Well, they are far from pioneering thins business model, but I wonder will it make the splash it is supposed to? The key moment for NLEs was when Apple decided to drop FCP in favor of FCPX.
As editors worldwide grew unsatisfied with the lack of FCPX features and capabilities, any company that could offer a compelling piece of editing software could take the throne. Lightworks, AVID, and the likes of had their chance, but lost to a rather mediocre, but accessible and affordable Adobe Premiere Pro. Plus, it had native integration with After Effects.
While it is true Lightworks had a free edition, it was more of a crippleware, as some functionalities like exporting HD video were disabled. AVID on the other hand had ridiculous pricing policies that really belong to the early '90s and '80.
Some software such as editing, color grading, finishing Resolve had a really good adoption rate with this business model. However, consider the fact that they have done it in timely fashion, when the changes in the industry were occurring, and they've done it right, without locking the features without which using the software has no point.
Considering that the majority of video editors has switched to Adobe, Media Composer arrives quite late to the party. Even though Media Composer is a superb piece of software compare to Premier, any user switching from Premier would have quite a bit of learning curve to adapt to the new GUI.
In general, people don't like learning how to use a new software that just does the same thing as one that they can already work with. Especially considering that the Media Composer comes from the world of high-end cinema production, and was designed to be robust and feature-rich, not with ease of use or quick turnaround times in mind.
Personally, I kinda liked Media Composer, because I learned it first, but I am sorry to say that AVID corporate leadership was way too sluggish to react to the shifts that happened in the NLE market, now years and years ago. I just don't see how this can make any effect today. Even if they would have integrated it with the Pro Tools.
I am curious though, which dinosaur video software company is next? Quantel, maybe? 