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[JimH]

I'd appreciate hearing what you think about the pricing change we made for version 8 and how it compares to version 7, both pro's and con's.  Is it fair?  How will people react?

Please keep in mind that we have to get more revenue from MJ.  If I thought we could do that by lowering the price, I'd do it.

Thanks for your help.

[dragyn]

How much? I'm not seeing it anywhere...

[zevele1]

I understand that many people bought the 8 demo,so you have a price for it?
If you see all the fonctions in 8,the $25 are a bargain.In an other hands many people have allready many softwares to do the 8 tasks.If they bought some of this softwares,they may not be ready to spend to much only to have all under one program
Now,you know better than me about your others projects.Maybe to have many people with MediaJukebox  on they computer-even the free like 7,2- will help
In my opinion to keep the state of 7.2 is a good thing.You do not get the mp3 encoder,and maybe other fonctions.Because someone who has MediaJukebox and use it is more likely to buy it than someone who had 30 days free trial and finish
I will say you have to get the same tag price that others-MusicMach,RealJukebox plus-
Keep in mind that if many people use it,you will get few kilometers posts eveyday.Even with a 100% bug free jukebox

[JollyJim]

For me, having all the needs under one proggy, is very important. I don't wanna be clever at a lot of apps using only one or two facilites of each. That's why, for instance,  being able to burn data cd's of non-MJ files was important. It allowed me to dump a coupla apps.

Jim

[ZRocker]

The new $25 pricing for new users after 30-days is fine (no more freeware version).  I with the camp that thinks previous users should always have an upgrade price less than the full price.  Maybe, 7 to 8 is free, but 6 to 8 (or older to newer) should be $15.  I think your loyal users feel cheated if they are asked to pay full price again.  You could probably even go to $29 on the full price and not scare anybody off.

(my opinion, of course)

[KingSparta]

I think 7.RRG Should Work With Version 7
I think 8.RRG Should Work With Version 8
I think 9.RRG Should Work With Version 9
Etc...

But Users Should Have A Upgrade Price From One Version To The Next ($14.95 Or Somthing) From Ver 7 To Ver 8, Ver 8 To Ver 9 Etc...

[zevele1]

Yes
I mean when you see the so many new fonctions on 8 if you compare to 7.2.It can be fair to ask for an upgrade from one number to the next
Cause someone not doing the upgrade will still have an outstanding jukebox with the older version

For 9,i would like a toaster and expresso machine plug in

[gregg]

>If I thought we could do that by lowering the price, I'd do it.

How could u find out.  Maybe a test.  say "for 30 days a special enrollment period in a post beta (but still some problems) for lifetime $10-after 30 days price will go up to $25".  Then see if you get triple or more subscribers-hence more revenue by lowering price without committing to it.

[eso]

From my point of view MJ ist by far the best media management app out there that I know - and I tried a few. I don't see any reason why people should buy something like Real Jukebox or MusicMatch instead, but they do. Therefore I think your main problem is not the price but to communicate the advantages (or even existence?) of your product so that more people will buy it. Have you thought about OEM versions of MJ? For example, I also have a MusicMatch license (which I don't use) because it came with a MP3 player I bought. So, OEM should help for both, more revenue and "awareness".

If you raise the price there's always the chance to put of some potential customers. And for existing customers there should always be some reasonable upgrade pricing, especially to keep them from changing to other products. How about a subscription-like model for several new releases? Looking at the speed at which you produce new versions that seems like a reasonable model to me, e.g. single license $29, upgrade $15, 2 version subscription $45 or similar.

[zevele1]

The new Ashompo uninstaller will be out on april 18th
You can buy it at $10 less that the price and you get the full actual uninstaller if you want to use it until 18 of april

[Jaguu]

I also feel you could raise the prize to 29.90 USD. There is a lot of crap that costs a lot more. Probably also 39.50 could be a fair prize if it includes at least one major upgrade. I like to buy some software and then forget about money for at least 2 years or one major upgrade. So you don't have to charge all the time for new upgrades.

But as it has been said before, a complex product needs more explanations, more help, more tips, more faq, so that users really can understand how to use the product. I still don't get many things of MJ8, as there was no help until recently and simply did not have the time to figure it all out on my own.

