And now - in response to some of your thoughts...
RE: distribution.
I have an uncompromising (and ultimately destructive) view when it comes to distribution. I don't see why someone else should make money from my work. Most distributors aren't interested in giving the end user or the product maker a fair deal - they simply want to make their slice of the pie *as large as possible*. Furthermore, distribution deals are only really worthwhile if they are backed by heavy advertising - it's pointless having 2000 copies of ns_kit7 sitting on shelves in music shops if nobody knows or cares about the product. Generally, it isn't the distributor who pays for this promotion/marketing - it is the company. But even heavy advertising is a hit or miss game, and not something the smaller business can afford to gamble with. For whatever reason, even having ns_kit7 on the front cover of Computer Music magazine several times (not to mention the glowing 9/10 review) didn't help sales. Not one iota. Do you think a full page advert costing hundreds of pounds would help? Unlikely.
The best way for the smaller business to advertise is word of mouth, and I believe we have been very succesful in that manner. Sure, not everyone knows about ns_kit7, but considering it has never been formally advertised, it is known by a very large number of people. But for a product to *really* take off online, I would have to sit around for 70% of my life on forums. I tried that for a while, and it's not something I can sustain.
But the fact remains, ns_kit7 *is* a widely known product and the free version continues to be downloaded at a remarkable rate.
I think the real reason for lack of sales is quite simple - it came on the market a year too late at a time when the climate was shifting towards standalone VSTi.
Our inital plan *was* for a standalone, custom VSTi, but we were severely and irrepairably let down by a developer. This delayed release of ns_kit7 by a year. We made the (ultimately illfated) decision to release ns_kit7 in HALion 3 format, but the user base for this was too small. As far as I am aware, ns_kit7 is still one of the few serious libraries designed for HALion 3 (and not just ported to that format from GigaStudio/HAL2/Kontakt). For whatever reason, people were reluctant to shell out for HALion 3 Player - no one seemed to see that ns_kit7 plus HALion 3 player was a better (and more economic) solution than many of the competing drum libraries on the market.
After several months, we were *finally* able to release ns_kit7 in Kontakt 2 format. The delay was due to a mapping bug in the Kontakt 2 software which made it impossible to auto map libraries with extreme velocity layering. I can only imagine the bug wasn't noticed because at that point, we were the only developer producing Kontakt 2 instruments with such high levels of velocity layering.
Despite the fact that there is a *much* larger Kontakt 2 user base, sales didn't exactly come pouring in. The fact is, custom VSTi/GUIs seemed to be (and still are) ruling the roost. I seriously looked into licensing Kontakt 2 player, but Native Instruments seemed to have designed their license scheme for large companies who wish to rip off their customers. This is a whole other story which I explained in depth here: http://www.naturalstudio.co.uk/bb/viewt ... ted+player
I think that clears some of the questions/thoughts up, but there are a couple of things I'd like to deal with individually:
I have to take issue with the description of marketing and distribution as shambolic. The marketing was non-existant, not shambolic. As for the distribution, I have consciously, from day one, sold ns_kit7 exclusively through the Natural Studio shop. This allows me to charge so little for the library, as there are no middle men.iain_morland wrote:I was looking at the NS site yesterday and listening to the demos. They're very good. But the marketing and distribution of ns_kit seems to have been pretty shambolic - see the several threads discussing it (and making, IMO, very sound suggestions) on the NS forum.
More importantly several people on the NS forum seem to have waited many weeks or months for the DVDs, only to find some of them don't work properly. TBH it doesn't fill me with confidence, even though I'd really like to support the developer.
It sounds like there might a long wait before a production run, then a long wait for the DVDs to arrive, then they might not work and by that time NS may have completely closed shop. There were also mentions on the NS forum of people having problems obtaining a password for the sample files, and the dev not replying to emails for ages.
Yes, it's true that some people have waited several weeks for their copies of the library (for varying legitimate reasons), but the vast majority receive their DVDs without a hiccup. For the record, I go to the post office and send out all DVDs personally and take full responsibiliy for all orders placed. With regards to faulty DVDs, we have had a couple of bad batches, but all have been replaced, free of charge. Also, 5 or so faulty DVDs out of 2000 isn't exactly bad. Also, I have no intention of ever completely closing shop.
I will continue to support ns_kit7 and all other existing libraries. Part of the reason for me deciding to cut back on the development of new libraries is so I can reply to e-mails more promptly. It's not easy being a one man business, but I try my best!iain_morland wrote:There were also mentions on the NS forum of people having problems obtaining a password for the sample files, and the dev not replying to emails for ages.
Yes, I have considered licensing subsets of the library out, and this may still provide some afterlife for the library.iain_morland wrote:Sorry to sound so negative but I think the way ahead for NS would be to get a distribution deal -- surely someone like NI would be interested in adding the ns_kit material to Battery or suchlike? It seems a terrible waste for this amazing sample set to go kaput after selling less than 500 copies...
Well, not exactly. RE: the record label - it has merely been put on hold (definitley not discontinued) and CDs will continue to be sold. RE: sampled instruments - I will continue to provide customer support for ns_kit7 and other existing libraries, and will most certainly continue selling the congas as an individual product.pljones wrote:Basically, he's shutting up shop, including his record label.
Phew - that was a long one. Thanks again for all your comments - I'm always happy to respond. If you have any further questions, just post them here or over at the Natural Studio forum.
Cheers,
Douglas.
I also thing that a sample library is sooo much better than a VI - and even un unprotected one - so I can port it to and load it into any sampler (Independence in my case).