Raven Lite

Raven Lite licenses, previously priced at $25 each, are now free. Download the software from the Download page, then get a free license.

Demonstration Version

From this web site, you can download a demo version of Raven which lacks the ability to save files, and runs for only ten minutes at a time. To enable all features of Raven, you must purchase a license. Once you have purchased a license, you will receive an e-mail message containing a license code and instructions for transforming the demo version into a fully functional version. No further downloads will be needed for this purpose.

Trial Evaluation Licenses

If the demo version does not give you enough time to evaluate Raven, write to raven@cornell.edu for a one-time, free 30-day trial license. Evaluation licenses are also available for Raven beta versions for the length of the beta period.

Instructors can request an evaluation license of Raven to use for six (6) months in their classrooms on a single computer to evaluate Raven's usefulness as an aid in teaching.

License Awards

In 2005, BRP awarded a small number of free licenses for Raven to researchers in the field of animal bioacoustics. These awards were intended to make Raven available to investigators for whom the standard $400 license fee would have been prohibitive, such as researchers in developing countries or graduate students without access to large research grants. Awards were intended for basic research on the functions, mechanisms, development, or evolution of animal acoustic communication systems, or for conservation-oriented applied research. Award decisions were made by a committee of BRP scientists and software developers on the basis of scientific merit and financial need.

For more information and to see the winners of the free licenses, click here.

Upgrades

Upgrades from any Raven version to Raven 1.3 are free. Download the new version of Raven and reuse your existing serial number.

Why aren't all versions of Raven free?

Funding for the initial release of Raven was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant funded part of the initial development and stipulated that subsequent and on-going development be funded from sales of Raven. All stages have been supplemented from the budget of the Bioacoustics Research Program. Thanks for helping us to recover our initial investment and for supporting current Raven development.

For information on other software developed at the Bioacoustics Research Program, some of which is free, visit the BRP software site.