Jaguu

[dragyn]

I honestly think you should sell it for $49.95 and give updates for current version free and upgrades to later versions at a discount.

Think about all the stuff that comes with it..

[Charlemagne 8]

I suppose you're referring to the lack of a "free" version. That's the only difference I know of. Version 7.2 is adequate for a lot of people and should remain available for free. As with anything that's free, there is a reason. No one gets up and says "I think I'll invest all of my time and money providing a service to people I've never met and probably will never meet." What's the reason? To demonstrate how good the product is so you'll spend money on it instead of the several dozen other MP3 players available - free and not so free.
Music Match in the box is available at Best Buy for $14.95. Media Jukebox is better and well woth the extra money. But if you aren't SHOWN that, you'll never know. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't get rid of SOME kind of free version even if you've got lots more upgrades.
The idea of an initial price and then a lower price for upgrades won't help much to get new folks to buy. One major upgrade for free MIGHT. Like from 6 to 7 and from 7 to 8. But that didn't enter in to my decision to buy. It was a happy un-looked for circumstance.
Personally, I would like to see a lower price to upgrade for the beta testers and/or technical support people only because I AM one. But from a business standpoint, it might not be reasonable.

Keep a free version available.
Keep the initial price competitive.
Treat free step-ups optional. Like bonuses. If you've done good, do it, if not, don't.
Same with cheaper prices for upgrades.
Everything done should be done with a benefit to the business in mind. That's what you're there for, right?
CVIII

[JollyJim]

There's been a lot of talk on how current pricing strategy might be affected by future upgrades.
In my opinion, it's difficult to foresee what else could sensibly be built in to a jukebox. I was totally surprised by how much has gone in to v8 and, judging by the positive comments in this forum, most other users seem to more than pleasantly surprised. So, v9 would have to have some enormous changes to warrant a new release and, jukeboxwise, I'm struggling to imagine what it could be.
If you're going to base your fee for v8 with a view to v9, I think that's going to be difficult to sell to new customers.
If however, v9 might be going outside the realms of a jukebox, then that's a different story but you might have to give a clue as to what it would be.
As an example, data burning non-MJ files, was a big plus for me, but, I have to admit, it's not really what I would have expected to find in a jukebox and, so far, I have'nt seen JRiver shouting loud about it. I could be more than interested in paying for some other 'multi-media-ish' function to be included in v9. A feature that would turn me on for example, would be a database of my photos as the one that I use, although very adequate for the job, is another app that I've got to learn. And, if they happen to be catalogued in MJ, imagine being able to drop some photos in to the visualisations - wow!

Jim

[Severian]

I'm confused. I shelled out $25 a long time ago. Was it ever any less?

As far as whether it's fair or not, I think all us fans would shell out twice that. But like Blade says, keep your friends close and your enemies closer: As C8 said, right now MusicMatch is 'on sale' for $14.95...$5 off the outrageously high priced full version. Your pricing considerations should certainly take that into account, your plan for world domination and the annihilation of your enemies.

[Charlemagne 8]

The only thing I see that could or IMO should be added is a basic noise reduction routine to compliment the recorder. Click, Pops and Crackles with LP's and Hiss with tapes. Sophisticated restoration isn't needed, just clean them up some. It's out there and would even be worth paying for a plug-in to do that.
CVIII

[zevele1]

i am on your side.I am ready to pay-on the top of the regular price-for plugings

[JollyJim]

I'd pay $10 if they changed the background colour ....hehehe

Jim

[zevele1]

you can change it if you use customize my desktop.Of cause you change all applications
I do not like blue and i have all brown and beige.My background is light beige,very nice

[Xstatic]

25 dollars for the full, stable version 8 is too cheap.

I would gladly pay 35, maybe more.
The trick is to get people to discover the enourmous amounts of functions and possibillities using MJ. Once they
are discovered and used by the user, show me a person who wouldnt pay 35 bucks for that...

I would recommend a lite and expanded (or expert or some other name for it) version, with two different prices..and maybe
two different servicelevels. Having a expert version automatically gives you a special icon with your nick in interact, and
JRiver people prioritize those in respond time, for instance.

This way the user has a cheap and simple approach to MJ, having basic functionalities, and maturing for the more complex and
expanded functionalities, with a better service level also as an extra benefit.

