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What's New in this Lightroom Release > Creative Cloud News > Adobe’s Creative Cloud Announcement and Upgrade Pricing

Adobe’s Creative Cloud Announcement and Upgrade Pricing

(Updated ) 30 Comments

An announcement made by Adobe nearly 2 weeks ago appears to have many in the photographic community up in arms.  Why?

In amongst the announcement about the new Creative Cloud subscription was a section which said:

For customers who prefer to remain on the current licensing model, we will continue to offer our individual point products and Adobe Creative Suite editions as perpetual licenses. With regards to upgrades, we are changing our policy for perpetual license customers. In order to qualify for upgrade pricing when CS6 releases, customers will need to be on the latest version of our software (either CS5 or CS5.5 editions). If our customers are not yet on those versions, we’re offering a 20% discount through December 31, 2011 which will qualify them for upgrade pricing when we release CS6.

 

Ok, so who does this affect?

  • If you upgrade every version anyway, nothing changes.
  • If you use more than one or two Adobe programs, you may want to consider the Creative Cloud offerings once we have a bit more information, particularly if you’re not currently on CS5.
  • If you are still using CS2, CS3 or CS4, it’s time to sit up and take notice.  When CS6 arrives, you’ll no longer be eligible for upgrade pricing.  So what are your options?
    • You can upgrade to CS5 now, at a 20% discount, and then you’ll be free to upgrade to CS6 at upgrade price.
    • You can upgrade to CS5 now and then not upgrade again for years, and pay full price when you do want to upgrade.
    • You can do nothing – just keep using your current version, and pay full price when you do want to upgrade.
    • Or you can wait and see what the Creative Cloud has to offer on a subscription basis.

 

As far as Lightroom’s concerned, we have no reason to anticipate any changes to the licensing at this point in time.

 

The Creative Cloud sounds interesting, and we only have very basic information so far.  The idea is that you’ll pay a monthly subscription, and get access to the current shipping versions of the products.  You’ll always be up-to-date, without having to worry about paying for upgrades.

According to the initial announcement, the Creative Cloud consists of:

  • Desktop Applications — Every tool that is currently in Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection, such as Photoshop®, InDesign®, Illustrator®, Dreamweaver®, Premiere® Pro, After Effects®, as well as innovative new tools that are currently in beta, such as Adobe Edge and Muse.
  • Touch Apps – Starting with the six Adobe Touch Apps announced at MAX , 2011 – Adobe Collage, Adobe Kuler, Adobe Carousel, Photoshop Touch, Adobe Debut, Adobe Proto and Adobe Ideas.
  • Services – A version of Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite for delivering interactive publications on tablets, a tier of Adobe Business Catalyst for building and managing websites, and access to cloud-based fonts for website design from our acquisition of Typekit.
  • Community –Collaboration features that allow members to share their creative work with other Creative Cloud members and forums to discuss and inspire new ideas.

 

Why would Adobe want to lead people towards a subscription basis?  Is it greed?  Well, they are a publicly trading company, so they do have a responsibility towards their shareholders as well as their customers.  I wouldn’t fancy being in the boss’s shoes!  You can read more about their viewpoint in this post.  But there are benefits to us, the users, too.

  • If they’re not having to focus on putting in big marketing features to the same degree, in order to sell the upgrades, then they can focus on fixing some of those silly little bugs that drive us mad and smoothing the rough edges off current features.
  • If they’re not focused on upgrade schedules, we may get earlier access to new features rather than having to wait until the next upgrade is due – the new deblur technology, for example.
  • If they’re not rushing to get the entire suite ready for upgrade release at the same time, they can share more code, resulting in a more unified suite.
  • We can spread the cost over a longer period, rather than paying out for an upgrade every 18 months.
  • If you use more than a couple of their programs and upgrade regularly, the new pricing is a really good deal.

 

Information is still very limited at the moment – this was only an initial announcement.  I’ve been able to gather some additional information, which I’m told I’m allowed to share with you.  As I hear more, I’ll be very pleased to share anything I’m allowed to.

 

So what else do we know about the Creative Cloud so far?

