Big Companies That Get It Right

[lwj]

U-he had a massive sale on the NI store not that long ago.. so 'no sales' is apparently a bit of marketing spin then.

[ShawnG]

NI: Best company in the biz.

Did you mean U-he?

Just kidding, nothing against NI.

And really, never had problems with Waves, IK Multimedia, Native Instruments, Plugin Alliance or Slate Digital. Waves, IK Multimedia and PA have some marketing strategies that I don't like 100%, but it's not a huge problem to me.

I think i'd like u-he more, if it wasn't for the do-gooder, "we are more ethical than others" attitude, and the almost religious worship of Urs around here and elsewhere.

No offense, i think Urs is a alright guy, it's just that i wished i could say the same about some of his followers.

I dont think it’s worship, but more highly respected. Dude always keeps his cool, responds to a ton of questions on this forum, takes user feedback and uses it, friendly, etc...

Nothing but good things to say about Uhe as whole. No bullshit sales to entice buyers. Free synths that are more powerful than some paid for synths. Synths rarely need updates, and when needed, theyre on it asap. I dont “worship” Uhe but it’ll be hard to find a better big company.

All of this is true. U-he is awesome. However It does need to be said that he did launch a policy last year where he feels that all buyers need to pay for the VAT taxes of europeans. Imagine if NI or Steinberg or IK were to do that... since it was urs, apparently no big deal...

Now I did notice that his plugs are now available from resellers here, so at least that is some solution for the problem, but... yeah

[elxsound]

Its gotta be said again... u-he is 13 employees.

Just 13

How is that a big company?

Niche market, and users who think a nicely done website means its a big company.

[ShawnG]

I dont think anybody was trying to say that u-he is a big company, certainly not me. We’re discussing an ancillary point of whether u-he is hero-worshipped or not, and whether small companies like that get a pass that larger companies don’t on the forums.

As far as I’m concerned, the companies that are in this industry are ALL tiny, save Apple of course.

[elxsound]

I dont “worship” Uhe but it’ll be hard to find a better big company.

[ShawnG]

I read that as: he couldn’t think of a big company that is better, not that u-he was big themselves.

[elxsound]

I read that as: he couldn’t think of a big company that is better, not that u-he was big themselves.

Even writing it that way, means you thought that he thinks it is a big company.

Anyway, I know you what are trying to say, but you are imposing your interpretation when it might not be valid.

I still think it’s important to remind people that none of these companies are actually big companies.

No thread ever stays on topic, but at least people can lose the “big company” description because it doesn’t apply.

U-he= 13 employees.

I’ve seen people go on rants about Spectrasonics (50 employees) and Soundtoys (again, 7-8 employees) but most if not all in this industry, like you mentioned except for Apple (132,000) or Adobe (21,428) are small developers/vendors.

[Teksonik]

Sometimes it's not the size that counts but how you use it.....

IK Multimedia may have more employees but U-He is one of the best run companies in the business. Maybe it should be annual revenue in relation to the market that defines a "big" company and not how many butts are in the seats at the office.

[Butwug]

I read that as: he couldn’t think of a big company that is better, not that u-he was big themselves.

Also, there should be a clearer definition of what “big” is when talking about this. Even the “big” guys like ableton are tiny, despite being heavy hitters in the industry. Is big the number of employees, number of vst’s, sales, influence, etc...?

But my initial reply was geared more towards Uhe being worshipped or not.

Anywho, dont mind me. Barely been doing this music stuff for less than a year Just going off initial observations.

[elxsound]

Sometimes it's not the size that counts but how you use it.....

IK Multimedia may have more employees but U-He is one of the best run companies in the business. Maybe it should be annual revenue in relation to the market that defines a "big" company and not how many butts are in the seats at the office.

Only guys with a small penis say that

IK is estimated at 22 million in annual revenue. I’m pretty sure Urs has mentioned numbers no where near that.

[ShawnG]

I read that as: he couldn’t think of a big company that is better, not that u-he was big themselves.

Even writing it that way, means you thought that he thinks it is a big company.

Anyway, I know you what are trying to say, but you are imposing your interpretation when it might not be valid.

I still think it’s important to remind people that none of these companies are actually big companies.

No thread ever stays on topic, but at least people can lose the “big company” description because it doesn’t apply.

U-he= 13 employees.

I’ve seen people go on rants about Spectrasonics (50 employees) and Soundtoys (again, 7-8 employees) but most if not all in this industry, like you mentioned except for Apple (132,000) or Adobe (21,428) are small developers/vendors.

No, I never at any point thought that mr.(or ms) butwug believed that u-he is a large company, and while I offered an interpretation (correctly as it turns out) I was not imposing one, that would be you, unfortunately.

However I didn’t respond just to continue a battle of kvr territorial pissings with you, but to ask why you feel that it’s that important to stress the small overall stature of companies in this industry?

the reason I’m curious is that I feel it might be somewhat germane to my actual discussion on developer hero worship, and other points raised by others in this thread about permissable behavior towards developers, based on their size.