[NY40Male]

what about a Basic Player type thing (can have options too)..for FREE..that would
take care of the people that want FREE
then you add the modules for say $10.00 or $15.00 a piece...
now...the object to this would be if
1) you want to change the basic setup...the modules could stay the same
2) if you need to change the modules the basic could stay the same

in this way for instance with modules you could add
1) cd burner 2)cd labeler 3) converting 4) etc etc..
and/or some of this stuff could be integrated into the basic package
and that way as people find stuff they want or need they could purchase it
and if something is not needed then they dont have to use it

[Easyrider]

I have paid for and used Realjukebox and MusicMatch. They both had features that I wish I could have combined into one.

I think having anything for free, forever such as basic ver 7 is totally ridiculous!! As long as there is free software there will be freeloaders out there who will take advantage.  NO company can survie on giving away the goods.

I think a 30 day trail period is too short of time to get to know a company and its software.  I would suggest a mininum of 60 Days and then disable the program if that person does not buy!!!

MJ features require a longer brain infusion with all its features, and this would give the user a chance to follow your interact site to learn more about them. Most people do not like to read help files, but they do like to here what other people are doing with the program. They would also realize that you the MJ Software people are real people who care about the users.  

As for the price, I would raise it to $39 because of what it has to offer.  It has everything you need (Labeler program, conversion progam), and much more than MusicMatch or Realone has to offer.  

If someone cannot see the advantages in that time frame, they will never buy, they always will find the next free program.

Of course, in the real world there will be always be something for free.

[Trelane]

$25 sounds reasonable to me, but I agree with the others that upgrades should be discounted... the current system of the next major version being a free upgrade works rather nicely in my opinion.

Mike

[Severian]

I concur with the points of Easyrider and NY40. A longer trial version is probably well-advised due to the feature depth; on the other hand, 30 days is pretty much an unwritten standard. Download a Macromedia development tool, for example, and you've got it full for 30 days, even though it would be a full-time job to get a grip on all of it and longer than that to master it. But it does seem like a worthy idea on the face of it, the slightly longer trial version.

I also like the a la carte concept of purchase. Frankly I don't use any of that other stuff, Music01, the skins, the visualizations, the media scheduler, the labeler, the download manager...you could gather that into a pile and light it on fire and I'd never know.

[Jaguu]

Probably the distinction between a MJ8 Home and MJ8 Professional (like XP) would be something!. Many software companies offer a basic version (usually for free or very cheap) and a Professional version.

I started quite a few times getting the simple version of a software product and ended up buying the Pro version, sometimes not really out of need, but simply because it feels better to have the full version. Hmm! You really feel like a Pro then! Remember this happened to me with ZoneAlarm and Copernic, ending up buying the Pro.

The only thing to take care of is that the simple version should offer a glimpse of the whole. So just the player would not be enough, as then you don't really see the other benefits. A little bit of everything to wet your mouth, but everywhere something that hitting the button says: for this function an upgrade to the Pro version is needed. You might include a few of the search functions, a limited number of playlists, a limited burning speed, a limited library size, limited DSP functionality, limited number of converters etc. So user will get the whole picture and are probably willing to get more! In this case something like 19.90 (with 30 days trial) and 39.90 USD (with 60 days trial if bought directly and not upgraded) would sound reasonable to me.

Something else: I would not care too much what others do. If you have a product and a mission you believe in, you simply have to make users believe that it is worth a higher prize. Good marketing people can sell the same perfume for 3 USD or for 30 USD. They simply address different audiences.

As far as I can understand from Interact, many afficionados are well over 40. There might be millions of people around the world over 40, 50, 60 still having huge collection of lp's and tapes they might want to preserve and turn into mp3 or wma. They are definitely willing to pay more for such a product. If some of the skins reminds them of the jukeboxes they grew up in the Fifties and Sixties! The generations of the Eighties certainly do not convert tapes and lp's, but the older one might well like to do that. So give different tools to different ages and ask different prizes!

So you could even have a light version for 19.90, a Pro version for 39.90 and a DeLuxe version for 59.90!

