Autodesk: Change their business plan

Freelancers, small shops, hobbyists, one‐man army studios, independent game makers, designers, architects, animators, grandmas and grandpas, Autodesk is making changes to it's business model that will severely impact the way you use your tools and make a living out of your work.

We understand that changes are part of life, and prices (as stocks) go up and down. The problem is that such changes are about to fundamentally disrupt ‐ for the worse ‐ the capabilities of the smaller guys to produce their artwork, refine their skills, sustain a small family, apply for better jobs and evolve on the long term. To put it simply: these changes will be a harder blow to the ones already weaker on the chain.

If you happen to have (as I do) a permanent license then you're in for a treat! The long term commitment we made with the software(s) of choice, supporting them year after year, paying for their "maintenance", no longer interests Autodesk (or any other big "modern" company). It's all about SaaS ‐ all the benefits of regular yearly/monthly payments, none of the compromises like giving the customers perpetual access to a version of a software. This is fine, is a new business model, it just needs to be fair priced and posed as an *option*. Autodesk fails on both fronts with their brand new scheme.

We ask *just* this ‐ that Autodesk review their plans with their users in mind, not just the shareholders. We get that this is how economics and stock works, but no high price at NASDAQ will save a company with not enough customers. And those very customers, sometimes converted to long time fans, are the ones who made Autodesk the world renowned software company it is today: they did that designing high rise buildings, creating the products we'll use tomorrow, animating fantastic characters, bringing dream worlds to life, in every scale imaginable ‐ sometimes from their bedrooms, or from departments of Hollywood‐class studios.

We're here trying to reach you, open a conversation, find a common ground where we can feel confident and comfortable to continue doing our trade while keeping the company and its employers happy. If not, those same customers that made you will bid you farewell.

For more info on the matter, I strongly advise to visit the following sites (paste them on a google searchbox or they will NOT work... don't ask me why):

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/moving‐to‐subscription/bd‐p/2017

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/moving‐to‐subscription/this‐is‐crappy/td‐p/6916550

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/moving‐to‐subscription/buh‐bye‐permanent‐license/m‐p/6928377/highlight/false#M324

and the awesome open letter from Kris Holland

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/open‐letter‐all‐autodesk‐permanent‐license‐holders‐kris‐holland

EDIT 1:

Be also sure to read and sign this idea from Dave Wortley :)

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/3ds‐max‐ideas/keep‐perpetual‐maintenance‐licensing/idi‐p/6970221