Plugin pricing in the AI era

DSP, Plugin and Host development discussion.
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Yeah but that will never happen either because the government depends on the success of the tech sector as a major part of the economy.

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(yes, I am just that cynical about the Government intervening on behalf of workers in 2026)

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I think it will eventually become regulated, which is also a great way for governments to make money.

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Change is hard. But change is here for the software industry, whether we like it or not. Fighting that fact helps no one, least of all ourselves. Much better to adapt to the new reality and overcome.

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i see this as a problem with trust

would you trust one of these random dudes that pop up seemingly out of nowhere ever so often with some new spectacular presentation about a plugin/program, and run it on your machine?
if no one, not even the "author" has read the code at all (so what's left for understanding it)

personally, if one of the developers i know and i've learnt from, use chatbots as part of their process to make something - i could trust them (depends on how it is presented, case by case).
but some random dude with no history or backstory, with absolutely not even a single word written by him (even his posts are piped directly from the chatbot's rear end) then the answer is more like Nope.

i see some such already, it looks bad and fake, it rings all my alarm bells
  • very first communication (product presentation post on KVR or whatever) - obviously written by chatbot, with all the silly buzz words and things that make me re-read carefully a few more times and raise eyebrows
  • every next communication keeps being written by chatbots
  • website super polished modern, also with chatbot-like content, probably the website also made by chatbot
  • pictures/videos made with "AI" (if they play some important role, otherwise i might not mind)
  • not being honest about how the product has been made, if chatbots have been used heavily, if the "author" doesn't even know how the code works (understanding your own idea doesn't count, of course you understand what you've written in the prompt, but the code that comes out of the chatbot's butt is something else)
  • even worse: when the "author" straight up lies that he has written/created everything by hand, while he doesn't even understand some basics of the related subjects, denies, etc.. you've seen this
and especially when there's some obviously wrong thing somewhere in the info - trust shatters immediately and this dude goes straight into one of my mental "Nope" lists
It doesn't matter how it sounds..
..as long as it has BASS and it's LOUD!

irc.libera.chat >>> #kvr

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An inexperienced developer using AI can certainly produce bad software, but "AI was involved" is not proof of that. If a plugin works reliably, performs well and does what it promises, it has already passed the most important test for many users. The real issue is hidden problems and whether there is someone behind the product who understands, tests and takes responsibility for the result.

AI is just a tool. Most modern developers use AI tools in some way. The important question is not whether AI was used, but whether there is a competent person behind the product.
“The biggest crime of a musician is to play notes instead of making music.”
Isaac Stern

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well yes, it's about whether the author actually understands on a technical level how his thing works, and will keep it working

and how exactly can you know whether that's true for a product coming from a random dude with no history and a pile of "red flags" flying around him?

i'm worried about this myself too
imagine that i pull myself back together and start making plugins again - how do i not raise a pile of "red flags" in the eyes of the others?
i can only think of: be absolutely honest, if possible show enough clues and evidence that i've made what i claim i've made, if i'd used chatbots - honestly declare what for and how much etc..
otherwise i think my plugin would become part of this new noise floor

i mean, by allowing almost anybody with "an idea" to easily get to "some implementation of the idea that looks interesting on paper at least", you will get a flood of new plugins and programs and everything
this has already started to happen
imagine wanting a compressor, and there are 8236 options to choose from... and as you go thru the first ten - 23 new ones came into existance

detail: you maybe want to keep your "plugin arsenal" small and tight - maybe you need one "feed-forward" compressor that is flexible enough and you need it in the long run, as a stable safe ingredient in your tracks, you don't want to come back to some unfinished track from 2 years ago and suddenly find out that the compressor in it no longer works, or something in it has changed and your track doesn't sound the same at all...
Last edited by antto on Thu Jul 23, 2026 6:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
It doesn't matter how it sounds..
..as long as it has BASS and it's LOUD!

irc.libera.chat >>> #kvr

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Then make it stick out :)

In the end we are all just part of some noise. 99% of all musicians are. But this will never stop me from making music or writing software.
“The biggest crime of a musician is to play notes instead of making music.”
Isaac Stern

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yeah, now the noise floor has been raised above the heads of many actually good devs
we'll see if they can raise their heads above that
It doesn't matter how it sounds..
..as long as it has BASS and it's LOUD!

irc.libera.chat >>> #kvr

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Raise and shine !
“The biggest crime of a musician is to play notes instead of making music.”
Isaac Stern

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Frankly I am not so concerned. There will no doubt be AI slop plugins that will be released and rightly panned. There will also be a nice acceleration of development from people who know what they're doing. The bad plugins won't need any explanation, and I don't feel that the developers of the good ones owe me any kind of explanation of their development process.

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