yes the first man ( or woman ) who decides to stop downloading after your self righteous screed.. please do step up and identify yourself and give testimony to your new life free of enhanced demos..

until then @Cafenegro ... dream on !!

 

There is nothing 'self-righteous' in my arguments. I'm just stating a simple truth: stealing is wrong.

And most here agree with me - that's why they go out of their way to justify their theft with silly rationalizations and contrived arguments. They feel ashamed of doing it. They know it's wrong. That's a good thing: at least there is some decency left in them!

 

Yeah I was conflicted at Starbucks last night too... hmm.. Blondie or Brownie ?

 

Stealing is bad allright. But where you are completely wrong is when you keep on taking a moral stance on something that is no way moral : the industry of vst. It's a business that's about it and right now there is a lot to say on that matter. Why do I have limitation on the number of computer I can install my vsts on for example ? Do you know that all those limitations didn't exist 10 years ago ? No need for dongle, for internet connection and all that crap. A lot of devs got greedy and today they don't make money from their inventivity or genius, but from their protection scheme and their skills at marketing.
And that comes from a guy who's completely legit. I have VEP 6, cubase 9, the whole freaking AA collection and then some. This morning I bought Ozone advanced 8 (an upgrade from 7 that I already owned), after it was crack, and even if I hadn't "tested" it. Because Izotope is inovative, and actually can justify of the price they ask every two years or so.
The discussion should be about the business model, not some moral crusade that doesn't lead anywhere.
It's not good enought to say '"stealing is bad". You're talking to adults living in the real world.

 

@Cafenegro It's not piracy. It's an alternative solution for the amateurs and the no budget musicians.
I will point out, in this era kids got spoiled because of this, and now even my cok bares a "producer" tag.
I do not endorse piracy per se. I buy my softies, at least the ones i use professionally. And i expect to get paid for my services in return. But i can look the other way for peeps who are trying to have a break and are flat broke. Not everyone 's born with a silver spoon. Only, i find it very hard to believe that cracked soft will grant anyone a career that free soft won't.
Oh and this rape thing, man, please find some better example next time. That was way baaad.
@Torrao So let's say you make an album on the soft you are not stealing, you release it on itunes,beatport etc., and a month later you find out your album has been downloaded 10k times, only it was on piratebay lol and on legit networks you 've sold the exquisite amount of 12 copies. How would you feel about making nothing on your effort ? Nobody stole your music mate, you still have it right?
And please anyone don't start me with " i give my music for free" and this kinda crap, intellectual property is all content creators have. Be it musicians, writers, painters, software engineers whatever. When this is hijacked without permission its theft alright.

To sum it, as @Talmi i have noticed some soft manufacturers have the upper hand in the market so they try to squeeze the users out of every buck they can. Occasionally Steiny will go "oh looky here, we have these new buttons on the bottom that they do what these other buttons do on the top but see, you can now access them from the bottom, and therefore you gotta pay us 200 for the upgrade" etc etc. Surely it is not as ridiculous but it has come close many times. I own Cubase since it was Pro24 on the Atari ST. 30 fkn years or so. Am i tired of them ? Yes. Have they fulfilled past promises ? Not by a long shot. Do they need someone to give em a lesson ? Yes they do. So here come your R2Rs and Airs and Utopias to make things right. And of course it's not only Steiny, i can name a bunch of soft companies who in their own microworld have abused the fact that many people have endorsed their products. I will never forget Digidesign selling their -150dlrs worth the most- "chinese" rack for 800 dlrs because it had a Digidesign logo. Nor will i forget how Apple told me and 70k other pc users to go buy a Mac if i wanted Logic 6. How about Tone2 enfusing their soft with protection which is more or less malware.Too many other examples. So, long live the digital Robin Hoods. It is not about piracy and it never was. It is about reverse engineering and how the use of it can make the world a more democratic place to live in, imho always.
Cheers

 

Last edited: Oct 9, 2017

When ya think of it, piracy has been around for centuries. One such pirate was Pierre Le Grand, he wasn't that famous but at least they named a piano after him.

(Sorry, I know that wasn't one of my better jokes.)

 

Now we are making progress: we can agree that stealing is wrong. And I see how you are doing the right thing, the smart thing: you only buy from people who offer you what you consider a good, fair business deal, like Izotope.

That's exactly what I have been advocating: don't steal and only buy from people who offer you good value for your money.

I'm not just saying 'stealing is bad' - I'm also providing a solution: buy your tools from the good guys, don't steal them.

Apparently, I'm not alone here!

 

Firstly, I could consider myself a thief if I acquired a piece of software I desired to own and could possibly afford. I own a great deal of legally purchased software. My illicit software is either of poorer quality and not worth buying or beyond my budget. In this case the company selling the product is not out of pocket because I would simply not buy. They have not lost a sale. Secondly, I do not consider there to be an equality in the form of theft of a digital product compared to a physical object. The stock levels of a company's stores are not diminished. They have inadvertently brought this upon themselves and it started over 20 years ago when the mp3 was introduced. The genie is out of the bottle and expecting end users to exercise ethics and morality is futile.

 

The thing is software has become so affordable that there is no need for stealing. There is all sorts of prices and flavors affordable to anyone on earth.

Besides, there is a lot of personal satisfaction in working hard for your things. It's a good habit to have, because it leads to happiness. Stealing is stressful and leads to shame, unhappiness and laziness.

 

Last edited: Oct 9, 2017

Actually you got me wrong. I'm legit because I have to. I have no problem with people using pirated softwares, even the good ones. Izotope might be good, but it's overpriced.

 

Believe it or not, there is a lot of people who 'excercise ethics and morality' - it leads to better, more satisfying lives. Not everyone is a thief.

 

Stealing comes in different flavors for example - advocating that a vst will bring your production to "professional level" (without any guarantee), although we (almost) all know that's "false advertising"! (there is a lot more going on behind the scenes of guys and gals that make money /w music) How many devs use this kind of STEALING technique?

 

Well, you did write that you voluntarily bought Ozone because Izotope is innovative and they can 'justify' the price (your opinion) every two years. That led me to believe you were happy with your purchase. Oh, well...

 

Lots of them. Dave Derr did just that when releasing his $300 Compressor. Solution: don't buy from them - don't use their products. Stealing from a thief is still stealing.

If the restaurant at the corner is grossly overpriced, I just go to a different, better restaurant. Stealing the food is not a solution....lol

Besides, there is a lot of great software at fair price that gets the job done in a professional manner. Why not invest on that instead of stealing?

 

but you should go there and yell at them that their food is overpriced and sucks

 

The upgrade with discount costs around 100€. Ozone advanced is way too expansive. As usual they will sell it half the price it is now in 6 months which is probably a price more in the line of what it's worth.
For me the "discussion" ends here. People twisting words to make a futile point annoy me.Piracy has never been better, and with people like you it's probably going to keep on rising. You're actually a living argument in favor of piracy. Not as much as the devs of course, but not so far.

 

They must love you at Bible studies.

 

Dude, did somebody rape your wife, mother and sister (or you)? You seem to bring up the topic a lot...

 

Last edited: Oct 9, 2017

Let me tell you something with all the sincerity and honesty I can afford. I get a huge amount of satisfaction from working out the sometimes complex issues that it takes to get a cracked plugin to work. I've been known to fist pumping and shout "YES!!!" as an expensive plugin is activated illegally. On the other hand I feel a sense of deflation at sending a lot of money from my credit card for a synth that I have impulsively purchased, because I have this nagging feeling that I may not even use it.