  • The Creative Cloud won’t require you to be connected to the internet at all times.  Of course some of the cloud features need internet access, but the normal desktop applications will only need to ‘phone home’ about once a month, and there’s at least a couple of days grace if your internet connection’s down.
  • Although not part of the Master Collection, and not listed in the initial press release, Lightroom is expected to be included in the Creative Cloud subscription package, although its upgrade policy isn’t expected to change. (It was mentioned in the Financial Analysts meeting)
  • Other programs not listed, and not in the Master Collection, are expected to stay on their current licensing.
  • The current subscriptions, which have been available for around 9 months, will be transferred to the new Creative Cloud subscriptions – which are much less expensive to the end user.
  • The Creative Cloud is expected to be cross-platform – so all those users who have a Windows desktop and Mac laptop or vice versa, rejoice! Perpetual licenses (current style) appear to be staying single-platform.
  • If you don’t need the Touch apps right now, and you’re planning on moving to the Creative Cloud, hold off buying as there’s no way they can refund/compensate you for Touch apps that you’ve already purchased.
  • There’s a lot more pricing yet to be announced. That means that there may yet be smaller subscription packages too – with less programs at a cheaper price, far better suited to photographers. We’ve only seen the basic announcement so far, and if there are smaller packages, they may turn out to be a brilliant deal that makes the upgrade policy a moot point.

 

This is undoubtedly a controversial move, and I’m not going to bring my personal feelings into this blog post.  All I will say is WE DON’T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION YET.  We have an initial announcement, which has caused uproar all over the web.  Not Adobe’s PR department’s finest hour, for sure.  But before you make your mind up, let’s wait and see what else is yet to come.

Comments

  1. I use Lightroom and find I use Photoshop less and less. Still, though, it does some things that can’t be done in Lightroom. I have no need for all the other applications but am expected to pay $50 a month? That’s $600 a year for just Photoshop. My pattern has been to upgrade every other release (currently at CS4). Like you said we’ll see how this all plays out but I’m starting to explore alternatives to Photoshop.

    Reply

    • As I said Tom, there’s likely other pricing yet to come. I’m still holding out hope for “a photographer’s subscription” with PS and LR. That would certainly be a popular deal for those following this blog, anyway! We just don’t have all the information we need to make an informed decision yet.

      That said, if you’ve already got CS4, what do the alternatives offer that you don’t already have in CS4? Many photographers may find that their current version already offers everything they need, and choose not to upgrade.

      Reply

    • No, I agree Paul, blackmail’s not a good look. But which bit do you see as blackmail? They’re not threatening to remove the software you’ve already paid for – just changing their terms for software you may want to purchase from them in the future.

      Personally I wasn’t happy when I heard about the change of upgrade policy either. It hits photographers probably harder than anyone else. But if it was my business, and the current upgrade policy wasn’t financially viable because so many people are skipping upgrades… I can see where they’re coming from. Didn’t Microsoft do the same with Office? Except, they got rid of upgrades altogether, if I remember correctly.

      Every business has a right to change its terms, and every customer has the right to vote with their credit card. Yes, they may lose some customers who only upgrade every few years, but their customers who upgrade every time are getting a better deal, so we’ll wait and see whether it’s a good business move.

      In the meantime, we carry on waiting for extra details, so that we can each make an informed decision.

      Reply

  3. Any idea how many computers we will be able to install the software on with creative cloud? If it’s only 1 that could get expensive.

    Reply

  5. Victoria – things to watch for:
    How will this affect LR:
    1. New release camera RAW support.
    2. Compatibility with ACR in PS

    Reply

    • Excellent questions Bob.

      New camera support for LR isn’t expected to be affected at all. That carries on as now.
      ACR compatibility with LR/PS stays the same as now too – those who choose not to upgrade PS will need to use LR to render a TIFF / PSD, just as those with mismatched ACR versions do at the moment.
      We don’t have any reason to believe either of those will change at the moment.
      Of course those who stay upgraded or who are on the cloud automatically have the latest versions anyway.

      Reply

      • The KEY word is ‘at the moment!’ I think the app Adobe introduced last year with carrousel was to test the playing grounds. I know a lot of people at Photoshop world Vegas where it was announced hated the idea and suspected that something else was coming, well now we know subscription service.

        I for one will never get on the ‘rental’ subscription and will as long as I can buy the license outright.
        As of last week reading all of this I’m preparing myself using alternatives such as Aperture 3, onOne, Nik and other plugins. I guess it’s a revolte at Adobe and I maybe exaggerating a bit but these alternatives are just that alternatives there not photoshop.

        Looking forward to your updates.

        Reply

        • That’s fair enough Harold, and although they may go subscription only at some time in the future, that’s not a bridge we need to cross yet. At that time, we don’t know what the other companies will be doing either.
          For now, we have choice, and each of us have the right to determine which will be best for us as an individual.

          Reply

  6. What many people don’t seem to understand is that the Creative Cloud is a subscription service though, and at the end, you’ve paid the same amount as you would have otherwise, but with nothing to show for it!

