This flood of threads in the Sales & Buy forum just gives me the impression that...

[mgw38]

For most of us this is a hobby. And hobbies come in different flavors. I like the car metaphor because there are also people who like to work on their cars without ever driving them. It is a little bit like that. And as long as you know what you are doing and enjoy the way you are doing it there is also nothing wrong with that.

[Stefken]

+1 There are different ways to enjoy a hobby. And one isn't better than another one.

[Elektronisch]

For most of us this is a hobby. And hobbies come in different flavors. I like the car metaphor because there are also people who like to work on their cars without ever driving them. It is a little bit like that. And as long as you know what you are doing and enjoy the way you are doing it there is also nothing wrong with that.

Then well, your hobby isnt music making, but shoping for virtual instruments/effects

[wagtunes]

I can't speak for everybody else but I make tons of music and have sold very few of the plugins I have purchased.

[mgw38]

For most of us this is a hobby. And hobbies come in different flavors. I like the car metaphor because there are also people who like to work on their cars without ever driving them. It is a little bit like that. And as long as you know what you are doing and enjoy the way you are doing it there is also nothing wrong with that.

Then well, your hobby isnt music making, but shoping for virtual instruments/effects

Au contraire. I do have quite a few tracks finished and professionally mastered. And I am doing increasingly well on Spotify. If the current growth of listeners continues I will be a millionaire in less than half a million years.

But I do admit that I find joy in maintaining my computer system. It is not as much about shopping as it is about building the perfect music production environment. Without actually producing anything, that would not make sense, of course. But the actual production itself is not necessarily the one and only thing I find joy in.

[SmartCat]

only a handful of users here are really making music.
I mean, all this hundreds and thousands of weekly second hand license transfers of top-notch software instruments are just insane. What happend to us musicians? Do we have way to many toys to play with and have completely lost our creativity and destination? Or is this even normal?

Wealth.

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I don't follow. If we are all so wealthy why are so many of us selling plugins to fund the purchase of more plugins or recoup some cash?

Wealth is a good argument. I think a lot of us are buying software just because we have the money to spend. Even if it´s a lot of money. And after a few hours or days with testing and playing, we suddenly decide that this is not something we really need, or is overlapping with other software we already own. If you ask me, this trend is scary.

I'm no going to flat out argue against wealth being a good argument, I just think there's a little more to it than that. A thriving second market can also be an indication of consumers being thrifty. Depending on where you live in the world, currency exchange rates and personal circumstances etc, a lot of software is still very expensive and for some trading on the second hand market, may be the only viable way to gain access to the high end tools they need/desire for their production.

In my experience, there has always been a fairly healthy amount of PA plugs being bought/sold, but this has ramped up since the announcement of their new sub plan. A lot of people will be cashing in fund their sub or cashing out in protest. Also it's summer sale time, which again for a lot of folks is a good time to save some money on new tools and if money is tight, this could well mean having to let go of some unused/wanted or simply not relevant plugins, in order to finance these purchases. Factors such as these must also be considered imo.

While this is surely true I believe that at some point we have lost focus on what we really need to make music and what not. The evolution of technology is amazing and I really love the fact that today I cannot only choose one wavetable synthesizer but 10 or even 30 if I want to. And this is the downside of technology at the same time.
And I think that we are simply overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of choices we have today, which results in GAS and then trying to get rid of all the stuff we actually didn´t ever need.

[Stefken]

Yes, digital hoarding is the pitfall. From a production point of view that's not a good thing. For me it's mainly about experiencing different flavors and synthesis techniques, so for me it's more a journey into sound.

In (serious) photography a pure software solution does not exist as with softsynths. You still need an (expensive) hardware solution so I've been using the same dslr camera for 10 years now. That also means, once you have your gear, you focus on using what you have. (Although I can also enjoy technical discussions).

[mgw38]

Yes, digital hoarding is the pitfall.

Digital hoarders would never sell though.

[martinjuenke]

We‘re all Trader Joes dealing with snake oil and whiskey and we‘re loving it!

[v1o]

Even in the market for hardware there are people that just buy and sell synths. Most of them are either hobbyists or collectors. Very few of them actually make music. They are the reason for the ridiculous prices for vintage gear.

[telecode]

I haven't sold anything I bought music wise. I should pickup a used license of something. But can't be bothered. Maybe Ableton one day.

[sos87]

i've just spent 18 long hard months making my 3rd album - lyrics, guitar, samples, everything is in there, should be released within the next week. my creativity is spent right now!
I try not to let GAS get in the way of the creativity but now that i'm almost finished, the summer sales just happen to be on and i've bought several things. I can't wait to embark on a splurge of tryouts/learning and i know this will give me fresh impetus to start on new stuff. So from a solo musician/producer's point of view there's something to be said for GAS, it can give the inspiration that I would've otherwise got from band members, minus the personality clashes, egos, arranging rehearsal times etc etc.

[wagtunes]

i've just spent 18 long hard months making my 3rd album - lyrics, guitar, samples, everything is in there, should be released within the next week. my creativity is spent right now!
I try not to let GAS get in the way of the creativity but now that i'm almost finished, the summer sales just happen to be on and i've bought several things. I can't wait to embark on a splurge of tryouts/learning and i know this will give me fresh impetus to start on new stuff. So from a solo musician/producer's point of view there's something to be said for GAS, it can give the inspiration that I would've otherwise got from band members, minus the personality clashes, egos, arranging rehearsal times etc etc.

18 months to do ONE album? That's real dedication.

[generaldiomedes]

18 months sounds about right to make something that’s actually good.

[wagtunes]

18 months sounds about right to make something that’s actually good.

Well, that might explain why my stuff sounds like crap.