This article is a guest post from Gerard Murphy or Mosaic. His company uses the Cloud to provide services to Lightroom users.
The Adobe naysayers have been working overtime lately. They aren’t talking about the quality of the Adobe software or the amazing advances in digital photography in the past decade, but their frustration with the change in Adobe’s pricing model. These frustrations are genuine, but I believe misguided.
The most common phrase I hear from the anti-cloud folks is “I don’t want to rent my software.” My question to this is why not? Renting isn’t inherently bad. Owning isn’t inherently good.
First, let’s make a differentiation. You are renting software, not your content. Adobe or no one else owns your photos. If you cancel your subscription, you cannot use Adobe’s software but you still own your raw photos. This should and never will change. Vendors like Adobe should never completely lock you in.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) pricing changes the responsibilities of both the customer and company. SaaS vendors live and die by customer renewals. From the customer perspective this means every month you get to decide if you want to keep paying or not. The company must keep you happy. Is Dropbox providing me enough value this month or do I want to switch to Box or Google Drive? Is Netflix providing me enough value or do I leave for Hulu or Amazon Prime (or nothing)?
The last listed MSRP for the Adobe CS6 Master Collection was $2,599. If I purchase this upfront, I am making a big upfront decision. I have bought into Adobe. I am essentially locked in. It may feel better because I “own it” but I have made a big upfront choice. If 6 months after I purchase this I want to leave, I lose. I am out most of my initial purchase.
Fast forward to today. Let’s say 6 months from now, Google, Apple or a scrappy startup comes out with a Photoshop killer product. If I just shelled out a boatload of money for CS6 than I will stick around to get my monies worth. Under the rental model – see ya. Bye-bye Adobe. Hello new awesome product. As a customer I win. Options are awesome.
Don’t think this could happen? I loved iTunes… until Spotify changed the way I listened to music. Things are changing fast. Scrappy companies like Mosaic, HDRSoft, and OnOne Software are adding value in new and awesome ways.
Adobe has actually made the customer switching costs much less. They now have a greater responsibility to wow me every month with new products and features that keep me opening up my wallet. If they don’t, I am gone.
I could also see a model where Adobe goes from pure SaaS pricing to more utility pricing. Maybe I only use Illustrator 10 times a year. My options until the Creative Cloud were to buy the software or use a competitor. SaaS utility pricing gives me the option to use Illustrator for my limited use without paying full price. If I love the software, I can upgrade for more. Adobe wants this to happen so they will try to wow me. Again, as a customer, I win.
This is just about some of the benefits of “renting” software. We haven’t touched on the other real benefits of the cloud, which is enhanced collaboration, anywhere, access, automatic upgrades, and seamless integration with third party services. This is where the cloud is clearly superior to desktop only software. (My real beef with Adobe is in providing almost none of these benefits for photographers with their current offering).
This is not to say the SaaS pricing doesn’t have some negatives. But to say the upfront “boxed software” / paid upgrade model was perfect is disingenuous.
Change is hard. There were those who thought digital would never be better than film and that editing in Photoshop wasn’t “real” photography. We are still having the HDR debate. Monthly pricing models are good for the customer and for the company. Adobe continue to wow me or I am sure another company will. I for one am rooting for someone to challenge Adobe and give me more choice but until then, I would rather pay monthly and keep my options open.
I was a (very) vocal naysayer about the shift to SaaS by Adobe within my peer group here in the UK. I was bitching and moaning about it for all the reasons you outline. Then I heard about the regular app updates Adobe was putting out and how, by sticking with CS5 I was missing out. Suffice to say, I jumped on the single app deal when it came out and, because I had bought and registered both LR5 and CS5 from Adobe when they announced the Photographers Package, my monthly fee went DOWN and they UPgraded my account to… Read more »
Nice to hear they did the right thing and gave you the lower price. That’s pretty upright thing to do. Did you have to ask or was it automatic?
Completely automatic :-)
Not to cast any aspersions but in the interests of transparency, are those defending Adobe paying for CC?
Or being compensated by Adobe in any way?
The article was written by Gerard Murphy. He is not being paid by Adobe. I have been an Adobe customer for 20 years.
Adobe is a sponsor of this site (and that’s fully disclosed). This helps cover the costs of creating original content which we post and deliver for free. All of our sponsors are listed here – https://photofocus.com/site-info/disclosures/
That sponsorship is a temporary thing. And I personally still buy Adobe software.
Hello, I am the author and no, I was not paid in any way by Adobe.
One of my large point at the end of the article was that I think many people are upset not by the cloud pricing model but that there are no viable choices other than Adobe in the photography space. I don’t think Adobe really wants me saying this :)
@WCO in the interests of transparency are you or any of the others attacking Adobe being compensated in any way by Adobe competitors like Apple, Corel, etc?
Nope, just a hobbyist. I have to admit that I never seriously considered buying Photoshop, because I want to do as little post-processing as possible. I’ve played around with things like Photomatix and stitching software but never really got into it or made it a habit to make HDRs or panos. I would absolutely hate it if they ever made Aperture (which I use) or Lightroom (which I may use in the future) subscription-based. Or imagine if they did it with more common software, like browsers or operating systems. I think people who’ve bought Photoshop in the past have a… Read more »
So… let me get this straight. All this complaining and you don’t even own a version of the app?
