Camel Audio ceasing sales? [Update: CA acquired by Apple]

[VitaminD]

There is a question I'm really dying to ask but don't dare because I know if I do I'm going to get viciously flamed. It concerns the availability of Alchemy after July 7th and legal ways, if any, to obtain a copy.

I will leave it at that.

Considering they are currently giving license owners a time window and means to backup/restore their licensed software to/after July 7th, I would say no. It doesn't mean all CamelAudio software becomes free after this date. If you are already a license holder, backup your software properly. CA even provided a tutorial on how to do so on their website.

The software simply isn't sold/updated anymore but the current licenses still remain intact. And, at this point, we will have to wait to see what occurs to CA as a whole. However, it seems, CA will survive in some form and thus their IP will too (so it will not become instantly free).

If we don't backup our software then, after July 7th, we lose our software. There would be no other means to recover legally. Poof.

edit: that is, unless, IF CamelAudio has been bought, then PERHAPS the new owner would keep support going. But, since they seem to be offering this means of backing up, it seems unlikely to me. They are severing the customer base and saying goodbye.

[wagtunes]

There is a question I'm really dying to ask but don't dare because I know if I do I'm going to get viciously flamed. It concerns the availability of Alchemy after July 7th and legal ways, if any, to obtain a copy.

I will leave it at that.

It is a fair and interesting question. If Camel Audio no longer exists as an entity then I am not sure who owns the IP, copyright or whatever....I speak as someone who bought the product and many soundpacks, potentially it will go from having some sort of transferable value to no value if the market is flooded with free copies that are not considered 'pirated' copies....

Do the people who made the soundpacks at least keep their 'ownership'/ability to sell them directly?

Thank you. Then it's just not me who's thinking about what happens when the company essentially says "We're done and no, nobody has bought us." and throws all their stuff in the trash.

Why then, as a consumer, should we care where we get a copy from if the company itself no longer cares? What's to stop me from putting an ad in a site somewhere "Wanted...Alchemy VST...Name Your Price."

Just curious.

[trimph1]

Alchemy Player?

I still have that...the same applies here?

[penguinfromdeep]

This is how it happened:

Evidence of the acquisition has appeared in the weekly bulletin of AGCM, Italy's antitrust regulatory agency. The announcement, which is in Italian, begins on page 37 of the bulletin (PDF) published on May 28, and the most relevant portion translates into English as follows:

Under the provisions of the contract "Asset Purchase Agreement Relating to the business as an ongoing concern of Redmatica S.r.l." (hereinafter the Agreement) with the present operation, Apple intends to acquire, through a transfer of assets, the business Redmatica.

AGCM determined that the proposed acquisition would not be anticompetitive in nature given the relatively small sizes of the entities in that specific market and an abundance of competitors. Consequently, the agency does not object to the acquisition by Apple.

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/30/app ... redmatica/


There was no official announcement. Redmatica closed it's doors and posted the website notice as this story broke, rapidly upgraded the authorisation scheme to serial numbers and sent emails to users with their serials and new download links (it was all rather quick), and Apple said nothing, but the looks of it, not even a press release. It has a standard media comment for this situations, which is along the lines of "From time to time, Apple buys companies for various strategic reasons it would like to keep private"... etc etc

And within something like two or three weeks, the Redmatica site was gone completely. It was a shame, but good for Andrea who presumably went to work on the Logic team, or some other area Apple could use him with.

Thanks for doing the research Beely.

[HideawayStudio]

This is how it happened:

Evidence of the acquisition has appeared in the weekly bulletin of AGCM, Italy's antitrust regulatory agency. The announcement, which is in Italian, begins on page 37 of the bulletin (PDF) published on May 28, and the most relevant portion translates into English as follows:

Under the provisions of the contract "Asset Purchase Agreement Relating to the business as an ongoing concern of Redmatica S.r.l." (hereinafter the Agreement) with the present operation, Apple intends to acquire, through a transfer of assets, the business Redmatica.

AGCM determined that the proposed acquisition would not be anticompetitive in nature given the relatively small sizes of the entities in that specific market and an abundance of competitors. Consequently, the agency does not object to the acquisition by Apple.

