How Many Units Does A Hit Synth Sell?

[apolo]

If piracy hurts you that much as you say, Why not to consult an antipiracy specialist to help you solve your problem?

[dub3000]

If piracy hurts you that much as you say, Why not to consult an antipiracy specialist to help you solve your problem?

because it probably costs upwards of (guessing) $25,000+ for access to anti-piracy gear, plus a fee per license. possibly a LOT more than that, actually.

for a $49 plugin that might sell 3,000 copies without piracy protection and maybe 5,000 with it (assuming it doesn't get cracked straight away - and that's a big if), it's just not going to be worth pissing off your legit customers, employing extra support staff, etc.

for big ticket items the numbers change a lot though.

maybe a better strategy is just to make sure people understand that they are actively ripping off small companies. but that's a hard message to convey.

[ouroboros]

all the good ones are in Yemen these days.

[apolo]

If piracy hurts you that much as you say, Why not to consult an antipiracy specialist to help you solve your problem?

because it probably costs upwards of (guessing) $25,000+ for access to anti-piracy gear, plus a fee per license. possibly a LOT more than that, actually.

for a $49 plugin that might sell 3,000 copies without piracy protection and maybe 5,000 with it (assuming it doesn't get cracked straight away - and that's a big if), it's just not going to be worth pissing off your legit customers, employing extra support staff, etc.

for big ticket items the numbers change a lot though.

maybe a better strategy is just to make sure people understand that they are actively ripping off small companies. but that's a hard message to convey.

So if going for that part of the business is unprofitable in itself... then is neglectable...

[Tp3]

What I tried to say previously was not "mac is better than win" but that over 70% of downloads from cytomic are for the mac version - and of those customers I have been in personal email contact with most of them are small studio owners or musicians making a little money for writing tunes. I believe (but have not done in depth market research to prove) that they bought a mac because of their perception that it's their best option to produce and record music.

You really haven't answered my question... never mind

I fail to see the connection of "70% of my user base have Mac" ---> "they bought a mac because of their perception that it's their best option to produce and record music"

No.

They've bought a Mac because its a MAC and because OTHER PEOPLE (that COUNT for them) "have the perception that
it's their best option to produce and record music"....

But I don't want to turn this into another debate (it's isn't really about Mac vs PC... it's about sheer marketing
and Psychology...and YOU - of all the devs that have spoken - should know a thing or two about ...)

Interestingly enough, almost ALL devs that have spoken here, saw my money at some point last year (yes Andy, including you ! )... the most prominent are Urs, Ben and Chris.

I still claim that your means to bringing your products to the masses is through EDUCATION.
But what do I know...

[batcave]

this thread is awesome, it's great to read this open discussion.
many people have pointed out that prices have fallen dramatically of late.
although "high prices" was never a justifiable excuse for piracy, it was often used as an excuse. kinda lame, but now even that weak
last-ditch excuse has been shot to hell.

[batcave]

i'm not sure about the argument that states people who don't actually "use" vsts,
merely compulsively steal them aren't a sales lost'
i suspect they do represent a considerable loss.

i know one thing,
lots of these people WANT to be musicians, and artists, and producers, synth experts and sound design aficionados, they're just going about it all friggin wrong.

[JMC]

I actually get the MI Sales Trak via a friend who shall remain nameless, and I don't mind sharing it here.

I hope you realize that the MI Sales Trak is a very expensive marketing tool and sharing it with anyone that didn't pay for is ... is piracy as well

[Urs]

If it's there, they will download it. Otherwise, nothing.

I think so too. But the great thing is, if you take it away from them then some will go legit. The trick is to build a copy protection that only applies to those who really use the stuff, but not those who crack or collect. This involves a lot of patience (e.g. do a time delayed check after hundreds of hours of musical use). This can be done in unintrusive, polite and even funny ways. One doesn't win new customers by pissing warez users off, but quite a lot react very well on a kind invitation - provided they liked what they tried.

[koalaboy]

I actually get the MI Sales Trak via a friend who shall remain nameless, and I don't mind sharing it here.

I hope you realize that the MI Sales Trak is a very expensive marketing tool and sharing it with anyone that didn't pay for is ... is piracy as well

Whilst I agree with your sentiment, from their own webpage:

Finally, MI SalesTrak is a selling tool, a way to demonstrate to current and potential customers the success of a brand or model and the rationale for specific merchandising strategies. And because the information is from an independent third-party, issues of possible bias and misinterpretation are past history.

It's not much use as a way to demonstrate anything, if you can't show the information to other people unless they have subscriptions.

[standalone]

Yesterday I replied to a post in youtube regarding an Omnisphere's patches preview video. I've just seen the re-reply. It went like this:


-"I'm thinking of buying this for my new stuff instead of a synth, is it worth it?"

-"It IS a synth, there are no loops in it".

