No demo, refund and even NFR of some orchestral libraries - is that legal?

[vurt]

Thanks for the heads up I wont be buying any Spitfire and I was looking for orchestral so you saved me some big potential wasted bucks

The issue is not related to Spitfire only. All major orchestral libraries developers use the same methods. I started the thread to discuss the problem not the quality of the product. Plugin developer who does not provide demo together with no refund policy is non-sense for us. However library type software developers use this policy as a standard and all of us think that is OK.

well, its kind of difficult to give you a demo of a sample library without giving you the samples.
then some people may just download the demo, sample maker goes out of business.
recording samples for an orchestra is costly, hes not going to put it out there for what would for many people im sure, be a free product at high quality. (sample devs in general)

[5Lives]

Spitfire’s quality is definitely win-win, but it is on you to properly evaluate if the library is right for you before buying using their numerous videos and sound examples.

[Vortifex]

..

[yellowmix]

The issue is not related to Spitfire only. All major orchestral libraries developers use the same methods. I started the thread to discuss the problem not the quality of the product. Plugin developer who does not provide demo together with no refund policy is non-sense for us. However library type software developers use this policy as a standard and all of us think that is OK.

What would you be willing to do for a useable demo? Credit checks, mailed contract paperwork, and payment for the download bandwidth? Not to mention the logistical framework these developers would have to add to manage it? Plus the technical infrastructure to revoke it? Then go subscribe to East West Composer Cloud, because that's what you're looking for.

Developers are fighting stolen credit cards, and one sale is enough to leak it to the rest of the world forever. This is the reality of the situation. If you want them to have faith in the world, they need something in return. What would you be willing to give up?

[Burillo]

well, its kind of difficult to give you a demo of a sample library without giving you the samples.

well, actually, no, it isn't. see, for example, free version of SampleTank, Syntronik, or indeed Kontakt itself. just because it's a sample library doesn't mean the developer has to give you every sample to test it with. you might get a cut-down version, without round-robins or with octave limitations, or some such.

[Burillo]

What would you be willing to do for a useable demo? Credit checks, mailed contract paperwork, and payment for the download bandwidth? Not to mention the logistical framework these developers would have to add to manage it? Plus the technical infrastructure to revoke it? Then go subscribe to East West Composer Cloud, because that's what you're looking for.

Developers are fighting stolen credit cards, and one sale is enough to leak it to the rest of the world forever. This is the reality of the situation. If you want them to have faith in the world, they need something in return. What would you be willing to give up?

i never liked this kind of argument - well, life of a developer is hard, so he has to make life hard for you as well, because reasons. no, he doesn't. it's not the OP's fault that piracy exists, so why should he be the one paying for it?

[dandezebra]

1) I'm not going to buy a Spitfire library because of this? Seriously?

2) I spent hours and hours watching Albion 1 and Albion One tutorial videos before purchase.

3) I've also spent hours and hours over 3+ years in Albion and I still haven't figured out all I can do with it.

Curious, and not trying to be rude to OP but what were you expecting it to do or contain that it didn't?

[Russell Grand]

** Disclaimer ** I am not a lawyer.

Is it legal? Yes.

However it is strange that you can not try before buy, can not refund and can not resale. It is not WIN - WIN relationship

Agreed.

[dnekm]

I have to ask... are not audio demos of samples enough?

If you are looking at a - Sampleset - what kind of demos do you need?

A collection of sounds is not an instrument. There is not always an easy way to provide a demo version. What would you like?

It is always a leap of faith. On the developers part that you can appreciate and make use of what they offer, and on your part that you can appreciate what they make of what they offer.

[Russell Grand]

i would definitely not spend this kind of money on a product i can neither sell nor return. that's why i'm not their customer.

Same.

[yellowmix]

i never liked this kind of argument - well, life of a developer is hard, so he has to make life hard for you as well, because reasons. no, he doesn't. it's not the OP's fault that piracy exists, so why should he be the one paying for it?

There are a variety of developers who take different approaches to the problem, so it's a question of what compromises you can reach with developers who look at it this way. You're not going to ideologically shift them off the root issue.

There is not a single orchestral sample library developer in business not putting some form of DRM on their products. The only difference is the degree to which it is employed. If you want change, you have to meet them halfway.

And OP still hasn't described, what, exactly, their problem is with Albion.

[dandezebra]

i would definitely not spend this kind of money on a product i can neither sell nor return. that's why i'm not their customer.

Same.

I would definitely not spend this kind of money on a product i can't watch hours of videos on and read the manual before purchase. That's why I'm one of their proud customers.

[Russell Grand]

You didn't like Albion One? Why not?

No Wobble Bass?

[Russell Grand]

let's just say i can understand both sides.

Yep.

[Russell Grand]

i would definitely not spend this kind of money on a product i can neither sell nor return. that's why i'm not their customer.

Same.

I would definitely not spend this kind of money on a product i can't watch hours of videos on and read the manual before purchase. That's why I'm one of their proud customers.

I see what you did there.