JRiver goes Subscription - sort of

[The Computer Audiophile]

I think @jriver has the best software licensing model of any software. It’s absolutely fair for all involved. 
 

The current version is v32. If people are five or more versions behind that, AND they need to access JRiver servers, they can shell out around $30 for the upgrade. That’s peanuts. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

 

So you should be expected to upgrade every 5 years to maintain full functionality of what you already paid for?

 

Does this mean a vendor can just unilaterally decide to charge extra for the same ongoing functionality whenever they want to?

 

$30 may not be "peanuts" to some and there is also a principle here.

Im not sure the company does this every five years or that many vendors in HiFi, “unilaterally decide to charge extra for the same ongoing functionality whenever they want to.” You can complain about this straw man all you wish, but you likely have better things to do. 
 

My guess is it comes down to either maintaining support for versions older than 5 version back or continuing to improve the newest versions. At some point the old stuff will stop working or we can’t make progress because companies would spend all their time on making old stuff work on new operating systems and hardware. 
 

If $6 per year ($30 upgrade after 5 years)for an app is too much, one has much bigger fish to fry. I also doubt the software license says it will work in perpetuity, just like the day it was purchased. 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 hours ago, church_mouse said:

Would people be so happy to accept the argument "that is just how the industry works" if they were told that parts of their car would now be switched off by the manufacturer merely because you had not bought a new car from them within 5 years?

I think this is a bridge way too far and nothing like the current situation. If we used these extremes, we should then ask if all the people would rather have JRiver go out of business offering free stuff than to pay $30 to upgrade. Fortunately we aren’t in either situation. 

 

4 hours ago, church_mouse said:

However, that avoids the principle - IF JRiver is switching off access to a service for no reason other than the owner of the software licence subsequently has not bought anything else (an update) from them, how can that be morally right? If the principle is morally right, then the amount is irrelevant and charging $6 per month or per week would also fit the principle.

 

To me, there is nuance and gray areas in everything. Without all the facts, we really shouldn’t jump to the worst possible reasoning for JRiver doing something. Even so, I think the amount matters. If this software was sold for $829.99 like Roon, I’d be more apt to question what’s going on. 
 

Knowing what it costs to operate this site, I’d say JRiver’s explanation that @ecwl posted is absolutely reasonable to me. It costs money to offer a service, that cost has likely increased more than normal with inflation over the last couple years. Perhaps the principled people also see principles working both ways, and realize that it’s unreasonable to expect a costly service to work in perpetuity, also understanding that 99.9% of the application still works perfectly. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

35 minutes ago, church_mouse said:

I have no animus towards JRiver. I have great respect for Chris (as far as I can judge from his comments on and handling of this site), I just disagree on this occasion (quite strongly on the strength of the arguments so far).

Its all good @church_mouse  different opinions are the spice of life. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

21 minutes ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

Exactly, the principle is important and shouldn't be tied to the $ quantum no matter how much some may want to rationalize it.

Ok, what if JRiver said it cost ten cents to upgrade. You stilling going to make a mountain out of a molehill?

 

Sure, some people can’t afford ten cents. But, letting the tail wag the dog is unreasonable. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

52 minutes ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

 

As, said it's not for me about how much. Principles still apply.

 

making extreme unrealistic examples may be more unreasonable

No worries. One has to pick battles in life and decide what’s going to tick them off. This situation doesn’t even come close in my book.