    Renting is never a good idea over buying outright…because at the end you have no tangible good to show for all that money spent. That’s why buying a house is always a better investment than renting a house. Or buying a car instead of leasing that same car – you own it in the end. Buying software licensing will always be a better deal over renting it…unless they lower the price of renting to make it cheaper than buying the in perpetuity license.

    This is why so many photographers are struggling – not because of their photography skills, but because of misunderstood principles of running A BUSINESS. Adobe has unwittingly also made this an easy decision for both personal and professional folks to not choose – because the total cost of ownership isn’t worth it.

    Lower the rental price and maybe….but that needs to come down substantially…and to that end, that promo of $50 for the first half of 2012 – what happens in July once people are hooked? I’ll give you two guesses and the first doesn’t count! 😉

    Reply

    • Ok, let’s compare against a car.

      Let’s say Adobe rent you a car for $50 a month for 5 years. That’s $3000 that you’ve paid them over 5 years, but that’s all you have to pay. But within that 5 years, every 18 months they replace it with a brand new car. And provide you with your fuel, and new tyres, and any other updates you might need.

      Or you can pay Adobe $2600 to buy the car outright. That’s cheaper, and yes, you have something to show for your money but at the end of 5 years it’s likely to be a bit rusty. And by the end of 5 years, the roads it’s running on (hardware and OS) have changed, so you need to pay for upgrades in between, at $600 a go. And there were probably 3 upgrades in that time, so that’s another $1800. Ooooops, we’re up to $4400 instead of $3000 now. But we do have something to show for it, although you’ll need to spend out again soon, if you want it to stay up to date.
      The point is this – each user will have to do their own calculations based on their own circumstances ONCE WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION. Some will decide that their current license will do just fine, and they don’t need to upgrade from some years. Some will decide they want to continue with perpetual licenses for as long as they’re available. Others who upgrade their software every time may decide the cloud subscription is better for their circumstances.

      We can’t point blank say that renting is better than buying, or vice
      versa. This is not black and white.

      Reply

  7. Under the old plan:
    PS upgrade was $199 every 18 to 24 months or, using 18 months, $11.11 a month.
    Using 24 months, $8.33 a month and that was if you upgraded every new release, which many did not.

    Under the new plan:
    For PS only Month by month is $49/month or $588 a year + taxes
    For PS only with one year commitment is $35/month or $420 a year + taxes

    The subscription price appears to disregard if you already have PS and is a buy new option only with no upgrade option down the road.

    For current users, the year commitment is BETWEEN 315 and 420 PERCENT INCREASE over the old upgrade price permanently and if you stop paying, you have NOTHING for the hundreds spent!

    MY RESPONSE IS NOT ONLY NO, but $%#@ NO

    This is a gross abuse of the customers by a company that thinks it has a monopoly.

    If they want a “Cloud model” this price structure WILL NOT FLY.

    Please correct me if my calculations are off.

    Reply

    • Those figures are the OLD subscription Bob, not the new Cloud. The new Creative Cloud is $49 for the WHOLE SUITE. We don’t yet know details of smaller suites or individual products on a cloud subscription – there’s only been an initial announcement.

      Reply

      • I have just gotten off the PS web site and talking to a sales rep on the phone. Adobe is sending VERY mixed signals.

        The web site AND the sales rep both said that the year commitment monthly charge of $35 is for PS ONLY

        I am currently on the adobe web site for Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium and it shows a year commitment monthly charge of $89

        Reply

        • The current web prices may NOT be the Cloud offering for subscription and I will wait to see that they do, but to say that this has been a PR nightmare is an understatement.

          Reply

          • Yeah, it’s a fairly confusing muddle at the moment, and we only have preliminary information at the moment.

            The sales rep is correct, those are the prices at the moment. But the Creative Cloud, which will be $49 for the whole suite, is due to launch in the first half of 2012. That’s what you’ll find reported in the first link in the blog post, which is the announcement about the upcoming Creative Cloud.

            I know, it’s a tangle!

  9. If people would start using alternatives rather than giving all their hard earned money to Adobe, than the photography world would be a better place!. I use open-source alternatives, so I still have money to buy equipment, rather than giving it to a company that is essentially a monopoly. And Scott Kelby is dead wrong, when he said on his Grid episode that all software was going to a subscription base. Tell that to someone who uses open-source software. They will laugh at you!. Maybe in the Mac World, but not with other platforms, like Linux. If you want to give all your money to Adobe, by all means do. I would rather give it to open-source development project, like Gimp, or Raw Therapee, so they can be made better. And no they will never be subscription based or charge a ridiculous license fee. But they will do over 90% of what Photoshop and Lightroom does. And many have attested to that fact.