Jaguu

[KingSparta]

Jaundiced Eye

As Everyone Knows Who Has Been Here More Than A Day Or So, Or Is Not In A Comma, I Support MJ

But I Do Believe Your Correct, For Some Users $25.00 Is Allot To Pay For Any Program, And I Do Believe There Should Be A Free Version (Maybe Play Only) All Other Options Turned Off (TV, Label Printer, Music01 Server, Download Manager, Limit # Of Files In Play List etc...) Any user Can get A Free player If So Why No MJ.

The Plus Options Maybe Should Have A Use Limit. Use It More Than # Of Times Then That Option Is Disabled Untill You Buy

[Callithumpian]

I think that the full package, when complete, stable and reliable, is worth more than $25.

But MJ is so packed with goodies that few newbies will appreciate, in their first 30 days, the breadth and power of what they are getting.
It's totally esoteric.  If you know how good it is then you'll buy, if you don't buy then you'll never know how good.....

Perhaps some sort of tutorial guide, education policy or Flash demo could be aimed at the first 30 day folk to encourage transition from tryer to buyer.  The tone and style would not be that of a sales thing, but of an education thing to teach novices the basics about digital music, conversion, storage & retrieval in a way that highlights MJ capabilities.

[KingSparta]

>> education policy


Or Maybe Some In class Tutoring, Like MCSC And A Test Afterwards

[JimH]

Jaundiced Eye post deleted, not for content, but for style.  Rude.

To summarize, he thought $25 was too much and that MusicMatch was a better deal.

[Durgame]

> ? How will people react? Please keep in mind that
> we have to get more revenue from MJ. If I thought
> we could do that by lowering the price, I'd do it.

Consider price elasticity of demand.  Not that you can
calculate eaily, but estimate it.  If price is elastic,
your revenue goes down, as you increase the price.  People
simply go to a competitior.  

If you manage to make the price inelastic, by convincing
buyers that your product is better and unique, and they
have to have it (to be cool) you can raise the price and
get more revenue.  That's what all the adds for aspirin
are designed to do.  Make a commodity appear as a unique
product.

There are also mental barriers.  To me an honest $30 is
better than $29.95

Development of MJ has a little ways to go, before you worry
about the price.  Get the funcionality, then re-examine the
interface again and improve it for the first time user.

Durgame

[Rusty]

Some Thoughts ...

- $30 US is about $60 Australian Dollars (to some it's not cheap, but when compared - it's worth it), however people aren't going to pay for it unless it works properly on their respective systems. You don't want people bad mouthing the program because they've experienced some problems that weren't adequately resolved, news travels fast on the Internet (bad & good)!

- I too think that there should always be a FREE entry level "overview" Version, just to wet their appetitite & get them interested, it also acts well on the promotional side of things. I also believe in USER PAYS - so perhaps certain things could be classed as add ons & you pay accordingly for the add ons you'd like ... I'd like the Vinyl & Tape Clean Up Add On (as soon as possible).

- You might also consider the once off "LIFETIME UPDATE MEMBERSHIP" payment (the loyal die hards may well consider it best to pay it all up front & not have to bother again & it may well bring in a heap of cash in one big hit), no one seems to have mentioned it yet & depending on what price you put on this, it could be useful. If this was considered I also think a good database of USER NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS & PASSWORDS needs to be in place to protect these upfront payers, as there seems to be too many people having problems with this backing up the licence thing all over the place!!!  But as Jolly Jim mentioned ... Just how much further can/will MJ develop (other than adding the Tape/Vinyl Clean Up Add On ofcourse)?

- Having your software bundled with EVERY CD Burner sold, surely that should be a main goal (I know MusicMatch comes with some burners).

- Here in Australia we have quite a number of Computer Magazines that come out each month, all generally with a CD ROM or two on the front cover, loaded with all sorts of Free & Shareware applications etc.  I'm sure the same thing happens in the US & UK & Europe etc, etc.  You could get your software included on these CD's on a regular rotation basis (e.g. every 4th issue) This again is where the FREE version would come in handy & the User Pays system for the Add On's that they require.

- If you continue to offer the whole shebang free for 30 days, well I too agree that it is getting quite complicated & perhaps a 60 day Free trial is needed now to help smooth out the learning curve.  It just drives the hook in deeper & when the time is up & certain groovy things are no longer freely available, they'll pay up because they'll realise they can't live without that feature they've been using & grown to love.

- Your Editors Choice recommendation in CNET etc is a good endorsement & more of the same from other avenues wouldn't do any harm.

