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VSL Announcement: Moving to iLok Key / Cloud - We are live!

So what will the procedure be like to move an e-licenser license, to an iLok license from one physical key to the other ?
 
Actually, this is SUCH a good move/improvement. iLok is what the Steinberg key should have been all along. So here's a couple things that might answer questions:

iLok gives you both an online license bank (cloud licensing) plus supports the USB key. I'll explain why you want both in a sec. They also provide an iLok Manager app. Look how much better this is than the VSL/Steinberg Key... with the app you can:
  • View all licenses on ALL of your PCs/Macs plus the hardware key
  • Activate and deactivate licenses as needed. Maybe you have a library that only allows 1 install but you have the samples on a desktop and laptop. If the library maker allows using the Cloud version, you can switch easily on the fly, just deactivate and reactivate.
  • If you have a plugin with multiple licenses, it keeps track of your activations AND you can manage them
  • Pc went up in smoke? No prob, login to License Manager on the new PC and transfer the license. License management is the #1 best feature.
  • Hardware option: if you're traveling and want to work on the plane, transfer your license from the Cloud to the stick, then you won't need an internet connection. ANOTHER REASON FOR THE STICK: Some manufacturers are behind-the-times (are we listening Lexicon??) and require a hardware license only. You'll find that out when you buy it. Lexicon PCM Reverb ThankYouVeryMuch.
  • Tired of a plugin and want to sell it? No prob, open License Manager and transfer the license (again, if the manufacturer allows it)
  • Did your hardware stick slip out of your hand and land in the toilet as you were flushing? You know the drill: new key, open License Manager and move the licenses onto it.
When I switched to Cubase in 2019 and watched some startup videos, I remember the person stressed registering your copy of the licenser and if you failed a certain step you would have to repurchase the Cubase license if you lost the thing. It blew my mind that a company would be that ridiculous in their Customer Experience policy. iLok solves all that garbage.

And credit where credit is due: When iLok came out with the option to store your licensing in an online account that's totally manageable, East West was one of the first to adopt it. To find out that VSL is going to allow both types, and not be rigid by requiring the stick-only option, is a HUGE step in the right direction. I'm not a dongle fan, started out on Studio One, East West and Waves, so I never needed a stick until Cubase came along (and then Lexicon but at least it's iLok). I'd love it if the entire industry used iLok, we'd all have it in one place and it's totally flexible.

Here's what the License manager looks like. Note that I'm on my laptop, but I purposely clicked on my Desktop set of licenses and that's what you see. I love how the system is not machine-specific. The last entry on the list on the left I can click is the hardware key, and even if I don't have it plugged in, I can see what I have on there, just grayed out:

Screenshot 2021-03-04 092300.jpg
 
Is it confirmed that this will be the case?
Isn't it "automatically" confirmed that when you have iLok cloud-based licenses (free from USB-dongles), there is nothing to be broken or stolen? I don't know, I mean what could go wrong?
 
Isn't it "automatically" confirmed that when you have iLok cloud-based licenses (free from USB-dongles), there is nothing to be broken or stolen? I don't know, I mean what could go wrong?
So if your laptop gets stolen, you'll have a lot of passwords to change. One of them is your iLok account, and then Yes, your licenses are protected. If the hardware key was plugged in when the creep stole the laptop (maybe you were running Melodyne which requires the dongle), just login from another PC, deactivate the stick and you're protected.

If VSL and Steinberg are going to require a licensing system and are ready to change, iLok is a great choice.
 
Dear Community,

We have some important announcements to make. You can read the post from our CEO, Herb Tucmandl, here in our forum: https://www.vsl.co.at/community/posts/t57384-Moving-from-eLicenser-to-iLok#post302591

Please note that the official discussion will happen at the VSL forum.

Here a copy of Herb Tucmandl's announcement:

---

Hello Everyone,

It is my pleasure to announce that we’re starting to prepare the move to a new license management platform.

eLicenser has served us well during many years, but we’re also well aware of some limitations of the platform that we want to overcome for our customers and for us.

Thus we’re currently preparing the transition of all of our products to PACE’s iLok license management solution. This will take some time, but we’d like to let you know as early as possible that many new options in license handling will be available to our customers in the future, and that the entire process of purchasing and activating products will be streamlined and improved.

To make the entire migration as easy and hassle-free for our customers (and for us ;), here are a few key facts we’d like to share that early in the process:

• FREE TRANSITION: Moving your licenses from the eLicenser to the iLok platform will be free of charge for you.

• CHOICE OF KEY OR CLOUD: You will be able to choose if you’d like to store your VSL licenses on the iLok hardware key or in the iLok Cloud without using a hardware key.

