Avid releases Pro Tools 12 and confirms pricing structure

Avid has released Pro Tools 12, the latest version of its famous audio production software. The big news, of course, is that there are now various ways to pay for it, with the company talking up its range of "flexible licensing options".

So, what are these options? Here's Avid's breakdown:

• Pro Tools software monthly subscription (one-month license subscription with updates and support) starts at $29.99/month
• Pro Tools software annual upgrade plan (12 months of updates and support) starts at $199
• Pro Tools software annual subscription (12-month license subscription with updates and support) starts at $299
• Perpetual licenses for Pro Tools software (includes 12 months of updates and support) start at $899

If we're reading this right, it looks like you can have Pro Tools for $29.99 a month (though you'll lose access if you stop paying), pay $299 (which actually means $24.92 per month) and get it for a year (though, again, you'll lose access if you don't continue to pay after that), or buy it outright with a year's worth of support for $899 (you'll then have to renew at $199 per year if you want continued support).

Also new is Avid's Cloud Collaboration service, which offers the following benefits:

• Secure and hassle-free setup: Post sessions to your own cloud storage space and invite others to collaborate
• Fully integrated collaboration: Work on the same session at the same time or create offline and share updates directly within Pro Tools
• Comprehensive workflows: Share audio and MIDI tracks, edits, mix changes, automation, and more
• Simplified project and media management: Keep track of all contributors and version changes with automatic and fully customizable metadata tagging
• Built-in communication tools: Engage with collaborators through text or video chat directly from within Pro Tools

Then there's the Avid Marketplace, which the company says enables its users to do the following:

• Get plug-ins and apps immediately: With the Avid App Store, artists can find and immediately download the latest plug-ins and applications from Avid Connectivity Partners directly from within their creative tools (available now)
• Find new talent and start new collaborations: With the Artist Community, any media professional and organization can search for the skills and specialties they need on a project, find new talent and potential collaborators and start a working relationship (coming soon)
• Share their work with the world: The Avid Content Marketplace provides a new channel for artists to monetize their work by sharing it with a wide network of potential purchasers - with all licensing and rights agreements worked out through automatic templates (coming soon)
• Store their work and collaborate with other professionals: With Avid cloud storage audio professionals can post sessions to their own cloud storage space and invite others to collaborate on projects (coming soon)

Pro Tools 12 is available now - you can find full details on the Avid website. Pro Tools First, the free version of the software that was announced alongside Pro Tools 12 at the NAMM Show, is said to be coming soon.