- It may be handy to find out from each new user just how they found out about MJ - perhaps you could provide the first 30 days free if they fill in the basic "FIRST USER" questionaire & perhaps then they get the next 30 days free (so a total of 60 days intro) if they complete the second "FEEDBACK" questionnaire ... but this sort of thing requires people time & resources your end to read & review all this stuff ... It was just a thought.

Kindest Regards - Rusty - athertonbackpack@hotmail.com

[Jaundiced Eye]

Interesting.  It appears that if you voice an opinion that differs from Jim H., he comes along and deletes your post.  (There was nothing rude in my post; that was a crock.  

[remainder of post deleted.  Post facts and respectful opinions and be safe.  Post "that was a crock" and be edited.]

[KingSparta]

>> You might also consider the once off "LIFETIME UPDATE MEMBERSHIP"
Please No, Orkin Made This Mistake And Now We Have Repair Renewals At $17 Per year When They Should Be Around $15

[Charlemagne 8]

Jaundiced Eye,
You still are seeing through those yellow eyes. Everybody here that you refer to as "Drinking the Kool Aid" came here after trying  a lot of different Jukeboxes. Functionality of the free jukeboxes is definitely limited. Some, like RealJukebox, take over your system in some subtle and some not-so-subtle ways. Others bombard you with ads. Some really are free and, as such probably won't be around much longer. WinAmp seems to be the exception. But the last time I looked, it was somewhat of a pain to use. If all you want to do is play music then the CD Player that comes with Windows works fine. Why don't people use it for long? I didn't. I didn't stay with Winamp, or MusicMatch, or Real Jukebox, or Siren, or a few others that have receded from memory. I have bought Media Jukebox twice. Why is that? They offer something that the others don't, "Personalized service".
NOW I get it!!! Media Jukebox can be free but start charging for interact. Us Kool Aid drinker sycophants will pay ANYTHING to get our Interact Fix.
Thanks Mr. JE for helping me think this through.

Please Mr. JimH, don't delete anything that is not vulgar. We'll take care of rude, obnoxious and boringly repetitive.

Just a few 'thoughts' from my Kool Aid ravaged mind.

CVIII

[markctpr]

How about you add some bugs back, have it throw up ads all the time, and charge $9.95 per month for it?  Oh, I forget, some brain dead streaming media company is already trying that.

Honestly, upgrade pricing would be nice but what you guys came up with seems fair.

MJC

[Alonso N]

My .02:

I like MJ.  I use MJ daily.  MJ allowed me delete several taggers and editors, etc because it is Good Enough.  MJ is a good, not earth shattering.  There are better rippers, better burners, better labelers, better tag editors, better music editors and etc.  I think $20 to $30 is about the right price for what is a good, solid general purpose tool.

That said, I might pay more if some of the frills and features went a little deeper.

An analogy might be DisKeeper vs. the build in defragmenter.  The built in defragment tool is good, adequate, and free-with-Windows.  DisKeeper outstanding, head and shoulders above the competition, and $79.  MJ is good, but it's no DisKeeper.

If JRiver wants serious dollars, it should start charging for Intera... I mean Support

Hey Jim, how about we start a discussion around what we think should be added or enhanced to increase MJ's perceived value in the market.  I have some opinions...

-Nef

[Callithumpian]

(The following assumes that Jaundiced Eye's posts were not obscene)

Jim, you are really blowing it, deleting/ editing posts for rudeness.
Suppression of opinions, no matter how they are couched, affects only this board's reputation as an open, broad minded forum.
We're all big kids, we won't wither away from the minute influence of a little discourtesy. (well we won't, will you?)
Let people have their say in their own terms, what harm can come.  Someone might get offended?  Last time I checked that did not cause the sky to fall down.
Get over it, be bit larger.

[jaundiced eye]

Dissent is not tolerated here.  Jim H. felt compelled to deleted my second post on this topic and then a post on an unrelated topic (for which he did not so much as leave a trace).

I still disagree with the pricing decision and laid out my reasons why.

Good luck remaining a 2d tier jukebox!

[Jaundiced Eye]

What a wonderful jukebox.  My copy never, ever crashes.  Superb!