Do you enjoy just trolling websites and looking for arguments?
You are free to absolutely hate it, your right. It doesn’t change the reality of what’s happening or that the software industry is evolving.
Subscription might make sense for professionals who make a living from photography.
But for hobbyists, to spend hundreds a year to rent software?
Instead of putting that money towards more gear or towards excursions to take more pictures?
Really shouldn’t surprise anyone that a lot of amateurs will opt to stay with CS6 or older versions, bypass the latest and greatest features. If they even need Photoshop at all in the first place.
That’s why Lightroom and Photoshop Elements are sold. For 80% of photographers, those two apps are all they need.
@WCO Photoshop has never been designated as a product for amateurs. Even though many amateurs do use it. I am curious – what data can you provide to support your statement “Really shouldn’t surprise anyone that a lot of amateurs will opt to stay with CS6 or older versions, bypass the latest and greatest features. If they even need Photoshop at all in the first place.” While I agree that amateurs don’t NEED it but I’d love to know what research you’ve done that says “amateurs will opt to stay with CS6 or older version.” Any link will do thanks.
No evidence.
Just that a lot of people can’t justify spending hundreds on software every year for a hobby, in addition to the money they spend on the gear, excursions to shoot, etc.
Personally, I would have no issue with Adobe on this if it gave consumers a choice, buy it or rent it, but to tell us the only way you can use our software is to lease it is ridiculous. On top of that, Adobe forces its valued clients to rent this software and then has a security breach so some of those same clients who might never have had to give their personal information to Adobe now have to worry where it may have ended up. I use Apple software as much as I can. When my current version of… Read more »
I need to respond to a few things. Personally, I would have no issue with Adobe on this if it gave consumers a choice, buy it or rent it, but to tell us the only way you can use our software is to lease it is ridiculous. Ridiculous… no of course not. It’s their right, just as its yours to shop elsewhere. Or to buy Lightroom. Or to buy Photoshop elements. In order to stay agile and keep Photoshop (and the other apps I need) constantly updated with the latest features, I deeply prefer the new model On top of… Read more »
Actually several cars are sold on a lease only basis – most of them electric cars. Just saying…
Good article! And for emphasis . . . . Every time you spend a dollar, you are voting. Every time you agree To a renewal, you are voting.
The price break that Adobe gave existing users for Photoshop and Lightroom is worth noting.
Here is the faulty logic: “Fast forward to today. Let’s say 6 months from now, Google, Apple or a scrappy startup comes out with a Photoshop killer product.” – even in the times before “CS” nomenclature, Adobe had so much permeated the market that it is de-facto undisturbable standard. True up to the “old” Photoshop 4 or 5. Not now. True logic:you buy software. You have it forever. To get more of your money software company is market driven to make something worth a new purchase. If they don’t, user is not affected – he uses what he paid for.… Read more »
This has never been the case.
Hardware changes, operating system changes, new camera models released, etc.
There are LOTs of factors (many outside the software manufacturer) that require upgrades to software.
I have lots of software that I’ve bought that I can no longer run as the computer I use needed to be replaced. Newer computers don’t support the older OS, leading to a need to upgrade in a ripple effect.
Adobe still sells software, buy one of those.
But at $10 a month for two apps… you really think that’s unreasonable?!?
Thank you for the comment. I am not sure I follow how a “poorer product is inevitable.” The new “rental” economy is actually tough on the cash flow of a company. If you buy a box of software for $400, the company gets that cash upfront (assuming no supply chain etc.). If a customer pays $40 per month to rent that software, then it will take the company 10 months to make back the cash that would have been made in a purchase. When “rental” / SaaS models work for companies it is only when customers are going to stay… Read more »
Seriously – are we still having this discussion? It’s freaking $10 a month. Don’t like it – don’t subscribe. I have no idea why were’s still having the conversation but to those who don’t like this get used to it. You will end up subscribing to EVERY piece of software you use some day. This is the future business model for software companies. Microsoft is doing it – Apple is doing it – Adobe is doing it and all the others will follow. We’ve listed (elsewhere on this site) numerous alternatives to Photoshop. Use one of those. These comments (as… Read more »
thank you for the thoughtful and informative article. a lot of users were so against adobe’s new paying scheme but I understand their frustrations. As a person who runs a small business that involves a bit of design; and as a freelance photography who occasionally take up jobs, I find the move to be extremely beneficial to me. to fork out few thousand dollars just for a software is almost impossible for me, considering the scale of my business and monthly income. Then again I think that adobe will benefit more (from their customers) if thy do offer both full… Read more »
I think you’ve got to be very careful not to defend Adobe with a combination of straw man arguments and wishful thinking. No-one is saying the rental model means your photos are dependent on continuing to pay the subscription – it is the PP work and time that you put into them that is undermined. No-one’s saying the upfront model was perfect, but that doesn’t justify a complete switch to a suibscription model. Switching from iTunes to Spotify, Netflix etc is a spurious analogy when discussing an effective monopoly in a class of software. And so on. As for dismissing… Read more »
John actually TONS of people are saying that the “rental” model (a misnomer for sure) means your photos are dependent on continuing to pay the subscription price. I see it in almost EVERY single forum. So you’re the one creating a straw man argument. That kind of misinformation is just the tip of the iceberg. And Adobe did NOT propose a “complete switch.” Again – this is out and out false. If you have to rely on spreading misinformation it usually means you are on the wrong side of the argument. You can “buy” Photoshop. You can “buy” Lightroom and… Read more »
John, thank you for the comment. I agree with you that Adobe has an effective monopoly. Part of my larger point of this article was that some of the trapped feeling customers have is not actually against the cloud or against subscription pricing. I end by rooting for another company to challenge this monopoly.