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/30/app ... redmatica/


There was no official announcement. Redmatica closed it's doors and posted the website notice as this story broke, rapidly upgraded the authorisation scheme to serial numbers and sent emails to users with their serials and new download links (it was all rather quick), and Apple said nothing, but the looks of it, not even a press release. It has a standard media comment for this situations, which is along the lines of "From time to time, Apple buys companies for various strategic reasons it would like to keep private"... etc etc

And within something like two or three weeks, the Redmatica site was gone completely. It was a shame, but good for Andrea who presumably went to work on the Logic team, or some other area Apple could use him with.

Thanks for doing the research Beely.

+1 It made for interesting if not slightly disturbing reading.

[HideawayStudio]

...and similarly - do we know what happened to the original staff/regular developers?

[whyterabbyt]

Why then, as a consumer, should we care where we get a copy from if the company itself no longer cares?

What exactly are you a consumer of, then? Stuff you think you're entitled to for free merely because you didnt actually buy it when it was available?
You didnt care enough to buy it from them, why should the company care about you in the first place?

[Daags]

So in that very specific and not at all frequent context I believe it is ethically dubious to sell such expensive bundles with enticement of big discounts, however ordinary it is to discount bundles significantly.

Ah right. If you're a business who has had been offering a long-term bundle deal on your website, then its ethically dubious to not remove that deal in case you cease trading.

if you're finalizing the closure of your software business, yes it's ethically dubious as far as I'm concerned. lets not forget we're talking about software here, where support is a vital factor that is considered.

if it's a business related closure, I find it inconceivable that this came as a suprise to them. and therefore I find it ethically dubious to sell bundles for what, 700 euro, in the run up to the closure and not only announce suppport has been dropped - but if reports are accurate - that you can't sell the license should the lack of future support be a deal breaker for you.

[beely]

...and similarly - do we know what happened to the original staff/regular developers?

They became an Apple employee.

[wagtunes]

Why then, as a consumer, should we care where we get a copy from if the company itself no longer cares?

What exactly are you a consumer of, then? Stuff you think you're entitled to for free merely because you didnt actually buy it when it was available?
You didnt care enough to buy it from them, why should the company care about you in the first place?

You're assuming that everybody had a chance to buy the software when it was available. What about people who just got their first computer yesterday or didn't have the money prior?

If somebody wants to, in good faith, buy their software, which is technically available (I mean it still exists, right) if they refuse to sell it to me, why should I care where I get it from?

I'm willing to say to CA right now, "Take my money." If they refuse to do that, why should I care where i get their software from? They are not even giving me an alternative for another software like when Adobe discontinued CS 3 and told me I had to buy CS 6 even though I was a CS 3 owner and lost my original install. They refused to replace it but at least gave me another option. With CA, I now have no other option but to do without the software.

Again, if they are going out of business, refuse to take my money, why should I care where I get their software from, if I even can and get it working?

[HideawayStudio]

. . .

[beely]

if it's a business related closure, I find it inconceivable that this came as a suprise to them.

*You* may find it inconceivable, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Heads down, working hard to the nest release and in the final stages, out of the blue Large Company X approaches them with an offer that stops them dead in their tracks. or a lawsuit. Or something equally large. I've been involved in this stuff.

You stop what you are doing, have a little bit of shock, and take some time to assess how this affects you, talk to some people, get legal advice, have meetings. A decision is made, which you cannot discuss in public because it would upset the offer, market value, legal position etc, and all of a sudden it's done and you have no way of messaging your customers.

It happens like this *all the time*, and yes, it often comes as a shock to most people involved.

[trimph1]

...and similarly - do we know what happened to the original staff/regular developers?

They became an Apple employee.

Fair enough - but still with them?

Some might still be?

[mutantdog]

I get where you are coming from. I'd been contemplating buying CamelSpace for some time, only got it recently second-hand and used it once since then. Still not sure i particularly need it but I'm glad i have it anyway.

[VitaminD]

...and similarly - do we know what happened to the original staff/regular developers?

They became an Apple employee.

Fair enough - but still with them?

Once you are assimilated into the borg, you do not leave the collective.*










*Unless you are Picard, he got a break for being the best Starfleet Captain