You Don't Have To Upgrade

Did you know that just because a new version of your DAW comes out, you don’t have to upgrade? What a crazy thought! In fact, you can continue to use your perfectly good version of software to make great music all day long. No upgrade needed.

That being said, a couple of weeks ago, two major DAWs dropped new versions on the world and people are angry as all get out. So please pardon me while I rant for just a minute about the psychology of software upgrades.

Via Takashi Hososhima Flickr

These Companies Need To Make Money

In case you didn’t know, software manufacturers are in the business of making money. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Companies like Avid, Apple, Steinberg, PreSonus, Propellerhead, Cockos, all make great tools for musicians and engineers and they charge money for said tools. Makes sense so far.

That being said, if they never make a newer and better version of their DAW, then their only way to make money to sustain the business is to sell to new customers who currently don’t have their product. But wouldn’t it be easier to simply improve their existing product, fix things, add user requested features and then turn around to sell the software again to CURRENT customers as an upgrade? So that is why these companies drop new versions of their DAW every few years. No big deal.
 

Your Current DAW Still Works, Right?

Now that we’re all on the same page with that, why is that so many people get upset when a new version of their DAW is released? People complain that they just got the previous version and now somehow their version is made obsolete. This doesn’t make sense to me. Three weeks ago, many of us were all making great music using either Pro Tools 9 or Studio One. But now that Pro Tools 10 and Studio One 2 have been released, our “older” versions are useless?

The software still works right? I mean, it didn’t start glitching on you the day Avid and PreSonus held press conferences announcing the new upgrades, right? Whew! That was close. I thought for a moment there that we had a problem and couldn’t keep recording and mixing great tracks in our studios.

The Moral Of The Story

All of the sarcasm aside, I really want you to know the heart of what I’m saying. It’s always more fun to have the latest and greatest thing on the planet, I get that. And the new versions of Pro Tools and Studio One look incredible. I’m not even telling you NOT to upgrade. I’m just trying to make a point, that just because a new version of your DAW comes out, that doesn’t mean that somehow your current version has gotten worse. You don’t HAVE to upgrade now, or ever.

Have you gotten enough value out of your current version to warrant dropping cash on the new one? Will the new version help you do something in your studio that you really need in order to make better music, or work faster? Only you can answer these questions. Just don’t be the person on the forums blasting away that they are angry about a new version coming out. Ignore the noise and go back to making better music then you’ve ever made in your life!