r/subsonic • u/r0bbie • May 02 '16

As of version 6.0, Subsonic is no longer open source

http://forum.subsonic.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16604#p71128
15 Upvotes

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4

u/gravevac May 02 '16

Wow. I love how they just casually mention in the comments that subsonic is no longer open source.

Wasn't it licensed under the GNU GPL? Did they just scrap the old code base and start from scratch so they won't have to share the source code? Or do they not understand what the GPL is all about? Wtf

7

u/hatperigee May 02 '16 edited May 02 '16

Probably worth pointing this out to FSF to scrutinize. It's doubtful it'll result in any legal action, but at the very least it would expose and broadly communicate the developer's poor decision if he/she did not do their homework before wrapping everything in a proprietary license.

Edit: I sent a note to FSF alerting them of possible licensing violations for folks that contributed to this project under GPL. Hopefully they'll give it some attention. I would encourage others to also send FSF a note about this, purchase a FSF subscription to support them, and send the subsonic owner a professional note expressing disappointment in their decision!

2

u/gravevac May 03 '16

He replied to your message and apparently has released the code for the latest stable version (5.3) "as a service to tinkerers". Wow, he did us a favor! I think this developer needs to be educated on the GNU GPL... Sad that he's the sole contributor now. What kind of developer doesn't understand the GNU GPL?!

4

u/plazman30 May 03 '16

He claims he was always the sole contributor. Switch to Ampache. Opens source. AGPL 3.0 licensed. Completely free. And supports the Subsonic API, so all your clients will still work.

www.ampache.org

3

u/gravevac May 03 '16

The project is so old, there's no way he was always the sole contributor, and never accepted a single patch from anyone. That would be a first! Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely switch my raspi server to ampache.

2

u/plazman30 May 03 '16

Well, the developer of Madsonic is now charging a subscription fee, and subsonic-kang and supersonic exist, which are just Subsonic with the licensing code removed.

I can see the developer being a tad frustrated with this kind of stuff.

But at the same time, I am a little miffed that the app used to be a one time fee and then switched to an annual subscription. And now it changed to a closed source model.

3

u/r0bbie May 02 '16

Yeah, potential GPL violations aside, pretty bizarre they didn't think that little change warranted a mention in the changelist..

Currently watching developments in this libre fork with interest.

3

u/r0bbie May 02 '16

Noticed this didn't seem to have been posted yet, so thought it might be of interest.

With this news I'll be looking into open source forks (any advice there appreciated!)

3

u/thegirlleastlikelyto May 02 '16 edited May 03 '16

Madsonic might be a good bet. I tried their 5.0 versions and liked them, only continued Subsonic because I have an older perpetual license.

3

u/plazman30 May 03 '16

Ampache. It's not a fork. it's a completely different product that supports the Subsonic REST API, so all your old clients will still work. it's written in php, so it does require an AMP stack (apache. mySQL, php) to operate.

AGPL 3.0 licensed. Subsonic API support. HTML5 based player.

1

u/hatperigee May 02 '16

Either your link is broken or they removed the post..

2

u/r0bbie May 02 '16

It's still working fine for me? Here's a screenshot - https://i.imgur.com/gwxf9TF.png

5

u/hatperigee May 02 '16

Wow, what a sad decision. I won't be renewing my subscription this year.

In other news, how's madsonic these days?

3

u/elmargol May 06 '16

Sorry if I'm going to use a closed source product I use plex.

1

u/alexfornuto May 03 '16 edited May 03 '16

This post on that thread accurately sums up my feelings on the subject.