Hi, I have just realised my Sibelius Ultimate, Perpetual Licence 3-year package to include updates expired in February 2023.
I have been using the software very little, hence had not really been aware of the lack of recent updates.
More curiously, I had no email reminder about the approaching expiry date, otherwise I would likely have attended to renewal before such date.
I am not sure what this means, or what I have now missed out on.
I understand, if my package had still been active, I would have been automatically transferred to "Sibelius Artist" since my licence is Perpetual. Or do I still qualify for Sibelius Artist if I pay again?
The 3-year package I took out in Feb. 2020 was with a re-seller who still had in stock the packages that were non-subscription and which seemed preferable, since I have the Perpetual Licence. I wanted to steer clear of a subscription.
My current software still works, but I am conscious that, as a Mac user, things become out of date and sometimes incompatible fairly quickly.
I have in fact tried to buy a new 3-year package via Avid just now, but it is not letting me buy it as a one-off – it is demanding of me that I "store my payment details" and it is calling the purchase a "subscription"!
Those who know about the subscription and non-subscription alternatives discussed a few years ago will, I hope, understand what I am driving at!
So, my essential questions are, am I now forced into the subscription path if I want to pay for Sibelius Ultimate again? And what exactly is "Sibelius Artist"?
As always, I am grateful for any clarification in this. Many thanks, in advance!
PS My Google account is also warning of a breach of security in Sibelius/Avid some months ago and insists I change the password for my account. This might be another cause for concern if Avid wants to store my credit card and their security is not sufficiently effective. I have experienced fraud on my card which was stored (without my permission) in another American website.
PPS The computer and OSX information which may be showing with this post are out of date. Sorry if they are still showing (I had deleted them without success, if so).
The word "subscription" can have two meanings, depending on context.
When speaking about licences for Sibelius, there are two types: "Perpetual", and "Subscription".
When speaking about credit card accounts, "Subscription" means any automatically recurring payment in the banking system.
The Sibelius "Perpetual" licence comes with a "Support and Update Plan" which is time-limited (1 year or 3 years long). If the "Support and Update Plan" is on automatic renewal (which such Plans purchased from Avid will be by default, but not such Plans purchased from resellers), then that payment for the "Support and Update Plan" will be regarded as a "Subscription" by banks in credit-card speak. Thus it is possible to see the word "Subscription" used when the Sibelius licence is "Perpetual".
Yes, the Avid web store requires to store your credit card details, so that it can automatically renew the "Support and Update Plan" before the current one expires. This is an example of a credit-card "Subscription".
However, you should not try to re-purchase a new 3-year package for Sibelius. You should instead take the "Get current" offer for re-instating the "Support and Update Plan" for your current Perpetual Licence. If you sign in to your "My Avid" account at http://my.avid.com/products then you should see that offer available to you now, under the section for "Sibelius Ultimate". This is NOT a conversion to a "Subscription Licence".
But, yes, Avid will want to retain your credit-card details for you to make that purchase.
"Sibelius Artist" has nothing to do with this issue, and I think your information about it is mistaken. There is no way in which a Sibelius Ultimate licence will convert to a Sibelius Artist licence.
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Sibelius 2023.11.1/7.5.1/7.1.3/6.2/5.2.5, PhotoScore Ult 2020.1, Windows 10 64-bit 16GB. Desktop, and Microsoft Surface Book.
Where the last bit of confusion may be coming from is that is you have an actual Subscription, and not a Perpetual License, and you let the Subscription expire, then your version of Sibelius Ultimate or Artist will revert to Sibelius First, which is the very limited free version.
An expired Support and Update Plan for a Perpetual License will leave you in the last version of Ultimate (or Artist) you had installed before the support plan expired. At that point you cannot get a more recent version unless you pay for something.
In theory, if you do not need or want the most recent version of Ultimate right now, you could wait to take the "Get current" offer until you do need or want it. In the past, though, Sibelius has done weird things, where the only way to upgrade to a newer version was to switch over to an actual Subscription, and give up your Perpetual License. Currently this is not required, but Avid has a new owner, so who know what the future brings?
I would recommend following Robin's advice, and get current, and leave your credit card with Sibelius to auto-update your support plan. This is really the only model that keeps you current and ensures that nothing weird will happen to your account the next time you want to run Sibelius, especially, as you mentioned, when you are on a Mac OS.
Thank you very much for the very detailed replies. I have just been trying to attend to this and renew my Support and Update Plan for another three years. I am not finding the "Get Current" offer under Products within my Avid account - screenshot attached.
If I do a search (within my account) for "Support and Update Plan", I get no results, and in fact the screen remains static.
Any suggestions on this, please?
I note the plan expired in Feb 2023, though the Perpetual Licence is still active (as it is supposed to be).
If I look under the general Avid Offers for Sibelius (screenshot titled "Avid Offers") on the Avid website, I don't think I see what I need to be looking for. There is an option to "upgrade" rather than "renew", and only the 1-year plan is mentioned, rather than the 3-year plan which I would like to have.
The above "upgrade" is specifically for users whose plan has lapsed/expired.
I am not sure how to proceed.
Thanks in advance for any further advice, if you have any.
The place to look is in your "My Avid" web account at http://my.avid.com/products Expand the entry for "Sibelius", and you might see the "Get Current" offer priced there. Possibly there is a pull-down selection for the alternative 3-year price.
Show us a screen-shot of the Sibelius entry in your "My Avid" web account.
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Sibelius 2023.11.1/7.5.1/7.1.3/6.2/5.2.5, PhotoScore Ult 2020.1, Windows 10 64-bit 16GB. Desktop, and Microsoft Surface Book.
Thanks, Robin, This is clear now. Mea culpa for not realising Avid Link is separate from my "My Avid" account.
I have successfully bought the new three year plan, thanks to your directions. Screenshot attached of the "current offer".
Now, back to Avid Link...
To get things working again, I assume I now need to press the "Deactivate" button for the license that expired in Feb 2023 (which is now marked as "annual") at which point the "Use Licence" button (with a new Activation ID) will cease to be greyed out and can be pressed for the "new" licence (which is marked as Perpetual)?
Is that all that remains to be done?
Otherwise my Sibelius program is still not recognising the stuff I have just bought.
Please show us screen-shots of the application "Avid Link":
1. on its "Products" page;
2. on its "License" page for Sibelius: to get there from the "Products" page, on the row for Sibelius, pull down the menu from the right-hand end, and select "License": in the License page, expand the details of each licence so that we can see expiry dates for each licence.
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Sibelius 2023.11.1/7.5.1/7.1.3/6.2/5.2.5, PhotoScore Ult 2020.1, Windows 10 64-bit 16GB. Desktop, and Microsoft Surface Book.
The screen-shot shows that Sibelius has been activated with a licence that expired in 2023.
You need to click "DEACTIVATE" for the licence that expired 11/02/2023;
then click "USE LICENSE" for the licence that will expire 03//03/2027.
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Sibelius 2023.11.1/7.5.1/7.1.3/6.2/5.2.5, PhotoScore Ult 2020.1, Windows 10 64-bit 16GB. Desktop, and Microsoft Surface Book.
That is actually what I thought should be done, but it has been reassuring to have your supervision and advice.
I can confirm the licence is now active and have launched Sibelius and it is now working without the usual cryptic (but unclear) messages of the last few months.
Thankyou so much for your help and perseverance on this matter, Robin.
Screenshot 2024-04-22 at 18.57.23.png