Twisted Wave Update: Don’t Use the “S” Word – Tuesday Voiceover Tech Tip

As you likely know, I’m a big fan of Twisted Wave as a creative tool for my voiceover business. It does exactly what is needed for VO workflows with little fuss. There’s no need to strip away unrelated functionality and it has deep tools under the hood – enabling automation, batch processing and more. 

I’ve owned a Twisted Wave license since early 2014. I paid $79.90 at the time and have not once been asked to pay for a version upgrade. 

Thomas Thiriez, the developer and owner of Twisted Wave, has rolled in so many significant fixes and upgrades over the years that I’ve sent a few “Thank You!” payments his way. A few other voice actors have done this as well. I don’t know of any software I use in my business which has operated for so long without additional investment. 

That honestly makes me a bit nervous. I want Thomas to succeed and continue supporting and developing Twisted Wave. While I could certainly use other software solutions (which I regularly do), working in Twisted Wave just makes me happier in a way I can’t explain. I’d rather not have to switch.

Ch-ch-ch-changes to the Twisted Wave pricing 

On Monday, when I was doing a little studio housekeeping, a message popped up for Twisted Wave version 28.7 with a minor bug fix and a few refinements for the Markers menu (which remains one of my favorite tools in the app). After updating, I saw a new message which indicated further development of Twisted Wave would continue for those who paid an annual fee. 

Yes. A “Subscription…”

Clearly, this popped up on a few other desktops as well, because within a short amount of time, reactions expanded in message threads on a popular social media platform. Many shared negative feelings about subscriptions in general. And, yeah, I get it… no one likes having to spend a little more money. 

But I think there are a few things to keep in mind.

Three things to consider about this Twisted Wave pricing change

First – your version of Twisted Wave is still going to work even if you don’t pay another dime. Though Apple might do something down the road to break functionality, version 28.7 is fully Apple Silicon compliant and works fine with everything up to the current MacOS. If you have paid for that and don’t want to invest any more money, it works.

Second – I have lost count of the number of times that Thomas has pushed out immediate fixes and updates – often for very niche issues – within hours of a problem being noted. I can think of no other software developer who consistently responds that quickly. 

Third – The subscription plan prorates each subsequent year. Thomas is giving a 20% discount the second year and a 40% discount the third year in which you maintain a subscription. By year three, you’ll be paying $60 to support someone who has a long history of responding quickly to issues, has stellar customer service, and continues to support a VO-focused tool for our business. (And if you’ve had a current license for more than a year, you qualify for an immediate discount moving forward).

Heck, I filled up my gas tank the other day and it cost about that. 

While I certainly can’t afford to throw money out in the street, I do not think that an additional $60 a year is excessive for something I use every single day. Especially if it provides the developer a bit of predictable income so they can reinforce their own business. 

Is a subscription model inherently bad?

In voiceover, we regularly negotiate a “reuse” fee allowing a client to use our voice another year. We dig in our heels when we see “in perpetuity” terms in a contract. Is it reasonable to ask for a “pay once and use forever” plan with our recording software? 

I honestly feel that software users benefit from a subscription model. With a more consistent cash flow, a developer can roll out fixes and improvements on a more regular basis. They don’t have to save the “good stuff” for the next paid version update. This has proven to be true with Adobe Audition and Avid Pro Tools. It takes the pressure off to them to create a new flashy feature that no one really needs. It is in their interest to support the needs of their subscriber base. 

As voice actors, we are all running a business. There will be ongoing service expenses for necessary resources – web hosting, email, accounting, backup systems, etc.. In terms of a tool you can’t work without, our recording and editing environment is pretty far up the list. 

I’ll gladly invest in tools which make my life easier. Twisted Wave easily qualifies for that. 

Thank you Thomas for all the support you have given to this app and the voiceover community!

Twisted Wave for Windows is now is full commercial release!

One other thing which kind of got buried by this announcement is the fact that the Twisted Wave for Windows version is now complete and available for both Windows 10 and Windows 11 OS’s.

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