Plugin Deflation

[jamcat]

My point was just that of course you're going to pay less for 1994 technology in 2024.
And it's still going to sound just as bad today. The difference is today we have a lot of better options.

Hell, the L2 and L3 were better options.

[DJErmac]

That’s entirely right.

Developers of old plugins should end up lowering their prices imho. Or prepare themselves to face concurrency.

[swilow11]

What's a plugin worth though? I find the price of something like Soothe2 perplexing given what it does. Or Blackhole Immersive. Eventide too liberal with the crack here methinks.

OTOH, a behemoth like Falcon is surely worth a few hundred, if we are to assign value to the amount of different tasks a tool can complete, which may (be?) the right metric for determining what a plugin should cost.

[jamcat]

I was just playing my Bösendorfer 280VC in Pianoteq.

It's a $260,000 piano that I got for $39. Because, software.


.

[DJErmac]

Value is always based on demand, no mystery I think.
If the developer sells it well at its price, then it’s the right price. People want it and are willing to pay this price ? No problem in any way. For a unique product there’s always room.
Doesn’t sell well ? Lower the price. Basics.

Some developers want to hang to their high prices though, even if we all know nobody’s ever talking about their products. Their choice, their own destiny.

Sorrry : value is in customer’s hearts.

[sascha]

Maybe it's also a question of market size. With the former example of Waves in 1997, how many potential customers did they have?
I remember gotten an offer (via physical mail!) from Steinberg around that time for some Waves products (I bought AudioTrack) to support their new VST something that hardly anyone knew what that was. I wasn't even sure if my PC had enough power to run such plugins. Unbelievable from today.
Don't have sales figures but I can imagine it wouldn't have been in the hundreds of thousands range that they were able to sell at that time.
I personally saw the VST scene grow between 2000 and 2003 quite exponentially, which was the time I did the digitalfishphones freeware plugins and needed to move to another hosting service because of bandwidth.
Today, I would reckon the potential customer base is probably 2 or 3 orders of magnitude larger than, say, 25 years ago. Which of course makes it easier to offer lower prices, at least if you set up pricing on an economic basis by doing the math based on effort vs potential revenue. There may be other factors distorting this, like brand value recognition or an added value for a customer to have certain tools that make him/her attract more clients (commercial studio owners).

[martinjuenke]

I was just playing my Bösendorfer 280VC in Pianoteq.

It's a $260,000 piano that I got for $39. Because, software.


.

Try to place your red dressed, ruby haired 29years singer on top of it to have a thrilling live performance. Hardware works, software not so much...

[AdvancedFollower]

My point was just that of course you're going to pay less for 1994 technology in 2024.
And it's still going to sound just as bad today. The difference is today we have a lot of better options.

Hell, the L2 and L3 were better options.

True, Waves have barely updated their old plugins except for the GUI and support for more modern systems. They're essentially still running 1990's DSP code at the core.

On the other hand, even those newer, better options are very cheap (or even free) these days. Only a few very powerful and respected brands can still sell their plugins for those kinds of prices. More and more developers are copying Waves and doing constant devaluation sales to the point where $29 for a plugin is pretty much the norm.

[jamcat]

That note from Disintegration was stuck in my head from the early 90s on. I still remember the moment I finished mounting a hi-wattage power amp in my car (a 1978 Ford Fiesta) and replaced the flimsy hat rack with a bulky DIYed baffle with decent hi-fi speakers, and then tested it by cranking up 'Plainsong'. Was happy that the chimes in the first seconds came out loud & crystal clear, and then after 30s my jaw dropped.

I’ve always suspected the wind chimes and the note saying “SO TURN IT UP” was the band trying to goad first-time listeners who have no idea what’s coming.

Damn, but what a way to open an album!
You almost don’t notice it’s just the theme from Sesame Street.

[billinder33]

This thread went off the rails.

Was it ever really on the rails?

[Ah_Dziz]

I'm always surprised at how cheap the software market has gotten since the early days. I think the list price of complete 2 was like 1400 dollars (I didn't check this and I paid very little as o bought a student copy). Even daws are generally pretty cheap for what one gets. This is all of course in the eye of the consumer, but for anyone who makes a living making music the current market is great!

PS none of the above post has anything to do with Waves' products.

[rod_zero]

Another topic hicked by jamcat rants, I would like some deflation on jamcat rants

[holmer]

I would like some deflation on jamcat rants

But then they won't be free anymore.


btw, Waves plugins cost around $200, it's only because of Waves' generosity you can get them so cheap on those crazy sales every now and then.

[jamcat]

Free?
They’re not free. Every time you read one, I steal another little piece of your soul.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Plugins are very cheap these days. Not only is the market, erm...saturated, but with companies like Plugin Alliance selling quality stuff so cheaply and music-making becoming much more open to the hobbyist and prosumer markets, that has become the expectation. Why pay more?

The biggest recent example of the current race-to-the-bottom culture affecting all companies, is UAD. Not only did they finally (have to) drop the hardware requirement, they've become just another 'when are we NOT having a sale' company.

Anyway, on a more serious note: If you're having problems with plugin deflation, this is the solution. If you time it right, you could probably snap it up for a fiver at Pluginaboutique and get a free copy of Waves Mercury bundle