    Reply

  10. I very much agree with Scott Kelby’s open letter. I’m a frequent user of Adobe’s Master Collection suite. Generally speaking, I’ve upgraded every second major release. I bought CS back in the day, then upgraded to CS3 Master Collection. I would have upgraded to CS5, but due to some financial considerations at the time and the poor economy, I decided to hold off. I trusted in Adobe’s “3 versions back” upgrade policy to cover me until CS6, so even though I wouldn’t get quite as big a discount as if I’d been upgrading from CS4 or CS5, I’d still get a reduction.

    Had this new policy been announced back when CS5 first released, it would’ve been less irritating. Still a poor business decision, IMO, because there are a ton of people who hate the notion of cloud computing being pushed on them, but it at least would’ve been more palatable. I probably would’ve sucked it up, sacrificed a couple other things, and upgraded to CS5 on its release day, and then not had to worry about spending any more money until CS6 two years down the road.

    But to be told now, probably just a handful of months before CS6 releases, that I need to upgraded to CS5.5 at the end of its lifecycle just so I can buy CS6 in a few months? That’s outrageous, and pure exploitation on Adobe’s part. They’re using this simply to push a few more copies of CS5.5 off the shelves before it’s replaced by CS6.

    If the policy doesn’t change, or at least shifted back to take effect for CS7 or CS6.5, Adobe’s lost a customer. I won’t be upgrading from CS3 to the nearly-defunct CS5.5; so if there isn’t some path to move to CS6, I’ll simply start shopping around for alternatives from other companies who aren’t as inclined to take advantage of their customers.

    If Adobe sticks to the ~24 month cycle with a .5 version every ~12 months, I really won’t mind upgrading every major release (eg. CS6 to CS7 to CS8, skipping the .5s). But unless I can get in on CS6 with the upgrade I was planning on using, I’ll never buy Adobe again.

    Reply

  11. I very much agree with Scott Kelby’s open letter. I’m a frequent user of Adobe’s Master Collection suite. Generally speaking, I’ve upgraded every second major release. I bought CS back in the day, then upgraded to CS3 Master Collection. I would have upgraded to CS5, but due to some financial considerations at the time and the poor economy, I decided to hold off. I trusted in Adobe’s “3 versions back” upgrade policy to cover me until CS6, so even though I wouldn’t get quite as big a discount as if I’d been upgrading from CS4 or CS5, I’d still get a reduction.

    Had this new policy been announced back when CS5 first released, it would’ve been less irritating. Still a poor business decision, IMO, because there are a ton of people who hate the notion of cloud computing being pushed on them, but it at least would’ve been more palatable. I probably would’ve sucked it up, sacrificed a couple other things, and upgraded to CS5 on its release day, and then not had to worry about spending any more money until CS6 two years down the road.

    But to be told now, probably just a handful of months before CS6 releases, that I need to upgraded to CS5.5 at the end of its lifecycle just so I can buy CS6 in a few months? That’s outrageous, and pure exploitation on Adobe’s part. They’re using this simply to push a few more copies of CS5.5 off the shelves before it’s replaced by CS6.

    If the policy doesn’t change, or at least shifted back to take effect for CS7 or CS6.5, Adobe’s lost a customer. I won’t be upgrading from CS3 to the nearly-defunct CS5.5; so if there isn’t some path to move to CS6, I’ll simply start shopping around for alternatives from other companies who aren’t as inclined to take advantage of their customers.

    If Adobe sticks to the ~24 month cycle with a .5 version every ~12 months, I really won’t mind upgrading every major release (eg. CS6 to CS7 to CS8, skipping the .5s). But unless I can get in on CS6 with the upgrade I was planning on using, I’ll never buy Adobe again.

    Reply

  12. I very much agree with Scott Kelby’s open letter. I’m a frequent user of Adobe’s Master Collection suite. Generally speaking, I’ve upgraded every second major release. I bought CS back in the day, then upgraded to CS3 Master Collection. I would have upgraded to CS5, but due to some financial considerations at the time and the poor economy, I decided to hold off. I trusted in Adobe’s “3 versions back” upgrade policy to cover me until CS6, so even though I wouldn’t get quite as big a discount as if I’d been upgrading from CS4 or CS5, I’d still get a reduction.

    Had this new policy been announced back when CS5 first released, it would’ve been less irritating. Still a poor business decision, IMO, because there are a ton of people who hate the notion of cloud computing being pushed on them, but it at least would’ve been more palatable. I probably would’ve sucked it up, sacrificed a couple other things, and upgraded to CS5 on its release day, and then not had to worry about spending any more money until CS6 two years down the road.