• COMPATIBILITY: Under the iLok system, you will still be able to open existing projects as long as the eLicenser is connected. Once the project has been saved again, the eLicenser will no longer be required.

• CONTINUED SERVICE: You’ll be able to continue to use the ViennaKey/eLicenser USB key and the eLicenser Control Center for as long as the eLicenser Control Center is working on your computers’ operating systems. Your licenses are safe and perpetual. Steinberg will keep the eLicenser license server available as long as possible, so you’ll be able to move licenses between eLicenser USB keys and will receive replacement licenses in case of damage, theft or loss of your eLicenser key (for free if you have a valid Vienna Protection Plan) well beyond the time when the iLok system is already available to you.

We’ll be able to provide more information later this year. Before you ask, at this time we don’t know when exactly we’ll be able to start moving licenses to the iLok platform, but you’ll be the first to know as we move along in the process.

What’s more, we’re now offering ViennaKeys at a substantial discount, and we’ll include a free €20 voucher with every ViennaKey order in our web shop.


Best wishes from Vienna,
Herb Tucmandl
CEO

This is 100% bad news. I am in great danger of spending the next 20 or so grocery budgets on several more VSL libraries as the dongle was the only thing keeping me from going crazy on VSL purchases.
 
Great move - option to use a physical key OR not, ZDT insurance support for ALL iLok licenses, license transfers without needing to send the whole dongle - assuming VSL agrees to this functionality of course.

Much prefer iLok.
 
So if your laptop gets stolen, you'll have a lot of passwords to change. One of them is your iLok account, and then Yes, your licenses are protected. If the hardware key was plugged in when the creep stole the laptop (maybe you were running Melodyne which requires the dongle), just login from another PC, deactivate the stick and you're protected.

If VSL and Steinberg are going to require a licensing system and are ready to change, iLok is a great choice.
As far as I have read so far, they will give all their existing (and future) customers the option to keep their licenses inside a physical USB dongle (if they want to), but this will not be required (as already is the case with most iLok libraries and plug-ins).

So the user will always choose what suits him/her the best.
 
for free if you have a valid Vienna Protection Plan
If on the iLok the licenses are secure, even in the event of a hardware failure, meaning something like the Vienna Protection Plan will get obsolete, I could start buying VSL Libraries again. This is not a good move ... for my wallet.
 
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Well, I've always preferred the sound of eLincenser to iLok, samples just sound more realistic, my music comes out quicker and there are fewer clouds overhead, but I'm willing to give them up. Even after just buying a third replacement for an eLicenser dongle that just actually fell apart. Was plugging it in with a bare circuit board since the case fell off.
 
I really dislike this idea of having to have my computer always connected to the internet. I keep my main studio computer disconnected to avoid some hacker stealing my precious reserved data!

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To early probably to whine.....but here I go. I have four puters running VERPO 7 (and other various VSL libraries). The ilok cloud sounds in theory like it would be easier BUT my paranoid mind - up against deadlines, rewrites in the middle of the night cannot afford for even a brief internet disconnect - and it WILL happen when I close a project open another one - at 2 am - unable to open it because of a solar flare, IP issues, neighbor cutting my fiber optic lead to my studio, etc..

I know... paranoid. I haven't had one client eager for their music tell me...'don't worry about the schedule if you are having computer issues - I totally understand' :(

Let's see how this pans out. I don't mind the 'hassle' of doing something because they can run their business better - I want VSL and Steiny to STAY in business. Just think about EVERY possible hiccup that could happen for your pro users - please.

It HAS TO BE WIN-WIN.
 
So I often use an extra ViennaKey with a license for VEPro on a slave.
What options are there if not interested in iLok Cloud?
 
Yeeeeeah, single point of failure is such a great thing!
You already have this - unless you have the same license duplicated across your computer, iLok, eLicenser, another machine, etc. eLicenser was a poor alternative to iLok. Not everybody uses iLok (see Kontakt where most libraries are). Having eLicenser companies migrate to iLok does not create a single point of failure in terms of work - just simplifies things for users.
 
Yeeeeeah, single point of failure is such a great thing!
That is a thing, at the industry level, seems slightly less of a thing for any individual.

At one point, and maybe still today, developers had the option to specify a "grace period" - a window of time where the software still works without the internet connection. I may be confusing this with someone else's cloud based CP, but I'm pretty sure it was iLok.

In any case, I like the idea of switching to iLok - I keep the majority of my licenses on a physical dongle, mostly out of habit. I have played around with both cloud and PC based storage, and all three work.
 
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