Piracy

flyswatter

I was talking to a producer/DJ friend of mine recently.

He put up an interesting theory about piracy and how a lot of software companies actually promote it even though it seems they're against it.

Cubase is notoriously hard to crack apparently. So the pirates that cracked Cubase 3 were hired by Steinberg for security. Kind of ironic really.

FL is very very easy to crack and the developer of it is always having a go at people who use counterfeit copies even if they might not be doing that.

I think deep down companies know that if someone cracks software they will eventually get used to the program and buy it when they have enough money.

Anyone agree?

krd

That could be true.

I know in Germany, the government have people who go around checking studios are using licensed software - if you get caught, there's a huge fine - a really big f'you in the A fine. The same rules apply in Ireland - though I've never heard of anyone being fined. The fine though - last time I checked, was 250k - plus there's a 8k reward if you turn anyone in

So, letting pirated software get around is good, because it's like giving free rocks of crack to kids - they get hooked on the software. So, when they go from bum to pro, they have to pay up.


I

drumdrum

(Whats "FL" by the way? My shorthand de-coder is on the fritz! )

Personally, I disagree really. Software is coded by people and therefore none are un-crackable. Hackers often see these softwares as challenges and they "release" it over the internet nearly as a means of boasting what they've done.

Pro studios, sure, they often do buy the software and fair enough, if they are using the software to make money then by all means they should pay for it.

But the software companies themselves charge ridiculous amounts for their software. How is it, that Apple and Steinberg charge about €500 each for their products (Logic and Cubase) when Reaper can get away with charging €150 for their professional licence (€40 for most people! google Reaper its amazing! )? And Reaper is an amazing DAW especially at its price. The truth is, half the reason that these softwares are so expensive is that when you hand over your €500 you are essentially paying for the company to make up its loses due to piracy....essentially you are paying for 10 copies so to speak! (The other half of the argument IMO is image and greed...the concept that if something is "expensive, then it must be good!" sort of attitude!)

Private / home "budget-studios" and ITB home recording is where the piracy market excels at the cost of the honest joe. I mean lets be realistic. There is no point in shelling out €500 for Cubase 6 if you are using a M-audio Fast-track interface with a average Dell (that cost you €500 to buy) and with a crap cheap microphone. No matter how good your software is, you need to spend the cash on the hardware to match it. Therefore for most people it becomes a no-brainer.....spend their cash on getting better hardware, and the a "free/cracked" version of the software. Spend all their money on a Macbook Pro and a Saffire Pro 40 (not saying that the Pro 40 is amazing, just better up the scale than a fast track!) with maybe a SM58 or something or a budget studio condenser mic for about €200 or so. Its a more attractive option. Ok, I admit I jumped the price scale a fair whack there, but I'm exhaggerating to get my point across.

For most home users its going to be a case of "sure I'm only Joe Bloggs in my bedroom, what harm am I doing?" and to be fair, IMHO, the more people that make music the better! but being realistic about it, all they are doing is jacking up the price for the studios.
Average Joe users getting pirated versions might not be a bad thing for the studios. For example, I use Reaper stock plug-ins and freeware (like LePous stuff....excellent stuff! ) and I love the sound I'm getting. Ok, I'm not going to be able to compete commercially but it does let me know what I want to do with my songs. My plan is to get about 10-12 songs fully ready on my end, then hire out a proper studio and get a few of them done at a time in a proper place. I'm not sure where yet, but I've been in the place before where its easy to get carried away in the studio so if you head in knowing exactly what goes where then the session is faster, cheaper and the end result is usually better.

Finally, how the hell do Waves justify charging the stupidly high prices that they do? I've used them in college, and while they are very good, their price does not warrant the price. I know there are cracks floating around, I'm not naieve....is there temptation? sure....will I download them?...not a chance. No point really as I dont have the hardware necessary to take full advantage of them. (I know they are software, but I mean getting the source signal recorded to a commercial level to take full advantage of the plugins.) I mean, there is no point in stealing a Leerjet if you dont have a runway and facilities to support it.


My €0.02 on it anyways....

wonski

hmm, I agree with You, and don't agree at the same time. I consider meself as a bedroom musician, and still got (limited of course) access to Cubase (LE version free with Zoom guitar multi-pedal), Ableton Live Lite - again free with Fasttrack from m-audio. I also have ProTools for 150E - m-powered one, with very few limitations to LE, bought as an educational version, due to the course I am undertaking at this moment.
Most of these 'free' products work really well, and being a bedroom producer can't see any limitations really (at beginners level).
But you are right about the prices. It should be decided that for personal use you pay part of the price, and when you go pro (you get money for your work), you pay full price.
There is no excuse for someone to get hands on the best edition of any software, where you can practise for - virtually - free on most of them.
My 2 cents...