[Bartholomew Boge]

I have never witnessed greater contempt for an installed user base than Toontrack’s attitude toward its loyal customers.  When you guys bring out SD4, you’d better damn well offer an upgrade path for the SD2 customers you’ve screwed.  If not, you’re dead to me.

“SD2 users who want to upgrade?  To hell with you all: rebuy the entire program, you filthy peasants!” —  Toontrack Corporate

[Bartholomew Boge]

This entire controversy is inane on so many levels.  By denying SD2 customers from a reasonable upgrade path, these are the short and long-term ramifications:

 

1. LOWER REVENUE.  I cannot believe that the sales revenue to be generated by people who agree to REBUY this software at full pop will exceed the revenue of all those who would have upgraded at the discounted price. I would wager this was break-even at best, a net loser at worst.
2. UNNEEDED CONTROVERSY. Before this, Toontrack had a very good reputation, based mostly on the quality of the product itself, but also on the general vibe the company exudes online. In a very competitive market, name brand perception and loyalty are very desirable assets. Sometimes a piece of software can be released with some odd bug in it, but a well-managed PR campaign can mitigate the damage to a brand if the customer base has faith that the company has their best interests at heart. The sad thing about this issue, however, is that the debacle is ENTIRELY SELF-INFLICTED: not due to some unfortunate error or unforeseen circumstance, but by the intentional will of the company’s leadership.
3. LOSS OF TRUST. Music professionals who DEPEND on drum sequencer products will now think twice about committing to the Toontrack product line, and with good reason: the company has expressed a profound contempt for its user base.

It’s not too late to save your reputation, Toontrack.  Do the right thing.  Maintain a reasonable upgrade path for your products.  Every day you delay in doing so more of your user base are choosing to become “former customers.”

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Thanked by: Ben_4 and ilter

[Author]

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