Avid is offering free software licenses to some during COVID-19

In a time of great uncertainty for most of us, it has been nice to see such an outpouring of support from our favorite music manufacturers. About a week ago, companies like Korg, IK Multimedia, and many others began offering products for free over the coming months. Whereas others such as Arturia, offered some of its higher-priced items at a massive discount.  Now, it seems Avid is next to join the ranks, and is offering free 90-day licenses to current active, professional users. These licenses will be available for Media Composer, Pro Tools, and Sibelius.

Since the news began to break of the COVID-19 virus’ arrival to the U.S., many who use Avid software began applying pressure to the company for a response in action. Understandably so, as many who work in the entertainment industry regularly were now left without a regular work option for several weeks, at minimum. In a response, Avid states “…to assist our community in adjusting their workflows to accommodate COVID-19 virus precautions, Avid will make a limited number of temporary licenses…available to qualified media enterprise and educational institutions at no charge.”

From this, we gather that although Avid is offering these free licenses, there are some ground rules and limits to who can access them. First, to qualify, users must already be active users of that software, with active work that must be completed. In other words, if you want a license for Media Composer, and the last time you used it on an active license was several months ago, you likely will not qualify for this freebie. Additionally, professional educators who use these Avid programs will also qualify for this license offer from Avid.

Regardless of qualifications, this is a nice move from Avid in response to the global pandemic. It effectively encourages those to stay home, and to keep working on projects, alleviating all worry, at least for three months, about paying for software with limited work schedules.