After overwhelming feedback, the new developer of Lemur has announced the app will be a one-time $99 purchase, not a subscription. You can still try the app for free (with some functionality limitations). Here’s the statement.
As published on the Lemur Facebook page over the weekend:
Dear friends,
We’ve heard your feedback—thank you for your emails and messages. The overwhelming concern was about the subscription model itself, rather than the price. In response, Lemur will now be available as a one-time purchase for $99, which is currently the lowest sustainable price for the app.
For those who already subscribed:
– Yearly subscribers can crossgrade for free.
– Monthly subscribers can crossgrade for the difference between a yearly and monthly subscription.
This change is in progress but still requires Apple’s approval, as they may have specific rules regarding crossgrades.
No action is needed on your part. Once approved and available on the App Store, you’ll see the upgrade option when you update the app. If further action is required, we will post updates here and notify you in the app.
Additionally, we are exploring more uniform pricing across the US, Canada, the EU, and other select markets based on regional analytics.
Thank you again for your feedback and support!
The statement doesn’t directly address existing customers, but the issue there is that the original iOS developer – Liine – no longer exists, and neither Jazz Mutant nor Liine is responsible for Lemur. That version of the Lemur app was withdrawn, and Apple now warns developers that it will remove apps without recent updates. The reality is that developing for iOS can be expensive, and sales often crater after the initial launch, which can drive developers to abandon the platform or drive them to go to subscription models.
All of this is down to MIDI Kinetics and what is presumably a labor of love bringing this legacy app back from the dead.:
Generally speaking, developers of specialized apps for artists are just not getting rich. I tend to believe developers when they describe what they view as sustainable. Assuming it gets Apple’s approval for crossgrades, this seems like a reasonable outcome. The $99 Lemur may not be for everyone, but that’s why competition is good. I’m a huge fan of TouchOSC and how it’s evolved. (Hexler also ultimately had to offer a new release for a second-generation app.)
I’ll contact the developer to discuss the roadmap for the re-released app and do a proper review soon. But I’m encouraged that Lemur is alive and the developer is at least trying to listen to feedback. A lot of us honestly assumed Lemur would just die, and having it then come back to life, but with a clearly unsustainable subscription, wasn’t much better. So, best of luck to MIDI Kinetics on moving forward.