    But to be told now, probably just a handful of months before CS6 releases, that I need to upgraded to CS5.5 at the end of its lifecycle just so I can buy CS6 in a few months? That’s outrageous, and pure exploitation on Adobe’s part. They’re using this simply to push a few more copies of CS5.5 off the shelves before it’s replaced by CS6.

    If the policy doesn’t change, or at least shifted back to take effect for CS7 or CS6.5, Adobe’s lost a customer. I won’t be upgrading from CS3 to the nearly-defunct CS5.5; so if there isn’t some path to move to CS6, I’ll simply start shopping around for alternatives from other companies who aren’t as inclined to take advantage of their customers.

    If Adobe sticks to the ~24 month cycle with a .5 version every ~12 months, I really won’t mind upgrading every major release (eg. CS6 to CS7 to CS8, skipping the .5s). But unless I can get in on CS6 with the upgrade I was planning on using, I’ll never buy Adobe again.

    Reply

  13. I very much agree with Scott Kelby’s open letter. I’m a frequent user of Adobe’s Master Collection suite. Generally speaking, I’ve upgraded every second major release. I bought CS back in the day, then upgraded to CS3 Master Collection. I would have upgraded to CS5, but due to some financial considerations at the time and the poor economy, I decided to hold off. I trusted in Adobe’s “3 versions back” upgrade policy to cover me until CS6, so even though I wouldn’t get quite as big a discount as if I’d been upgrading from CS4 or CS5, I’d still get a reduction.

    Had this new policy been announced back when CS5 first released, it would’ve been less irritating. Still a poor business decision, IMO, because there are a ton of people who hate the notion of cloud computing being pushed on them, but it at least would’ve been more palatable. I probably would’ve sucked it up, sacrificed a couple other things, and upgraded to CS5 on its release day, and then not had to worry about spending any more money until CS6 two years down the road.

    But to be told now, probably just a handful of months before CS6 releases, that I need to upgraded to CS5.5 at the end of its lifecycle just so I can buy CS6 in a few months? That’s outrageous, and pure exploitation on Adobe’s part. They’re using this simply to push a few more copies of CS5.5 off the shelves before it’s replaced by CS6.

    If the policy doesn’t change, or at least shifted back to take effect for CS7 or CS6.5, Adobe’s lost a customer. I won’t be upgrading from CS3 to the nearly-defunct CS5.5; so if there isn’t some path to move to CS6, I’ll simply start shopping around for alternatives from other companies who aren’t as inclined to take advantage of their customers.

    If Adobe sticks to the ~24 month cycle with a .5 version every ~12 months, I really won’t mind upgrading every major release (eg. CS6 to CS7 to CS8, skipping the .5s). But unless I can get in on CS6 with the upgrade I was planning on using, I’ll never buy Adobe again.

    Reply

  14. I very much agree with Scott Kelby’s open letter. I’m a frequent user of Adobe’s Master Collection suite. Generally speaking, I’ve upgraded every second major release. I bought CS back in the day, then upgraded to CS3 Master Collection. I would have upgraded to CS5, but due to some financial considerations at the time and the poor economy, I decided to hold off. I trusted in Adobe’s “3 versions back” upgrade policy to cover me until CS6, so even though I wouldn’t get quite as big a discount as if I’d been upgrading from CS4 or CS5, I’d still get a reduction.

    Had this new policy been announced back when CS5 first released, it would’ve been less irritating. Still a poor business decision, IMO, because there are a ton of people who hate the notion of cloud computing being pushed on them, but it at least would’ve been more palatable. I probably would’ve sucked it up, sacrificed a couple other things, and upgraded to CS5 on its release day, and then not had to worry about spending any more money until CS6 two years down the road.

    But to be told now, probably just a handful of months before CS6 releases, that I need to upgraded to CS5.5 at the end of its lifecycle just so I can buy CS6 in a few months? That’s outrageous, and pure exploitation on Adobe’s part. They’re using this simply to push a few more copies of CS5.5 off the shelves before it’s replaced by CS6.

    If the policy doesn’t change, or at least shifted back to take effect for CS7 or CS6.5, Adobe’s lost a customer. I won’t be upgrading from CS3 to the nearly-defunct CS5.5; so if there isn’t some path to move to CS6, I’ll simply start shopping around for alternatives from other companies who aren’t as inclined to take advantage of their customers.

    If Adobe sticks to the ~24 month cycle with a .5 version every ~12 months, I really won’t mind upgrading every major release (eg. CS6 to CS7 to CS8, skipping the .5s). But unless I can get in on CS6 with the upgrade I was planning on using, I’ll never buy Adobe again.

    Reply

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