access immediately. As a result I have let several roll on that I really should unsub from.

    Fair points about how hard it is to make money off music. Again though, I don't think it will be realistic for many devs to go down a subscription route. For most apps, people just won't bite.

  • @Lady_App_titude said:
    Software subscriptions are not like magazine subscriptions, because with a magazine subscription you are getting something completely new every month, not paying for continued access to the same thing. This is why a subscription model works for magazines and not software. Nor is it like Netflix, etc. Netflix evolved out of the Blockbuster model, where you were renting a movie instead of buying it, because you usually don't need to or want to see a movie more than once. (And of course the origins of both magazines and movies involved physical possession of something.)

    True

    Another thing that PaperJakob doesn't really touch upon is the fact that the iOS App Store doesn't support upgrade pricing. That antiquated limitation should have been fixed a long time ago, and is a lesser-known part of what has driven Apple towards a subscription model in this case.

    It does allow for this, using the Working Copy / Loopy Pro model.

    Software subscriptions may work well for some users who only occasionally need an app for a certain task. But in general it is a user-unfriendly model that relies on people forgetting to cancel their subscription to make money. I know people will say, but it's "only X per month/year etc.", but as soon as I hear ANYTHING per month, it's a non-starter for me. If you live in a high-rent real estate market like I do in NYC, more than half your monthly income is devoted just to housing. You need to find any way you can to keep your other monthly expenses low. And making money in music is harder than ever. I strive to stay out of debt. Renting the basic tool you need to make music only makes it harder to make money off of music, which is of course harder than ever nowadays.

    Very true.

    However, I do agree with him that the Loopy model seems much more reasonable, as is offering both subs and perpetual licenses.

    Nope.
    It‘s NOT a subscription.

    It’s more like the regular desktop license, where you may need to again for a major new version but otherwise can continue to use the older version - but BETTER than this, as you still get all basic updates to the App!!!

    Also, the „one year“ thing can be or could be varied of course!
    Michael should probably remove this, as people continue to misunderstand the model.

    Just „at some time later“ you need to pay for new features - which will then be about one year 😅

  • edited May 2023

    @Gavinski said:
    I think you missed Jakob's point about magazine subs - he was saying that the Loopy Pro model was more akin to that, not the Logic Pro model, unless I'm remembering wrongly.

    No that is precisely what I was responding to. My point is that subscribing to a magazine is categorically different because you are getting something completely new every month. That basic difference isn't mentioned in Jakob's post and is something I always think of whenever I see people trying to compare software subs to magazines.

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @cyberheater said:

    @dendy said:

    @cyberheater said:
    Just checking. Is this another Logic Pro thread?

    A sort of 😂 But really, worth to watch becsuse Jakob is taling about wider aspect of current iOS stage in terms of pricing of apps …

    Yep. He makes some great points. I'd be happy to pay £50 for the app and then an additional fee for upgrades. I don't suppose they are going to do it although there has been a lot of back lash about subscriptions.

    But would you pay $200 of $300 to own it?

    I would, but I've been very fortunate in my day-job career so that's not a prohibitive expense for me. I understand that there's a lot of folks for whom that price would be prohibitive, so it think it's good to have a low up-front cost option. I think a "pay over time" option would have been better to address that market, but the App Store doesn't do that, so oh well.

    I agree with Jakub that music software is priced too low on iOS/iPadOS. I have to recognize the benefit of this for many people who otherwise would be priced out of the market, but I also have to recognize that, from my outsider's view at least, it's very difficult to make a living selling music software for iPad. I'd love to see indie developers able to thrive on the platform.

    I am less concerned than many here about the "stop paying and you'll lose access to all your projects" aspect. The nature of computers and bit rot and so forth is such that eventually we'll all lose access to our Logic projects anyway. I mean, you may still have a floppy with a Cubase project you created on an Atari ST, and you may still technically own a license to Cubase for Atari ST. Can you do anything with it? Some day, probably pretty soon, if you have projects in Propellerheads Rebirth, you will no longer have access to them on iPadOS (as of today you can still download and run Rebirth if you purchased it when it was still for sale). That's the reality of all software on the iPadOS platform. It's not great, but it's nothing new. Even more so than on desktop platforms, you never really "own" software for your iPad or iPhone.

  • Software subscription is on par with a gym membership. You pay to use the facility and leave feeling better about yourself. The money exchanged goes into maintaining the facility, equipment, and to pay the employees. I view the subscription to Logic Pro the same way. I am paying to use Apple’s program. Apple can maintain and upgrade the program, and pay their employees. I leave with my musical creations.

    Some people don't like gym memberships. Noone is forcing those people to join a gym. They can still find exercise for free elsewhere. Nobody complains in front of Gold’s Gym or Planet Fitness about being afforded the opportunity to own the gym they pay a membership too.

  • heshes
    edited May 2023

    @Lady_App_titude said:
    Software subscriptions are not like magazine subscriptions, because with a magazine subscription you are getting something completely new every month, not paying for continued access to the same thing.

    Agree.

    Another thing that PaperJakob doesn't really touch upon is the fact that the iOS App Store doesn't support upgrade pricing. That antiquated limitation should have been fixed a long time ago, and is a lesser-known part of what has driven Apple towards a subscription model in this case.

    And yet, with Loopy Pro Michael has somehow implemented excellent upgrade pricing on the iOS App Store.

