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Slate Digital’s new music software subscription service includes all its plug-ins and an online school

Slate Digital’s new music software subscription service includes all its plug-ins and an online school

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For as little as $14.99 a month

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Music software and hardware company Slate Digital has announced a new subscription service called the All Access Pass. The subscription unlocks over 60 plug-ins, online production lessons through the company’s new learning center Slate Academy, and more.

Slate Digital is known for its plug-ins that producers, mixers, and engineers use when making music, which includes everything from virtual drum kits to tube amp emulators. It also makes some hardware, including microphones and digital mixing consoles (under Slate Media Technology).

The All Access Pass is essentially a revised version of the Slate Everything Bundle, a subscription service the company launched in 2016. The Everything Bundle gave access to all Slate Digital plug-ins and some free mix tutorials for a monthly fee. For the same price (provided you’re paying annually), this new service also gives access to all Slate Digital plug-ins, but adds in Slate Academy, 28 plug-ins from KiloHearts, and Sonic Academy’s ANA 2 synth with 800 presets, over 200 custom wavetables, and over 200 custom samples. Additionally, any new plug-in or course Slate Digital releases in the future will be included in the All Access Pass. Those who were already signed up for the Everything Bundle will automatically be moved over to the All Access Pass.

The Slate Academy portion of the bundle has some interesting components. The company has teamed up with producers like Just Blaze and Matthew Weiss for the video courses, and over 200 are available now. Each comes with a downloadable multitrack session available in all major DAW formats that has the presets and samples used in the course. So, while you watch the video, you can follow along in a copy of the actual session.

This is quite a haul for the price

This is quite a haul for the price, and another marker that companies are digging their heels into the software subscription model. Several audio companies have been migrating over toward alternative payment models that don’t require a lump sum up front. Splice lets users rent-to-own with synths and DAWs like Serum and PreSonus Studio One Professional, for example, and Roland has Roland Cloud, a subscription-based collection of VST instruments and sample libraries. Plug-ins can easily cost hundreds of dollars each, so these new ways to access them makes sense for those who want high-quality software but can’t afford the usual retail price.

Each All Access Pass comes with one license and can only be used with one computer. It’s worth noting that it has to be activated to an iLok 2 dongle, which costs $49.95, or through iLok Cloud, which only requires creating an iLok account and downloading the iLok License Manager.

There’s three ways to pay for Slate Digital’s All Access Pass: $24.99 per month with the option to pause anytime, $14.99 per month with an annual commitment, or a single annual fee of $149.99 (which breaks down to about $12.50 a month). More information can be found on Slate Digital’s website.