[Ardour-Users] subscription support down, your ideas sought

[Sean Corbett]

I think the best two suggestions I've read so far (and most natural in
an open-source business model) are 1) giving subscribers benefits and
2) bounties.

The first is the better option for creating sustainable income because
it will give a subscription value beyond the good feeling of donating
to a worthy cause.  Sure, ideally it would be nice if people would
just give out of the goodness of their hearts, knowing their money is
generally helping a project they like, but people don't typically work
that way.  So getting something extra in return for a subscription
seems to be the best option (in my humble opinion).  For example,
subscribers could have access to a bug/feature voting system (i think
this was suggested on IRC a few days ago).  There are probably other
possibilities as well.

The second option (bounties) is certainly not mutually exclusive with
the first, and could be done in addition.  It would create a different
type of interest (and incentive), i.e. interest from developers.

Also, I think someone should start an "Ardour tricks & tips" blog or
wiki to both help new users and generate interest.  It could also be a
place where Ardour users can show off what they've been doing and what
open-source audio software is capable of in general.  I would
volunteer to start and/or host it, but I just don't have the time
right now.  Though if someone wants to start such a thing, or if it
already exists, I would definitely like to contribute.

Sean Corbett