An subscription model would be a absolute deal breaker for me…
I don’t have steady income, only a solid base whith sometimes a boost that I use for “nicety’s”. It’s enough to pay my bills and so on, but I cannot afford to have a monthly subscription on top of those I already have. I buy my software (music or otherwise) when I get payed some extra for completing whole projects (I do computers/networks and am also a graphical artist). This can be a few times at any time of the year, but certainly not monthly.
If Steinberg should introduce an subscription model, I would stick with the latest non-subscibe software and stop buying anything from Steinberg. I simply have no other choice. At this moment I have Cubase 7.5 and a few instruments/soundsets, and that is more than enough for the years to come. I would like to keep my software updated, but only buy the upgrades (and maybe some extra’s) at the time it is possible and affordable for me to do so.
In short - If Steinberg goes for an subscription model they have simply lost an costumer…