The pilot program is finally over. Autodesk has launched indie versions of 3dsmax and Maya for the reasonable sum of $265/yr. Full featured, unlike LT, and licensed for commercial for all artists earning less than $100k annually.
DIRECT LINK: https://makeanything.autodesk.com/me-indie/
ANNOUNCEMENT: https://area.autodesk.com/life-in-3d/weekly-roundup-august-10-2020/