Pro Tools: major updates and now subscription-only

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Source:
AVID

Pro Tools is getting significant feature enhancements and a new sales strategy. AVID’s flagship production software is now subscription-only, with 3 tiers available from USD 10 per month. The free Start version is now replaced by the affordable (and more functional) Pro Tools | Artist. Current Pro Tools and Pro Tools | Ultimate subscribers will receive the new enhancements and transition to the new plans. Ultimate perpetual license owners with active update and support plans will receive the latest software version and enhancements. Off-plan owners can get the latest software for a one-time payment.

Pro Tools new pricing plans

Pro Tools | Artist (USD 99 annual or USD 9.99 monthly) offers 16-channel multitrack recording, up to 32 audio tracks, up to 32 aux tracks, up to 64 MIDI tracks, 32 virtual instruments, and AAX plug-in support. Over 100 AAX instruments and plug-ins come bundled, including the new GrooveCell and SynthCell.

Avid Pro Tools Artist Annual Subsc.

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Pro Tools | Studio (USD 299 annual or USD 39.99 monthly) builds on the current Pro Tools offering with numerous enhancements such as expanded track counts (up to 512 audio, up to 128 aux, up to 512 instrument, up to 1024 MIDI), full Dolby Atmos mixing capabilities, up to 64 channels of simultaneous native I/O, one video track, and the complete collection of AVID AAX plug-ins. Current Pro Tools subscribers will be transitioned to this plan.

Avid Pro Tools Studio Annual Subsc.

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Pro Tools | Flex (USD 999 annual or USD 99.99 monthly) is the industrial-grade tier. The track count is increased to 2000+ and active I/O is capped at 256 tracks when using a native audio interface. The subscription includes AVID’s ExpertPlus support plan and a DigiLink licence which is required to use AVID’s current HDX and HD Native interfaces (such as Carbon and MTRX Studio). Current Ultimate subscribers will be transitioned to this plan and perpetual license owners with active update + support plans will receive the updates.

I’d link to think AVID’s subscription-only model is modern, helps simplify its somewhat complicated product offering, and lets content creators of all kinds access the industry-standard DAW. Hopefully, this is more than just my surface-level understanding and the deeper nitty-gritty involving hardware, licensing, and maintenance plans is reasonable. As usual, 30-day trial periods are also available.

New AAX anstruments and SoundFlow integration

AVID also introduced two new AAX instruments – GrooveCell and SynthCell. GrooveCell is a virtual drum machine and sequencer while SynthCell is a similar concept applied to synthesis. Watching the videos below will tell you the rest of the story. Additionally, SoundFlow is now integrated as a workflow automation platform for annual Flex subscriptions. It provides access to over 1600 predefined macros and commands to be assigned and triggered by keyboard shortcuts, MIDI controllers, and HID devices.

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