Software subscription models are now commonplace in daily life – Microsoft’s "Office 365," Adobe’s "Creative Cloud," and QuickBooks Online Accounting software, to name but a few. It’s no longer a question of whether or not to subscribe, but the conversation has moved on to, "Which subscriptions do I need?" After all, if you keep signing up for things, it will soon add up to a hefty monthly bill. So, you need to choose your subscriptions wisely.
In the music production space, thankfully, the needs are clear and the choices less daunting. You’ll need a DAW, so your Pro Tools subscription has to be in the budget. That will get you only the DAW, though, and not much creative content. It’s nice to have your software always up-to-date, but as an active composer – hobbyist or pro – you’ll be looking for virtual instruments and samples.
That’s where we find hardly any contenders. In fact, at the moment, EastWest seems to be the only company that has ventured out into the business of renting virtual instruments. The soundware manufacturer is famous for the high quality of its products and for the variety of genres that it offers. As of last year, the company started the subscription service ComposerCloud that includes the entire EastWest Gold-level catalog with over 9,000 virtual instruments and over one million sounds.
So, why doesn’t every creative content supplier have a subscription model? It’s largely a matter of data management. An application like Pro Tools or an Abobe product is relatively small when compared to the massive amount of data contained in a virtual instrument or sound library. Application companies can use "off the shelf" data management systems to deliver their product, while those same systems are not built for large volumes of data. EastWest has circumvented this limitation by studying and developing their own custom data management solution, allowing users to access their massive catalog.
Subscribers start in the Installation Center from where they can download any and all of the virtual instruments from EastWest’s catalog, and activate and save them wherever they choose. The catalog is continuously updated, so subscribers get immediate access to the latest additions and new instruments. Most of the products are data-heavy and it will take some time to download them, depending on the internet speed. However, it’s easy to pause them and continue the download at a later point. Those who don’t want to wait for the downloads can opt to buy the CCC Gold Hard-drive that comes with existing EastWest products preinstalled.
The collection of instruments and sounds in ComposerCloud is currently valued at over $12,000. But subscribers get all 51 titles with meticulously recorded samples for $29.99/month. If you opt for ComposerCloud Plus, you get the Diamond and Platinum versions of the EastWest instruments that include multiple microphone positions for an annual fee of $699. Student and teachers can take advantage of the educational subscription price of $14.99/month for seven instruments. Another nice feature: you can upgrade or cancel your subscription at any point in time, no questions asked.
Composers, producers, and arrangers in the film, game, and TV sound business will certainly benefit from ComposerCloud, and anyone who works with high-quality orchestral sounds and choirs. But ComposerCloud contains instruments for pretty much every genre, and meets the demands of most music producers whether they work in rock, pop, hip-hop, or other styles.
Musicians on a budget now have access to the internationally acclaimed instruments that may have been out of reach before. Before ComposerCloud, EastWest’s high quality wasn’t exactly cheap – buying individual instruments can set you back thousands of dollars.
"We’ve seen what’s happening," relates Doug Rogers, EastWest’s founder and multi-award winning producer. "If you can’t afford the best instruments, your composition will never sound as good as those from professional composers, and that’s a frustrating experience. This is why we decided to offer Composer Cloud at a price anyone can afford, and the gold instruments will run on any modern computer. Composer Cloud is a way to level the playing field."
You can easily do the numbers: If you look at the total value of the entire ComposerCoud offering at $12,000 and divide that amount by the monthly fee of $29.99, you could use ComposerCloud for 33 years. So, if you’re using more than just a couple of the libraries and instruments, it’s definitely worth it. Especially when you think about the new instruments that are added to the collection (most recent additions are the Hollywood Solo Instruments Harp and Cello, with Violin to be on offer within the next few weeks). With every new addition, the value of the subscription increases, but the price stays the same.
But what if you only use a number of instruments? Should you still subscribe? Of course, the answer is different for every individual situation, but having access to such a large number of different sounds and instruments is very inspiring. You will find that you try out tools that you wouldn’t have bought as individual products, and that option will greatly expand your sonic pallet. Overall, even though you don’t own the instruments, I think the monthly fee is low enough to make it worth any composer’s while. After all, you can cancel at any point in time, so you could even just use ComposerCloud for a short-term project and be done.
If you'd like to check out ComposerCloud, a free 10-day trial is available here.
Martina McConnon has been working in the music production industry all her professional life. She and her husband Brian run Music Marcom, a PR agency specialized in music technology, musical instruments, and pro audio, servicing innovators such as iZotope, Hal Leonard, EastWest, Audient, Eve Audio, and many others. She lives and works in Phoenix, AZ.