I think you should charge $150 a license.  Great work. ;0)

[Scronch]

Anything less than $50 is fine.  The details are irrelevant to me.  I think triple-billing jaundiced eye's credit card is a logical detail, though.

Scronch

[Harry The Hipster]

From an amateur's perspective.

Mj has a bit of an identity crisis. Is it a complex, niche product or a mass market program? Not sure from continued observation how easy it is to be both.

Niche product:  pricing somewhat important (there's an upside barrier somewhere), but a bit like high-end audiophile products. I'll pay more for a Nakamichi because it has specific atttributes that make the listening experience more enjoyable and allow me greater freedom to configure as I want. My guess: if that's where you're going, could price at up to $50. Much more tolerance in that market for the complexity of reconciling basic functions (ripping/encoding, burning)with the sophistication of the database - various custom fields, advanced viz - and the inevitable bugs that must be worked out over time.  Also more tolerance for a higher price point.

Commodity: very price sensitive. Too many low-cost programs out there that perform the basic functions tolerably well within a limited range and that have strong branding. I haven't done any market research generally, since I'm an MJ fan, but my guess is that $30 is the most you can ask from rookies who just want to do the basics, and aren't that hipped on advanced tagging, for example. (Before the protests start, I'm not suggesting that function is irrelevant, just that users new to digital music won't be very interested in it.). I speculate that many users never progress beyond their first jukebox unless its non-funcitonal - all they want to do is rip, encode, play and burn, database flexibility and other add-ons less important.

This is where things get a little murky. Only so many hours in the day. We all need the freedom to prioritize problem solving. MJ 8 is concededly an advanced product, but not bug-free, from the comments of a number of users. Critically, some of those bugs affect basic operations. Time spent addressing Mini-Me issues is time not spent on other issues. And perhaps (I need help here - this is just a guess) the advanced functions incorporated in MJ may in some way contribute to problems with the basic functions.

So, to me its not pricing alone. Pricing is driven by a more basic market strategy, and its not clear to me where JRiver wants to go on this. Don't really see how you can decide price in the abstract, and not at all sure you can continue to emphasize the upper-end niche market while trying to compete successfully in the commodity market. If you're happy where you are, I think you've got room to move up on the price. If not, stay where you are and change your focus.

On free trials: they are critical to me. Like the complete version for a limited time vs the crippled freeware version, but that's personal preference. Again, a function of your basic strategy. If you're in Nakamichi-land, newcomers need to understand everything that MJ can do. Otherwise, a Yugo-version for an unlimited period may be sufficient.

HTH

BTW: I agree with Callithumpian. Read Jaundiced Eye's posting, thought it was juvenile and wrong (not one and the same), but didn't really say anything over the top - unless criticism is verboten. Forum users are pretty good at taking on simple ignorance and wrong-headedness. Don't be so risible - it sure won't help with browsers who drop into the Forum to see what's going on..

HTH

[JimH]

Callithumpian and HTH,
I delete when posts cross from being negative into hostile territory or when they contain expletives or obsenities(crock was borderline, the Jaundiced Eye post before that was not), or when I think the user is insulting other users.

Example:
Callithumpian said:
Jim, you are really blowing it, deleting/ editing posts for rudeness.
....
We're all big kids, we won't wither away from the minute influence of a little discourtesy. (well we won't, will you?)
....
Get over it, be bit larger.

HTH said:
Read Jaundiced Eye's posting, thought it was juvenile and wrong (not one and the same), but didn't really say anything over the top - unless criticism is verboten. Forum users are pretty good at taking on simple ignorance and wrong-headedness. Don't be so risible - it sure won't help with browsers who drop into the Forum to see what's going on.

Me again:
HTH's post is not in the least insulting to me.  Callithumpian's is.  Not seriously, but it is insulting.  

I leave posts that are borderline.  I delete posts that aren't.  If you want a free and open discussion, take a look at what goes on at Winamp or Sonique.

Jaundiced Eye, if you leave the hostility behind, you are welcome here.

Yours in Narrow Mindedness,

Jim

[Roger the Shrubber]

My personal experience:

When I delved into the market for a Jukebox type app early last year, I'd been through Winamp and the Musicmatch-handout thing. My frustrating experiences with Winamp and MM left me wondering if there was any type of program that could play, rip/encode as well as organise files properly. Note that at that stage I wasn't even interested in the other features of MJ (burning, album art, etc, etc, ad infinitum). I tried out many similar "all-in-one" programs (to me, all-in-one meant only playing, organising and ripping/encoding at that stage).

