How not to sell your software

[thatcrazycajun]

Was going to give Band In A Box a try, based on recommendations from my f-list and elsewhere. Then I found out the cheapest current version the publisher offers is priced at almost $100 for new users, and their trial version is both crippleware AND time-limited (I could live with one or the other, but using both at once seems to bespeak a basic distrust of one's users). It doesn't even let you try out any of the key notation and composition features; it's a "play only" demo, which basically makes it a glorified WinAmp.

I'm not sure I want to deal with these people, even on a 30-day-money-back-guarantee basis, if they're going to insist that I fork over the full price in advance just to test the very features that make the program desirable. Am I being unreasonable? And can anyone recommend a cheaper and/or less obnoxiously marketed alternative, for Windows or Mac, that is comparable in features and performance?

(Memo to PGMusic and all similarly-minded software developers, for all platforms: If freakin' Adobe and Microsoft can lose billions more in profits than you ever dreamed of to piracy and still offer full-featured, time-limited demos, why in Gordon Moore's sainted name can't you? Crippleware demos do NOT endear you to potential new users.)

Comments

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

I use Melody Assistant for composing music. When I got it in 2003, the free version allowed you to do a limited amount of scoring in 4/4 time, and the full price was $18. Eventually I got a better soundbase that includes some very nice sampled instruments, which cost $75 as I recall.

Here's a sample of what I've done with it: Variations on a Winnebago Love Song

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

Only vaguely sure what you are looking for, but try this link and see if there is anything useful.

[maugorn.livejournal.com]

If you'd be content with a basic MIDI sequencer and some damn decent notation tools, go with Noteworthy. They're cheap. They're easy to use. They're damn powerful for normal listening. They have ass-kicking notation tools, and they print nice music too!! There's other things you can do to the notation by simply cutting and pasting it into other documents.
But even if you just print from the program, there's most if not all of what you need to say, right there on the page and/or available to you to put onto it.
What's more, their free download is fully functional, with the restriction being on the number of printouts you can make. You can go thru and make a really nice dry run of auditioning it and seeing if you love it (I did) before you spend a penny.

As for auditioning music software- go to an actual music store, like Guitar Center (big chain, affiliated with Musician's Friend). The big stores especially will have computers with the software loaded up. You might have to make a trip or two till you find a salesdroid who understands the software you want to play with if you have anything more than basic questions, BUT if they have it up and running on a machine, there's an excellent chance that they'll let you play with it for awhile.
Band In A Box is pretty popular. Your chances of finding someone who has it running for you to play with before you buy is good.