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PSA: Midi Designer Pro 2 forced subscription to be rolled back
[edit: Feb 21, 2024
The developer has posted a clear and complete statement of the rollback of the policy on their website. 👍🏼
https://mididesigner.com/qa/9856/what-about-me-i-paid-for-mdp2
[edit: Feb 20, 2024]
The developer has listened and has said that an update is coming that will restore full access for features prior to the version 10 release for existing customers. This post will be updated when that release comes and it is verified to be working.
[ORIGINAL POST]
First: If it's not too late, don't update past version 2.3330 if you're not ok with subscription model for Midi Designer!
Second: This post is not meant as a rant. It's for informational purposes. I personally am not ok with how they went about this, but I really hope the thread won't turn ugly. Passions run high with this sort of thing, and everyone has their own opinion and should have an opportunity to voice it without getting stomped on. But ... arguing with each other will not change a thing, so why do it?
Reading another thread today I discovered only by accident that Midi Designer Pro 2 has been updated to Midi Designer Pro X ... a subscription based model. It was not obvious in the update announcement that the app will cease to work for existing users after a one-year grace period without a subscription.
You heard that right. No big fat announcement/warning not to update. No option to keep using the existing app without fixes and updates. No way to revert to a previous version (Apple's fault, not theirs).
They could have ceased updates to the existing app and made a new free + subscription app, but they elected not to do that. So, now your choices a) if you didn't already update to forever look at an update notice waiting in the App Store and hope you don't accidentally tap it, or b) purchase a subscription. There is a grace period. I think one-year.
I was lucky. I had backed up the app with iMazing before the change and was able to revert to the previous version. There's a valuable lesson there about the usefulness of iMazing (the free version is enough for this).
However, I will be deleting the app on principle and because I don't want to have that update icon staring at me. I will also be contacting the developer (politely) to let them know I disagree with their handling of this change. I'll also be updating my App Store review, respectfully, I hope.
I have no problem with developers deciding to go to a subscription model, but I feel that the way they handled this is just wrong. That's only my own personal opinion. I'm not outraged or in the least bit angry. I agree with them that I received outstanding value over the many years I owned MD. So, I'm just moving on with no hard feelings. There are better options IMO now anyway.
Further info:
https://mididesigner.com/qa/9856/what-about-me-i-paid-for-mdp2
https://mididesigner.com/home/mdpx/
https://mididesigner.com/contact/
Comments
Please, please, please, keep it civil? 🙏🏼🤞🏼
Tar and feather them! I think it sucks too. Should have made it a new app.
Yeah I was unclear about the update quite a bit so just never updated until I clearly understood, which took some effort so luckily I didn’t update. It’s pretty disappointing and I’ll just keep it at that.
I never want to hear anyone complain about Apple's $5/month fee for Logic Pro on iPadOS again.
I bought this fairly expensive app a while back JUST IN CASE I’d ever need it. I’ve literally never used it yet (so maybe I’m not missing anything?). I’m trying to keep from accidentally updating it now which is annoying, and if I goof then maybe I will have paid them for nothing. 😠
the rest deleted (so as to not create another long post) as all I wanted to do was agree 100%
No way… I can’t believe he’d be that dirty. That’s clear bait and switch and can’t be legal.
Well at least Apple did that from the get-go.
This seems like something that’s not particularly considerate to an already existing customer base.
I also don't think this is legal. Apple should do something to prevent this.
I wonder if Apple would approve a refund?
Yea, I love the mile-deep irony of how Dan calls giving you the privilege of using the app you already paid a premium price for “loyalty”!
In the broader age of newspeak and gaslighting, calling it “loyalty” makes sense. Especially if you notice who it’s coming from.
https://9to5mac.com/2021/11/03/notability-subscription-broke-app-store-rules/
...
The company announced that existing customers – that is, those who had already purchased the app and its optional premium features – would only retain access to them for a year. After that, they would have to start paying the subscription fee like anyone else.
Users who had already paid for the app were quite rightly unimpressed. Some pointed out that this broke App Store Review Guideline 3.1.2(a), and said that they had reported it to Apple. Here’s Apple’s guideline:
The company has now reversed course, and said that existing owners will now have lifetime access to the premium features they purchased without needing to pay for a Notability subscription.
Wrong app. That was the Notability app mentioned in that article.
The key phrase that stands out to me in 3.1.2(a) is should not. I'm not sure that adds up to a violation.
Wrong app, same scenario. We'll see how it plays out.
Absolutely, this sort of behaviour has to stop, if it’s subscription based it should start that way, not switch.
Well that sucks.
Used MD a lot with my old Roland FA-06 workstation for sound tweaking. I have kept and updated MD having the thought of maybe using it in the future for tweaking used hardware with quirky interfaces if I would take the plunge, but if it goes sub I’m out.