@Gerard I’d be interested in knowing your point of view (as a developer) that Adobe has an effective monopoly. There are 28 programs (that I know of) that can open, manipulate, etc some version of a file created in Photoshop and 24 that you can use to create images from scratch without Adobe’s help. Your own software does a pretty darn good job of making some of Adobe’s features irrelevant. So while I am a big fan, I don’t see the monopoly thing but would love for you to enlighten me.
I don’t think the monopoly is as real as it feels, but it still feels pretty real sometimes. If you read photo forums, take online or in-person classes, almost everyone teaches on Photoshop. It’s the standard, and so ubiquitous that it’s the generic term for a whole class of image manipulation. A lot of people don’t even realize that there _is_ an alternative, much less several to choose from. When CC was announced, someone (I forget who) asked if I would use it. I said no (I use PSP these days), and a question came back: But if you don’t… Read more »
@Jill there is affordable, accessible online training available for Aperture, iPhoto, Elements, Lightroom, Gimp, Corel and others.
By the way Adobe has officially been accused of being a monopoly twice – in 2005 and 2010 – both times either the Justice Dept refused to pursue the allegations due to insufficient evidence or the case(s) were thrown out.
The more I rent the software the more I become reliant on that that softwares’s special features. So the day I stop subscribing any image that I have saved as a psd with all the new features will either not work or open as a flattened image. Since I already own the CS6 suite and the forced subscription method should I have to cancel it would default to the CS6 I might as well stay with CS6. Also I’m aware of at least three very professional photographers that exist in remote locations were it is very hard for them to… Read more »
Sal I can assure you that Adobe has considered and IS considering an exit strategy. Photoshop Elements can open most layered files currently, and there will be a plan for long time customers at retirement. As far as remote access, it is currently possible to go almost a year. You can also activate via phone. With that said, in extended non access times, you get several ways for the software to run before you are truly locked out. Listen to the podcast interview with Terry White here — https://photofocus.com/2013/10/05/dslr-video-terry-white-and-matt-kloskowski-photofocus-podcast-10513/ As far as offering both versions… that’s FAR trickier than you… Read more »
One question from an owner of CS6
Will adobe limit how much they can raise the monthly charge ?
Once your hooked by the $10 a month offer , how soon before it becomes. $40 a month
They have stated they have no intent to raise prices any time soon. And such a jump would be nonsensical. I have been told that $10 a month is intended rate for a very long time.
Thanks for the reply
I will give its try
Steve
Just stumbled over this very interesting discussion (although I am a bit late to the party) and this reply hit home with me – this is probably what makes me and all the other naysayers fear CC the most: 1) Adobe told people to upgrade to CS6 (at a significant cost for some of the users of older suites) if they wanted to be able to upgrade to CS7, then turned around and dropped CS7 on the spot and gave upgrade rights to CC to owners of older suites as well (not quite as affordable as for CS6 users, but… Read more »
@Anders first let me say that your comment offers the same old tired (and somewhat debunked) arguments. Let me address each point. Adobe TOLD you to upgrade like every other company TELLS you to upgrade. Your language there is purposefully inflammatory and it’s frankly pretty lame. Adobe like all companies offers regular upgrades to their software. People are free to upgrade or not. At no time has Adobe put a gun to your head and MADE you upgrade. And your recitation of how the upgrade path developed is simply not factual. All the actual evidence of the truth is out… Read more »
I have no problem with Photoshop being a product to rent, but I am not so sure it’s a good thing with Lightroom. Photoshop stores files in a format that can be opened and edited with other software, so switching from PS to another future killer photo editor is not a big problem. You can not say the same about Lightroom. Yes – photos can be exported from LR before you chose to leave LR for something else but unless you do that (and LR does not come with a feature to export all photos retaining the folder structure) my… Read more »
Well.. Lightroom is and will continue to be sold as a standalone app as it is deigned for both pros and consumers.
Full Disclosure: I am a subscriber: ;-)
For 10 buck a month it was an easy decision.
This article brought forth a thought process that I sensed in my decision but had not articulated… Unless Adobe remains good, me and lots of other subscribers are gone. Long term this gives me freedom.