  • edited May 2023

    No that is precisely what I was responding to. My point is that subscribing to a magazine is categorically different because you are getting something completely new every month. That basic difference isn't mentioned in Jakob's post

    This is actually exactly what he did say. During paying magazibe subscription you get new content, when you stop paying, you can keep old content bought preciously. If i correctl understand this is very similiar to “subscription” model which picked @Michael for Loopy Pro and i like this a lot, it’s very fair for both dev and user.

  • @dendy said:

    No that is precisely what I was responding to. My point is that subscribing to a magazine is categorically different because you are getting something completely new every month. That basic difference isn't mentioned in Jakob's post

    This is actually exactly what he did say. During paying magazibe subscription you get new content, when you stop paying, you can keep old content bought preciously. If i correctl understand this is very similiar to “subscription” model which picked @Michael for Loopy Pro and i like this a lot, it’s very fair for both dev and user.

    I went back and watched it again. He says that Loopy Pro works like a magazine subscription. But you don't get Loopy Pro in July, and Korg Gadget in August, and Drambo in September. Something completely new each month. That would be more like a magazine subscription. I don't think it's a very good analogy. However, he does point out that the FBI isn't going to show up at your door and take your magazines away from you -- in other words, you can continue using the app after a year. But if you buy it again after a year, you're still just getting the same app for another year. (Yes, I know upgrades, new features, but still not like magazines.)

  • edited May 2023

    main point with magazine example was that when you stop paying all you got DURING paying stay in your hands and nobody takes it away from you … this is crucial detail

    Also with Loopy it’s liteeally same - you kust don’t get update EVERY MONTH but just randomly - bit this is really unimporant, it’s just about timing, also some magazines are released once per 2 weeks, other once per month and there exists also some released just once per half of year - all of them with subscription ..

    So reall, iť’s very similiar to Loopy Pro model.

  • The Loopy Pro model is not a subscription model.

  • edited May 2023

    @el_bo said:

    @0tolerance4silence said:
    I agree with pretty much everything.
    But I think there is plenty of catchup to do for iOS in order to justify the price raise. It is necessary, and it’s not about quality of the apps generally, but there are major things - file management, app support, OS support, resale, paid updates and probably many other things (all down to Apple, and imo dev involvement is necessary) - that need to change too to justify the increased cost.

    Or perhaps the reverse: Maybe the reason it is as low as $49 per year is an acknowledgment that the software will exist is a much more locked-down environment

    You are talking about Logic... I’m talking about pricing on iOS in general... if we all agree that it can only be sustainable if prices go up - is already close to desktop in many cases - than the standards should improve as well. No?

    Edit: also there is this big anticipation of other big players joining the platform... in that regard these are important things to sort out imo.

  • My gym membership analogy is perfect.

  • @el_bo said:

    @espiegel123 said:

    @el_bo said:

    When emagic used to own Logic, the base program cost close to 1000 quid (in 15-years-ago money). And the synths, 'Space Designer' reverb etc. were sold as separate add-ons. Apple bought the product, bundles it all together, then dropped the price by 80-90%, which is certainly not one would expect from Apple.But alas.

    The upgrade from Logic 7 to 8 cost about 230 quid, which was the same as it cost to go from 8-9, then 9-10. So, having reduced the price so heavily, the model was to essential re-buy each new version, conveniently set at upgrade-ish prices.

    All of this leads me to suggest that in all likelihood, the alternative to subscriptions would not be to pay a large one-off fee, but to be charged for a completely new app with every major full-point iteration. I personally think what Apple have chosen is much less prohibitive for the general ios-user, but keeping a vey low price-point for what seems like a very full feature set.

    Even as a long-time Logic-user, I wouldn't be able to buy in at $200. I can't even afford to lay out the $49 in one go. So I'll be paying my monthly fiver until such time as I can.

    I was in desktop music app development at the time. Over night, it became harder to be profitable as a music app developer when Apple dropped the price.

    That was at a time when Apple was more seriously committed to the professional music market..something which changed a few years later.

    Ah, interesting! Cubase seems to have held quite tight with prices, though...no? It's quite an expensive buy-in, with regular paid updates.

    It became harder to be profitable, not impossible. Particularly for Mac-focused developers.

  • @0tolerance4silence said:

    @el_bo said:

    @0tolerance4silence said:
    I agree with pretty much everything.
    But I think there is plenty of catchup to do for iOS in order to justify the price raise. It is necessary, and it’s not about quality of the apps generally, but there are major things - file management, app support, OS support, resale, paid updates and probably many other things (all down to Apple, and imo dev involvement is necessary) - that need to change too to justify the increased cost.

    Or perhaps the reverse: Maybe the reason it is as low as $49 per year is an acknowledgment that the software will exist is a much more locked-down environment

    You are talking about Logic... I’m talking about pricing on iOS in general... if we all agree that it can only be sustainable if prices go up - is already close to desktop in many cases - than the standards should improve as well. No?

    Edit: also there is this big anticipation of other big players joining the platform... in that regard these are important things to sort out imo.

    Actually, for me, no. Like Jacob, I've been banging this 'app prices too low' drum for quite a while. To my mind, even with all the inconsistencies, irritations and general tomfoolery inherent in the platform, most apps are under-priced by a huge amount.
    I'd like to see iOS improvements of course, but this as as an aside, and not as a condition to be satisfied for developers (They who have no control over the OS) to be paid what their work justifies.

  • Great take indeed and Cubase IS awesome .

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