-"Yeah but I meant real analogue audio, not a software based instrument audio. This does look very good though and i will probably be buying soon as I'm into my pads".


It has been stated the market is tiny, just a small share of the audio gear market. Wouldn't it be wise that the developers unite to promote the software solution?.

When I got my audio computer, Cubase, Kontakt, etc two years ago, my intention was buying a Fostex digital recorder and a Yamaha Motif. But the guy in the shop convinced me to buy a computer and software instead. I used to think that software was only for film score, samples and so.

I remember the first time I tried a soft synth, it was Linplug's Free Alpha 3, I found it by accident, just browsing the web to check what that guy was telling me. I didn't know how to make it work, so I ended here in KvR and learnt about VstHost and Savihost. I couldn't believe it. Thirty years ago I used to spend all my free time planning how to get myself a Korg MS20, and then, there I was playing a FREE synth that sounded absolutely great with my mouse!. Believe me, I was moved.

I think that all that is needed to attract more people from hardware to software is information and making it easy for them. They need a complete solution (DAW-audio card-plugins) and as few problems as possible.

[Hitch]

If it's there, they will download it. Otherwise, nothing.

I think so too. But the great thing is, if you take it away from them then some will go legit. The trick is to build a copy protection that only applies to those who really use the stuff, but not those who crack or collect. This involves a lot of patience (e.g. do a time delayed check after hundreds of hours of musical use). This can be done in unintrusive, polite and even funny ways. One doesn't win new customers by pissing warez users off, but quite a lot react very well on a kind invitation - provided they liked what they tried.

That's an admirable approach, Urs. In fact, I was very impressed by the time-delayed check that you planted in this thread. It's now kicked in via an automatic PM and I will be delighted to accept your offer of Zebra for £1 (minus VAT).

[Wintermute]

So - as we keep getting back to the piracy issue - let's assume that a non-negligible percentage of illegal copies are in fact lost sales, i.e. people who would (have to) buy the software if no crack were available. If that's true, and if it could be changed, more small developers could make a living, and Urs might be able to go all the way and pay 47% tax...

Now if developers can't use anti-piracy measures - which are expensive and might piss off legit users - I only see two approaches:

a) Give the legit/registered users benefits which are so attractive that the warez users feel left out: the full manual in PDF format; inline access to the live version of the manual in HTML format; patches + updates; access to support forums and knowledge bases; extra presets and other downloadable content; maybe even "bonus" features (more voices per instance when you register).

b) Educate the warez users. Show them they are hurting real people, not some faceless corporation. Now I know most people don't give a rat's ass about the Business Software Alliance's PR, because they represent huge corporations. But if we saw an ad showing some small-time developer coding in his bedroom, the reaction might be different. Or maybe not. Cynicism can go a long way...

Another policy would be to adapt prices for non-professional users. E.g., Microsoft Office Standard is $399, but that's not the kind of money your average household/freelancer would spend on MS software.

So they have Microsoft Office Home and Student, which is less than $100 in most markets. Now I am pretty sure most of the people who buy this are not students, and at one point, they will use it for some "professional" work, which is forbidden by the license.

And I'm sure Microsoft knows this, but they also know that otherwise, these people would simply download a pirated version or go with OpenOffice, and so Bill and Steve will rather take the $99 from a lot of people than nothing at all.

E.g., I'd love to own Omnisphere, but as I'm not really actively producing music anymore, I can't justify spending those $400. But I'd grab a "student version" for $99 immediately...

But I'm afraid that for most soft synths, marketing a separate, (even) cheaper "edu license" would be overkill.

[dodokvr]

Repercussions are what will prevent a fair amount of piracy, in the absence of effective measures by software developers.
Most of the piracy brigade wouldn't steal from a shop or break into a house because there is a fear of being caught and therefore exposed and all that goes with it. Oh the shame of it! There is no such threat on the web. You can effectively do what you like with no repercussions. Figures show (ie millions of illegal downloads of everything under the sun)that people are not as fundamentally honest as we all thought. They've just feared being caught in the past. On the web, there's no such fear.

You can't appeal to their better nature. Their nature is that they want to take without paying.

[ericj23]

problems

the benfits one - so you think the cracks community doesn't get all of that stuff too - the entire reakor library is going for free for those who know where to look

education - I think there will be this one 10 year spell where everyone who was a teenager then thinks it's ok to get everything for free. Young people are quite comfortable with using itunes nokia with music etc - but those kids of the noughties will always go for the "free option" - I think this is the best way forward - companies being upfront about how little they earn doing this might get across to people that this is a hands to mouth sort of business (or at least isn't sony or emi)

I think the non-professionals pricing works well too, but maybe better for hosts - I suspect the likes of reaper and fruity loops have lots of extra users because going legit is sooo cheap. But would anyone actually pay more than $99 for omnisphere is they could avoid it ???