[Teksonik]

IK is estimated at 22 million in annual revenue. I’m pretty sure Urs has mentioned numbers no where near that.

No of course U-He revenue is far less since IK since sells hardware, sample content, etc.

My point being that just because U-he only has 13 employees I'd still consider them a big company in the market.

With those limited resources they've managed to produce some of the highest quality products while providing the highest level of customer service.

One could argue that IK has not taken equal advantage of their workforce.

[elxsound]

I read that as: he couldn’t think of a big company that is better, not that u-he was big themselves.

Even writing it that way, means you thought that he thinks it is a big company.

Anyway, I know you what are trying to say, but you are imposing your interpretation when it might not be valid.

I still think it’s important to remind people that none of these companies are actually big companies.

No thread ever stays on topic, but at least people can lose the “big company” description because it doesn’t apply.

U-he= 13 employees.

I’ve seen people go on rants about Spectrasonics (50 employees) and Soundtoys (again, 7-8 employees) but most if not all in this industry, like you mentioned except for Apple (132,000) or Adobe (21,428) are small developers/vendors.

No, I never at any point thought that mr.(or ms) butwug believed that u-he is a large company, and while I offered an interpretation (correctly as it turns out) I was not imposing one, that would be you, unfortunately.

However I didn’t respond just to continue a battle of kvr territorial pissings with you, but to ask why you feel that it’s that important to stress the small overall stature of companies in this industry?

the reason I’m curious is that I feel it might be somewhat germane to my actual discussion on developer hero worship, and other points raised by others in this thread about permissable behavior towards developers, based on their size.

It's not imposing when they wrote what they wrote (however they actually meant it). I didn't write it for them and it's not poetry.

Anyways, its also not territorial pissings... This is not my territory, so all can piss freely any which they want.

Its important (or I feel it is) because many users are quick to bash companies and their supposed "corporate greed" by calling them "big." It becomes a justification for being a dick to various companies that people perceive as being big. Its even a justification for some to use warez, because some will believe they are less privileged than the seller/developer.

Just because you don't see it in this thread, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Someone with the same argument (mentioned above) went of their handle when I pointed out that Spectrasonics wasn't a big company. The same with Soundtoys (and their 7-8 employees).

Some of these companies may be able to be considered big, only comparatively speaking, within this niche market, but that means little when the cost of living is the same (though geographically-economically specific)

[ShawnG]

To touch on some other points at the beginning of the thread. I definitely remember a time when Waves plugins were “pro”,very expensive, and never on sale. I wonder which sales approach is working better for Waves, and also how users view the quality of the plugs, then vs. now.

[ShawnG]

I read that as: he couldn’t think of a big company that is better, not that u-he was big themselves.

Even writing it that way, means you thought that he thinks it is a big company.

Anyway, I know you what are trying to say, but you are imposing your interpretation when it might not be valid.

I still think it’s important to remind people that none of these companies are actually big companies.

No thread ever stays on topic, but at least people can lose the “big company” description because it doesn’t apply.

U-he= 13 employees.

I’ve seen people go on rants about Spectrasonics (50 employees) and Soundtoys (again, 7-8 employees) but most if not all in this industry, like you mentioned except for Apple (132,000) or Adobe (21,428) are small developers/vendors.

No, I never at any point thought that mr.(or ms) butwug believed that u-he is a large company, and while I offered an interpretation (correctly as it turns out) I was not imposing one, that would be you, unfortunately.

However I didn’t respond just to continue a battle of kvr territorial pissings with you, but to ask why you feel that it’s that important to stress the small overall stature of companies in this industry?

the reason I’m curious is that I feel it might be somewhat germane to my actual discussion on developer hero worship, and other points raised by others in this thread about permissable behavior towards developers, based on their size.

It's not imposing when they wrote what they wrote (however they actually meant it). I didn't write it for them and it's not poetry.

Anyways, its also not territorial pissings... This is not my territory, so all can piss freely any which they want.

Its important (or I feel it is) because many users are quick to bash companies and their supposed "corporate greed" by calling them "big." It becomes a justification for being a dick to various companies that people perceive as being big. Its even a justification for some to use warez, because some will believe they are less privileged than the seller/developer.

Just because you don't see it in this thread, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Someone with the same argument (mentioned above) went of their handle when I pointed out that Spectrasonics wasn't a big company. The same with Soundtoys (and their 7-8 employees).

Some of these companies may be able to be considered big, only comparatively speaking, within this niche market, but that means little when the cost of living is the same (though geographically-economically specific)

Exactly. People feel they can behave however they want to a large company, and not to a small one (unless they REALLY screw up *cough* discoDSP *cough*) it’s over entitled internet behavior and a lapse in moral judgement. Speaking as a person who provides support services for a VERY large company. (Not in the music industry).