/DMfan🇸🇪
It isn't a matter of if it goes sub. that has happened.
What I wrote to the dev team...
I apologise if I wasn't all that civil and was rather curt with them. 😅 I honestly don't expect a response from them. Anyways, they have a contact form where you can lodge your own complaint directly to the source, especially if you invested a lot of money into the app.
https://mididesigner.com/contact/
Disclaimer - I'm not entirely against subscriptions. I subscribe to Logic Pro simply to access the Mastering Assistant. $5/month vs $5/track. 🤷♂️ I'm also considering resubbing to Auxy Studio to make an EP in that, lol. And if I ever need a Melodyne app, Music Putty is easier for me to use than Vocal Tune Studio.
But shady business practices are a "no go" for me.
Bought it and never used it. I thought eventually I would use it. Now I will delete it.
My lesson is to stop buying apps unless I really need to use them. No more supporting Devs because I think I might one day use an app.
I will suscribe to apps as soon as I start making money with music.
I don't even think it needs to be a separate app? Many apps that go subscription remain free for existing users who previously bought the app outright. I agree btw with everyone who thinks this was a bad move by the devs. I predict they will roll back on this, either voluntarily, which would be the smarter way, or being forced to by Apple. And complaint emails to Apple and to the devs are more likely to make that happen 🔥
That's actually a good business model. I don't think this is what Midi Designer is doing though.
Precisely. 💯
Maybe we should ask for refunds?
I’m just moving on. It’s not worth the negative energy IMO.
@richardyot could you share the dev's response (and maybe your inquiry as well) you mentioned in the other thread?
Sure, this was my first email:
I bought MIDI Designer and all the IAPs in October 2022.
I see the app has now gone subscription, and I got a message saying that my subscription would be active until January 2022.
Can you explain what happens to the app on my device after that? Would I lose functionality?
I bought the app at full price, and it is against Apple’s terms of service to turn a pay-once app into a subscription app, it looks to me as if you should have launched a new app for the subscription and kept the previous pay-once app on the store for legacy users.
But maybe you can clarify the situation.
And this was their reposnse:
Please see
https://midiDesigner.com/mdpx
https://mididesigner.com/qa/9856/what-about-me-i-paid-for-mdp2
For all info. If we have engineering bandwidth we might try to honor iap purchases with a few months additional.
Thanks for purchasing and loving MIDI Designer Pro!
Best,
Dan
Dan Rosenstark
Author & CEO
And my reply:
Sorry but to remove functionality from a paid app because you’ve decided to go subscription is just the absolute pits.
The right way to do this is to create a new app with the subscription and grandfather the old app that customers paid for.
This move is just going to alienate all your existing customers. It’s a terrible idea and you will deservedly suffer backlash from it.
I will be deleting the app and using an alternative instead. I used to recommend MIDI designer but will now tell people to steer clear.
They didn't respond to that one
It's even worth worrying about, happy to delete this (in my opinion) badly designed app, never liked the experience or gui or used it much beyond testing. It's always just annoyed me each time I opened it
Another problem is the appstore, you can't hide apps from the list if you don't want to update it so eventually you will accidentally update if you "update all", Apple need to fix this bad user experience.
On a more positive note, In response to more apps which forcibly squeeze consumers with subscriptions, the more powerful the open source community becomes. There's so much great software available on different platforms I am happy to never be locked into Apples
Not sure if it's still the case, but it's worth noting that Apple only provided development guides for switching from a paid app (non-IAP) to freemium models - of course the main point is not to disrupt features for those who paid for the full app.
If they have an engineering bandwidth problem, this may have played some part in the decision (though maybe a small part in a bigger decision). If they decided to remove the IAP's from the store at one point they may need to do manual checking of encrypted receipts which can be a cumbersome procedure and may require heavier changes - though they have iOS 16 as the minimal requirement, which should make things a lot easier than it used to be, but there can be a lot of depth to a full-featured, secure implementation if they have it in place.
But this is just a small technical nugget, which is not something a customer should normally care about.
Would give the benefit of doubt and surmise that they spent a lot of time looking into how to provide additional avenues within the possibilities of current app store mechanics. But that gives little comfort to those upset by losing features. Perhaps they will reconsider or allocate more resources to see if a better solution is possible within their framework.
IMO they should have just left the old app as the "legacy" version, the way Filmic Pro did it, so that previous users are not locked out of features they have paid for, and then launched a new app with the subscription.
Like I said in another thread, if you are operating in a small niche market every customer is precious. Upsetting your current user base is a one-way ticket to oblivion. Almost everyone affected by this has said they will delete the app and look elsewhere, and it's not surprising.
This is pretty appalling I have to say
same here. app uninstalled and forgotten. I would remember the dev so he never get any money from me or my colleagues again.