Why Linux is Becoming Impossible for Audio Developers to Ignore

[Tiles]

Nobody has explained why "Linux is impossible to ignore" and what were to happen if one did ignore it.

Nobody is ignoring Linux.

Most developers are perfectly open to supporting another platform. It is simply a question of cost versus benefit.

That is why this whole discussion feels so bizarre. It keeps getting framed as if developers had something against Linux, when in reality it is mostly an engineering and business decision.

[keys_au1]

.......Linux just isn’t isn’t for you at this time. Perhaps in a year or two or three…

Yep, you are correct. I'm not ready for it and it's not ready for me. I have now ditched Linux altogether and returned to windows, and really , especially with nthe AtlasOS build, it is sanppier, with a hugely reduced footprint (install of W11 was reduced to 21gig) - and EVERYTHING simply works! No work-arounds, no researching the tiniest glitch for hours.

Finally back to being "creative and not constructive"

If those issues I have outlined are addressed in any future linux kernel and distro, then perhaps it may warrant a revisit. Until then, nope. And as you wrote, these devleopmetns could be years away, if ever!

[Morphoice]

Nobody has explained why "Linux is impossible to ignore" and what were to happen if one did ignore it.

Speaking from experience, ignoring it costs you roughly the sales I made by not ignoring it. Which, full transparency, was one.
Take from that what you will.

Just curious, how does that compare to sales on other platforms for that software?

Linux user here, I've bought Reaper and donated to Rui for qtractor and his other software, and to falktx. Also have contributed some instruments and manual proofreading to Yoshimi, so not a total freeloader.

Really not in the market for anything myself, but it seems to me the biggest unmet need in linux music creation is something equivalent to Kontact and the like...

What I mean is that, since the linux audio market is small, there's not much need for yet another product where there is already a pretty abundant supply. A lot of my own needs, for example, are supplied by what's available in Reaper.

Devs, do what you think is best for yourselves.

across all my plugins Linux accounts for roughly 0.3% of the sales. 60% is PC, the rest MAC

Atm I'm working on a Jupiter-8 clone, and just for good measure it will probably be compiled for linux too using the same setup, but I'm not expecting it to sell on that platform

[TechHaus]

Nobody has explained why "Linux is impossible to ignore" and what were to happen if one did ignore it.

Speaking from experience, ignoring it costs you roughly the sales I made by not ignoring it. Which, full transparency, was one.
Take from that what you will.

Just curious, how does that compare to sales on other platforms for that software?

Linux user here, I've bought Reaper and donated to Rui for qtractor and his other software, and to falktx. Also have contributed some instruments and manual proofreading to Yoshimi, so not a total freeloader.

Really not in the market for anything myself, but it seems to me the biggest unmet need in linux music creation is something equivalent to Kontact and the like...

What I mean is that, since the linux audio market is small, there's not much need for yet another product where there is already a pretty abundant supply. A lot of my own needs, for example, are supplied by what's available in Reaper.

Devs, do what you think is best for yourselves.

across all my plugins Linux accounts for roughly 0.3% of the sales. 60% is PC, the rest MAC

Atm I'm working on a Jupiter-8 clone, and just for good measure it will probably be compiled for linux too using the same setup, but I'm not expecting it to sell on that platform

It's wild because when I open my browser that I make payments in, your gumroad is still loaded up on there. And when I go to my downloads folder, your synth is still in there unzipped.

You dropped the ball so hard in that thread. You need to hire someone that isn't you to sell your stuff. Congrats on you ~300 sales, though. I wonder how much higher that number could have been! Probably 3-5%. But you are on here crapping on paying Linux users...good luck with the Jupiter!

[audiojunkie]

Nobody has explained why "Linux is impossible to ignore" and what were to happen if one did ignore it.

Speaking from experience, ignoring it costs you roughly the sales I made by not ignoring it. Which, full transparency, was one.
Take from that what you will.

Just curious, how does that compare to sales on other platforms for that software?

Linux user here, I've bought Reaper and donated to Rui for qtractor and his other software, and to falktx. Also have contributed some instruments and manual proofreading to Yoshimi, so not a total freeloader.

Really not in the market for anything myself, but it seems to me the biggest unmet need in linux music creation is something equivalent to Kontact and the like...

