Blackmagic Design has introduced a rental option through Blackmagic Cloud for the full-fat DaVinci Resolve Studio licenses. Until now, this licensing model was reserved for larger organisations.
Important: Users are not tied into Resolve beyond the month they sign up for, and are not locked out of the project once the license periood is over. The principal aim is to add a bit of flexibility when smaller outfits need to bring in additional support but don’t want to incur the full £225 (excluding VAT) for extra seats.
The Price of Admission
UK pricing is set at £25. No information on other regions is available at press time. Given Brexit, translating that price elsewhere is left as an exercise for the accountant.
Cloud Without Strings
Blackmagic Cloud itself does not run on subscriptions. Once a setup is created, the storage belongs fully to the user and remains under their control. There is no tracking or lock-in. The Cloud Store software is free, and any number of on-prem storages can be added. In this sense, Resolve rental extends the usefulness of the Cloud rather than altering Blackmagic’s overall pricing philosophy.
A Shift in Philosophy, or Not
Blackmagic has traditionally insisted on perpetual licenses with no subscriptions. The new rental model is therefore notable, but it does not replace perpetual Resolve Studio licenses. At the moment, only Blackmagic Cloud users can access the feature.
What We Do Not Know
International pricing has not been published. It is also unclear whether volume discounts or longer-term rental plans will follow. Blackmagic has not confirmed whether rentals will integrate with existing perpetual licenses on the same Cloud account.
What’s Next
Blackmagic says the feature is available immediately. More details may follow at IBC, where the company usually unveils updates to … evertything.
