Upcoming deadline for selling/giving away licenses

[Steve W]

https://cherryaudio.kayako.com/article/ ... other-user

Effective May 1st, 2023, Cherry Audio products purchased through the Cherry Audio store or authorized resellers will no longer be eligible for license transfers.

Customers who have purchased products prior to May 1st, 2023 are able to request transfers until August 1st, 2023. During that time the same policies apply:

* Bundles can not be pieced out - they must be transferred as a bundle.
* Synth Stack licenses must be transferred as a whole - individual synths can't be transferred out of the Synth Stack.
* The first outgoing transfer under an account is free.
* Each additional transfer has a $10 fee.
* Each unique recipient is considered a new transfer, but a transfer can have multiple licenses.

[GusGranite]

Dear Cherry Audio - I purchased my licenses knowing I can re-sell them. If a developer does not offer resale then I do not buy their products. Please do not do a Waves and pull the rug on us! I would like the resale policy to remain as it is for all licenses purchased prior to the new deadline.

Many thanks,
Gus

[ChR_is]

wow.. this is not ok.

The ability to resell had an impact on my decision to buy and now you retroactively remove that from me?

..and of course that'll affect me as a third party dev for vm as well. drastic moves like this, that we have literally no control over, make me worried about this platform. oh and ofc no communication from CA to let us know about this vital change.

[Centripidity]

Yeah, I don't think this is a great idea but I'd love to hear CA explain the reason behind it.

Are they assuming that every refused transfer will be a new sale? But how many speculative sales will they lose from people who would otherwise have bought new in the knowledge that they can recover some costs by moving it on? I'm not convinced this will increase overall demand but I assume they have some reason for believing it will.

If I buy a new synth I know as soon as I walk out of the store it has lost 25% of its value. If I thought it would lose 100% of its value I would never have walked into the store in the first place.

[ttop]

If I buy a new synth I know as soon as I walk out of the store it has lost 25% of its value. If I thought it would lose 100% of its value I would never have walked into the store in the first place.

I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of CA's customers didn't even know that they can tranfer their licenses. I for one did not. It's an outdated business model for software. Amazon or Steam also do not accept license tranfers for movies and software.

..and of course that'll affect me as a third party dev for vm as well.

It could be that it will affect you in a positive way.

[martb]

I'm not particularly concerned about a change to a 'no re-sale' policy as such. The apparent lack of communication about it is wrong though, in my view.

[Centripidity]

I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of CA's customers didn't even know that they can tranfer their licenses. I for one did not. It's an outdated business model for software. Amazon or Steam also do not accept license tranfers for movies and software.

I think the real question is how many people transfer software licenses, and hence see that as a factor in their purchase choices? I never have and probably never will but I expect some people do. Of course, I rarely sell hardware so I'm not a good example. The only time I have sold hardware is because I need the space rather than needing the money. I still have a Yamaha TX16W sampler and a pair if EMT-10s, but I know many people buy/sell/replace hardware frequently. How common is that with software? I don't know, perhaps CA does.

I question this decision, not for me, but for others for whom this is important, but maybe you are right and not many people care.

..and of course that'll affect me as a third party dev for vm as well.

It could be that it will affect you in a positive way.

I assume that's what the powers at CA are thinking.

[Steve W]

The ability to resell had an impact on my decision to buy . . . .

I highly doubt you are the only one.

..and of course that'll affect me as a third party dev for vm as well. drastic moves like this, that we have literally no control over, make me worried about this platform. oh and ofc no communication from CA to let us know about this vital change.

I suspect that rule changes like this might affect others considering developing modules to share via the store. Perhaps with the recent influx of third-party module makers, changing the rules is one way of cutting down the number of module-makers and the number of modules and possibly the cost of operating the store.

..and of course that'll affect me as a third party dev for vm as well.

It could be that it will affect you in a positive way.

I assume that's what the powers at CA are thinking.

Does anyone other than me buy modules they might or might not use (and bundles they might only need a few of the component modules), but decide they appreciate the hard work of third-party developers which tips them onto the "buy" side of the decision-making fence in large part on that basis?

It is entirely possible that with new, upcoming marketing strategies the influx of newcomers will more than make up for the loss of loyal supporters of the VM platform and third-party module-makers.

I have never thought of selling my massive collection of Cherry Audio products before now, but it seems that push has come to shove and even if I can get a small percentage of what I paid, given my age and life expectancy the wise decision is to grab what I can now.

[cherryaudio Robert]

Thank you all for your feedback.

As detailed in the article, customers who purchased products before May 1st, 2023, can still request transfers until August 1st, 2023. If you purchased your licenses with the intent or option to eventually resell them, there are still quite a few months in which you can do so.

We considered several options when we decided to revise our policy on license transfers. We determined that this single, clearly documented policy, aligned with our pricing and generous demo periods, was the best solution. There is no hidden agenda or strategy behind it. It's simply an internal business decision about allocating our resources.

[UrbanCyborg]

Gotta say, I'm not exactly pleased with the decision. I'm living on a fixed income, and my health is beginning to play up. Like many of the other devs here, I'm not exactly young. I'm not planning to sell the huge number modules and synths I have (all of the CA stuff, and around 1250 modules), but there could come a day when I have to, just to live, just like I might have to sell the two MemoryMoogs I have (I doubt anyone would pay much for my K250 or my Farfisa Dual Manual Organ). This yanks that option out from under me. It will definitely slow up my acquisition of new modules.

Still, I'm just one anecdotal data point, and ya gotta do what ya gotta do, to quote Futurama.

Reid