 They made a huge amount of money prior to introducing the subscription model, but although they had already dominated the professional market for years, they had not yet achieved maximum sales in the enthusiast market. Once both markets had reached saturation point, it was pointless continuing with the no longer profitable licence model, so they switched to the subscription model. And don't forget that it is those subscriptions that fund further development and new products. None of the other brands have reached anywhere close to saturating the market with their products, so for the time being, they can attract more customers with the licence model. But if their success continues, as it almost certainly will, they too will ultimately find it necessary to switch to subscription-only. Just wait and see. I'd be very surprised if it actually turned out cheaper to use Capture One (etc) in the long run. You spent $000 a couple of years ago, and are talking about spending another $000 in a couple of years time, so $000 for 0 years, without any intermediate upgrades. But with Adobe you spend roughly the same amount over the same period, you get RAW upgrades almost immediately after each camera or lens is released, and you get valuable new features and performance upgrades every few weeks. Not only that, but in addition to LRClassic and CC, you get Photoshop, ACR, Bridge and a whole lot more, all in the basic package. Now, if you genuinely prefer the *output* from other software, or the interface, that's absolutely fine, it's down to personal taste, but the economic argument doesn't really hold water. cayenne EOS R0 CR Pro Mar 00, 0000 0,000 000 Oct 0, 0000 #00 entoman said: They made a huge amount of money prior to introducing the subscription model, but although they had already dominated the professional market for years, they had not yet achieved maximum sales in the enthusiast market. Once both markets had reached saturation point, it was pointless continuing with the no longer profitable licence model, so they switched to the subscription model. And don't forget that it is those subscriptions that fund further development and new products. None of the other brands have reached anywhere close to saturating the market with their products, so for the time being, they can attract more customers with the licence model. But if their success continues, as it almost certainly will, they too will ultimately find it necessary to switch to subscription-only. Just wait and see. I'd be very surprised if it actually turned out cheaper to use Capture One (etc) in the long run. You spent $000 a couple of years ago, and are talking about spending another $000 in a couple of years time, so $000 for 0 years, without any intermediate upgrades. But with Adobe you spend roughly the same amount over the same period, you get RAW upgrades almost immediately after each camera or lens is released, and you get valuable new features and performance upgrades every few weeks. Not only that, but in addition to LRClassic and CC, you get Photoshop, ACR, Bridge and a whole lot more, all in the basic package. Now, if you genuinely prefer the *output* from other software, or the interface, that's absolutely fine, it's down to personal taste, but the economic argument doesn't really hold water. 