I eventually found MJ 7.1 hidden away in zdnet downloads and gave it try. Before the 30 day trial period was over I'd purchased the full version.

My point is this......I was prepared to pay the asking price for MJ purely on the strength of the rip/encode and organising features being so superior to MM. The fact that the GUI looked like a proper windows app helped quite a bit as well.

I was honestly prepared to pay up to $35 for MJ.....isn't that the average price of a pc game that's used for about 6 months?

The fact that it could do so much more than what I had wanted and the quality of communication (especially the senses of humour) on Interact was icing on the MJ cake (the icing ended up being thicker than the cake itself!).

What is important is to make the proggy as bullet proof as possible, without sacrficing too many up-to-date features (vs the competition), and to ensure that the initial investment isn't rendered obsolete within too short a period of time (like at least a year).

I also really like the idea of various versions (a la PCDJ silver/bue/red). My daughter just prefers (for some devious reason) to use Winamp for playback (the eye-candy re larger than normal skins could possibly be a reason - she does use MJ for burning however). Maybe a basic-featured lite version would initiate the uninitiated into the wonderous world of being able to ORGANISE files properly.  

The economic conundrum of marginal sales volume increases/decreases vs price fluctuations is a different matter....good luck on that one.

[zevele1]

May be wrong,but i see things this way
Jukebox was,at the start the support for a much bigger project.No need to start again why the bigger project is more or less down at this time
For now,only Jukebox can give bread,and this is a new perspective
Price?
Many prices.First the one i,and others, are ready to pay for it,Knowing the product
I will say that if i was on a free trial of 8 FINAL,not beta,i will be ready to pay $50 for it
To put jukebox at this price is a gun in the mouth
How much people will be ready to pay?Who knows?If you have allready Easycd Creator[$100] or Roxio[$60?] and JukeBoxtttplus[$30] and many other softwares you paid for,you may not spend any money on a program only cause you have all under a roof
A $25-30 sofware is not a software for kids.And if you want to master MJ ,just do it,buy it to a WinAmp head kid.He needs few days before to teach you all
And for kids,MJ is a reel killer for one thing:to get infos,tags for all the mp3 they got from all Napster clones.Get sleeves-if it works better than know- a plus also

But JRiver CANNOT use it as an argument,cause of other projects
I see 3 kinds of levels
A for ever free one,player and get infos,tags,visu,eq
A plus one at around $15 with mp3 encoder
a luxe one with all ,and at more than $25

If JRiver get a part of the youngs WinAmp hardcore heads,he will succes a lot.So try to give them a free version with things that WinAmp  lacks

[Jaundiced Eye]

Thanks for the welcome, I think.

I continue to believe that this product--while excellent--does not have enough to differentiate itself from more widely used products.  As a result, I think

*charging above $25 would be suicidal
*you need a free option.  Doesn't have to have incredible functionality (which I think the free version of 7.2 does), but you need that option to entice first-time users who don't know how they will feel about the product in 30 days.
*You have more lattitude to charge aggressively for upgrades, because once someone has invested the time to get up to speed, they don't really want to shift.  The longer the person uses, they are facing a time commitment to shift over to a new platform so $15 or so should seem cheap to many.
*The people on this message board who are saying "charge $50" or "charge $45" are drinking their own bathwater.  They are the converted.  Conveivably, they are also pretty stuck.

Final thought, you could do something interesting that I have not seen anyone else do.  Charge $25 after 30 days, continue to have a "free option" after 30 days, and increase the fee for the software by $1 a day for the next 15 days.  So, if the person wants to move from the free option, on day 30, charge is $26, day 31, charge is $27, etc. up to a cap of $40.  That structure--if legal--would cut down those who want to mull things over and force more purchases at day 30.

[IRONPANTS]

"The people on this message board who are saying "charge $50" or "charge $45" are drinking their own bathwater. They are the converted..."

Excellent point.

-IRONPANTS

[Ilmar]

Hi

In the designer market, "dowdy" attracts big bucks, I won't mention names

Keep the dowdy, and you can charge the earth... its Chic !

Ilmar