What I mean is that, since the linux audio market is small, there's not much need for yet another product where there is already a pretty abundant supply. A lot of my own needs, for example, are supplied by what's available in Reaper.

Devs, do what you think is best for yourselves.

across all my plugins Linux accounts for roughly 0.3% of the sales. 60% is PC, the rest MAC

Atm I'm working on a Jupiter-8 clone, and just for good measure it will probably be compiled for linux too using the same setup, but I'm not expecting it to sell on that platform

I was not referring to you in my post. I’m actually looking forward to your Jupiter. The sound is the most important thing to me, and EightySix sounds great! If your Jupiter sounds good too, I’ll probably buy that too.

BTW, this is your sales:

Treating these as proportions where 1 corresponds to 0.3%:

* For x = 60%:

x = \frac{60}{0.3} = 200

* For y = 39.7%:

y = \frac{39.7}{0.3} \approx 132.33

So the values are:

* x = 200
* y ≈ 132.33

Notice that 200 + 132.33 \approx 332.33, which corresponds to 60\% + 39.7\% = 99.7\%.

If you had sold all of that at the price you are at now, you’d be doing well. Don’t do the donation thing this time, and just sell your Jupiter at full price. As you continue to release and support your excellent sounding product, learning from past mistakes and continuing forward, your reputation will grow.

[Grizzellda]

Linux is rising, but way too many distros. That seems appealing, but it is a dead end. Overwhelmed with options, the hapless computer geek throws up their hands and says...HELP!!!

Focus may be required here guyz! There really should be a basic, trustworthy Linux distro for artists.

[Tiles]

across all my plugins Linux accounts for roughly 0.3% of the sales. 60% is PC, the rest MAC

Yeah, this is exactly the kind of real-world data that explains why many developers make the decisions they do.

[TechHaus]

across all my plugins Linux accounts for roughly 0.3% of the sales. 60% is PC, the rest MAC

Yeah, this is exactly the kind of real-world data that explains why many developers make the decisions they do.

Yet the person you are quoting is releasing their next plugin with a Linux version, still. So how does it explain his decision?

It's as if there is more to the story explaining his sales numbers.

[Grizzellda]

So what??

"Rise up, gather round...rock this place to the ground"...

Linux "sales numbers" could well increase, and should!! Will actually, if enuff of us keep on it!!!

I will pay for quality NATIVE apps, I said that before.

[Tiles]

It is not just on users or developers. Even Google was not able to establish a mainstream desktop Linux ecosystem. The core issue is structural: fragmentation, systemic problems and weak OEM support limit market share, and that in turn discourages commercial software availability. These are long-standing constraints.

[TechHaus]

I'm actually updating my Notion database tonight with all of the plugins on my system(s). Haven't updated since mid-January. The number has ballooned. From like 215 to over 320 (still have a way to go tonight).

The database is how I quickly get to a manufacturer / dev's website, keep quotes and tips from forums handy, note where I download or install it from, and keep my license key #'s, etc.

I have checkboxes for "free", "want", one for my laptop and desktop (my laptop is crap and my desktop is good, so they kind of both have different production workflows and philosophies), and a checkbox called "A-list" which are like my mission critical ones that I would install first if I needed to set up a system from scratch quickly.

Obviously, I can also sort by category or manufacturer and several other pieces of metadata.

In comparison to my 300 something plugins, in KVR's database the # of Linux plugins is over 1200, on Linuxdaw.org it's 1044 (they are like 2 weeks out of date, though), and on Linuxmusic.rocks it's at 1503.

On one hand it rocks that I have all of this info in the cloud on a service I can access from my browser, on the other hand I kind of wish I used Logseq https://logseq.com/ , a privacy-first open-source app that does everything Notion does.

[Tiles]

I will pay for quality NATIVE apps, I said that before.

You could try to develop it by yourself. Easy peasy

[Grizzellda]

Perhaps not so "easy"... I am asking developers for this, and not saying I am ready to do it!!!

[Tiles]

But think about the honor !!!

Joke asides, that’s the core issue: wanting native apps is the easy part, and developers having to deal with the actual cost of building and maintaining them is where it gets real.