Would you consider releasing Ardour on Steam please? 
Like Krita, it could be a paid version there even though it’s free elsewhere—people would likely appreciate the easy updates and convenient access across platforms. I know I would.
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The problem with that are plugins.
Same issue as with FlatPak and Snap, appImage and their respective stores. If you were to get Ardour from Steam, you would also have to get all plugins from Stream, and that’s pretty much a no-go.
Those stores only work for self-contained applications.
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If there was a workaround for this, however, it would probably be great for coverage.
I was able to purchase Sonar back in the day on steam. I don’t recall but I think it did allow me to use third party self installed vsts. I know for a fact I had XLN Addictive Drums through their own installer, tho’ it did come with the Sonar software bundle. It felt great not having to rely on pirated software anymore and be able to make my first “legal” steps into the music production world with some really neat tools.
Edit: I was able to verify they did indeed support 3rd party vsts: Steam Community :: Guide :: Sonar X3 Producer - How to install XLN Audio Addictive Drums
I was able to find this old guide about the XLN plugins: Steam Community :: Guide :: Sonar X3 Producer - How to install XLN Audio Addictive Drums
I feel old now:
Those documents describe a Windows system. The Steam we’re talking about is primarily a Linux thing. Steam on Windows does not use the same packaging technologies.
We’re very unlikely to start using a 3rd party download system to make Ardour available (though one should never say never).
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So Windows and Mac releases could technically be released on steam, right?
I support that idea 
I’d like to point out that steam is mostly a Windows platform, but probably one of the best to showcase a Windows built software. I think it would be cool for promotion mostly.
technically Linux as well, but neither is practical.
The main benefit of steam is easy access, but for a DAW you will still have to jump though hoops afterward (and not just because of plugins), which defeats the purpose.
But on Windows and Mac you could probably use the “locate plugins folder” options without any issues, and yes, it would be the same as just getting Ardour through the site, but not many people are aware of Ardour and Steam has millions of users who are always looking for stuff. Not saying most people will pay attention to it or discover it, but I think it would certainly be more discoverable for Windows users if it was over there. It is a neat software store, and many open-source software are using it, as well, not just Krita.
I mean, we all know most DAWs do the same thing, but lots of people get to a certain one and settle on it through word of mouth or ad campaigns. Being present on one of the biggest stores could help some people get to Ardour first.
Also, since software like Godot is hosted there as well, I can imagine some guides on how to use them both to work on a project popping up 
I don’t recall other apps on Win10 Steam having any snap or flat pack like issues or restrictions. Blender had all access several years ago. I have not installed Steam for Linux.
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Not actually sure that this is a user base we’re incredibly interested in catering too.
Krita doesn’t have a paid download option on their own site, and they don’t have a subscriptions/recurring payment system which has proved to be invaluable for us because it smooths out income over time.
I could be convinced, but I personally doubt that Steam is how most people find creative software.
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Regarding the second point, I would like to add that Steam does allow for both one time payments and subscriptions.
Regarding user base, we can see the amount of reviews Blender has.
That is 75k users who decided to actually leave a review. They need a certain hours of usage to leave that review.
Krita just has 5k reviews.
A simple app called Soundpad has 84k reviews.
You could even use the demo for promotion.
Steam doesn’t allow copyleft licenses like the GPL, which may be a problem
Blender is GPL License — Blender
Also: License | Tales of Maj'Eyal and T-Engine4
Tales of Maj'Eyal on Steam
Just to give some examples. There are others.
I like having Battle for Wesnoth on Steam and just found out OpenTTD is there as well.
from: Distributing Open Source Applications on Steam (Steamworks Documentation)
Which Open Source Licenses are problematic for shipping on Steam?
Generally, any license that has a so-called “copyleft” element will be problematic when combining code with the Steamworks SDK. The best-known example is GPL.
But I saw a GPL-licensed application on Steam!
This can happen if the author of the code that is GPL-licensed has given the permission to do so. The author can of course always (a) decide to grant Valve a different license than the author grants everyone else or (b) decide that what the Steamworks SDK does is just a communication with a service that does not invoke the copyleft requirement of the GPL.
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the main goal is to get exposure to the name Ardour, i take it? if ardour were to make steam deck friendly or mobile app kind of mini beat maker that gets good reviews people may want to learn more about the developer and what else they’ve made, it could be profitable on its own even. kind of how FL studio mobile app probably got some people who liked it to buy the Desktop version
But Ardour is not suitable as a “mini beat maker” and will likely frustrate anyone who thinks that is what they are getting …
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Indeed, there is no issue so long as the Author doesn’t raise one.
if ardour were to make steam deck friendly or mobile app kind of mini beat maker that gets good reviews people may want to learn more about the developer and what else they’ve made, it could be profitable on its own even. kind of how FL studio mobile app probably got some people who liked it to buy the Desktop version
I didn’t mean it at all as they need a new product, and as Paul stated, that is not the goal. That would even imply a lot more work. I don’t see a point in just adding another beatmaker into the sea. However, I do think there are a lot of guitar players or people who want to record podcasts and such who could find Ardour valuable, even if it’s their first steps into the world of recording and mixing. Or even people using Blender, Godot, RPGMaker and such who are also searching for an Audio production tool.
Also, another great asset Steam has are user guides and tutorials. So, if you wanted to make a tutorial for beatmaking in Ardour you could share it there and people could upvote it.
Haha,
Something about this feels like selling Ardour at Toys 'R Us instead of Guitar Center…
*insert your own country’s appropriate chain store names…
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That is a good point, I’m not convinced that many people would be looking for sophisticated audio recording software in an online video game store.
I mean, I am just arguing for the sake of arguing and please ask me to stop at anytime, heh.
But, carrying on with the Guitar Center argument. Let’s say I am an audiophile per excellence. I coat all my cables in gold, because that is the way to go. Also, I’m over 60 and the gaming industry doesn’t exist really as an actual industry in my mind. Had my fun with arcades and such but of course there is no relation between sound, music and games on an actual work level. Then, if I were to look for a DAW I’d probably search what specialized outlets like, I don’t know, Sound on Sound have to say on the matter. So I get this:
So, not only the Guitar Center guys are not even mentioning Ardour to me and peddling other DAWs, they are even listing the one I bought 10 years ago at the toy store. And another one that, to cater to the Linux audience, builds a Flatpak even with all the issues that might bring.
I know it’s a low punch, but I prefer the “It’s a lot of pointless hassle” over the “We are above this” take, heh. And of course, I am just arguing all this because I want people to use Ardour. Experts and beginners alike.
Ardour has many built in tools that are great for video game asset creation, like LUA scripting. And I think the main source people look for pro-audio software is piracy. Actually, I’m quite sure about that. Here in Argentina, 20 years ago, we all had pirated games. Then Steam came, offered accessibility and good prices and now we all have legit games. But we keep the pirated sound software (even pro studios). Why would we pay for that?
Haha, shots fired!
Certainly a bit of that mindset informed my post but it was really half observation half joke… I’ve never been a part of gaming culture at all but having kids now in their late 20’s and 30’s I’m not ignorant of it either… Times change so rapidly now that I very much could be underestimating how effective marketing like this could be for Ardour. I completely agree it should be getting much more coverage with it’s contemporaries in the dinosaur Boomer media for sure!
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