I am a crack head!!!

First of all I am surfing FP for the first time on my Blackberry Storm which is...AAaawsome! Anyway I don't see what the big deal about cracked software unless you're selling it. Same rule as drugs.
 
First of all I am surfing FP for the first time on my Blackberry Storm which is...AAaawsome! Anyway I don't see what the big deal about cracked software unless you're selling it. Same rule as drugs.

Enjoy your blackberry. Don't drive and surf ATST
 
I used a crack of Nuendo when I used to run a recording studio - liked it so bought it. Dongled up now though
 
Here is my take on it.

When I first got into software, I tried some cracked software...it totally corrupted my computer and after the third of fourth time doing a fresh wipe and a new Windows install, I gave up on cracked software.

Why bother with it?

Also, in a sense, people who are gluttonous about their software pirating get nowhere with it. When you buy something, with hard earnings, you treat software, as if it were like a hardware unit. With hardware, you have made a substantial investment and committed yourself to learning it inside out. With software pirating, you exhaust the presets and go on to the next pirated instrument.

However, when you pay for something, you tend to respect it more, and you apply that level of commitment to it.

If people would just refuse to pirate software, and buy themselves the choice gear that they can afford, and stick with it, they will get much further than having 500 pirated vsts on their computer and not a clue what to do with them past preset previewing. Same with a host, etc.

I think the lack of commitment on the part of the person that pirates software, because they have made no investment in it, accounts for 90% of all the stupid questions on this site.

Just my $0.02

Stop pirating software, and earn your way.

If you want to be a software glutton, do what I did...

1. Make your music habit pay for itself.

2. Become a reviewer for a magazine and get companies to send you stuff for free.

:)

Yea man, I agree with you on the appreciation part. You take your software way more seriously when you purchase it. It's actually too much baggage going the crack route. What if the people who "cracked" the software was watching your every move on your computer? Not a Good Look...
 
I've actually used cracked versions of software I own at times. Because the cracked versions don't need my iLok. I got like $50,000 worth of plugs on my iLok and I hardly ever use it. It's just too much trouble.

I wish that software companies would understand that people are either going to pay for it or not. There is no need for the ridiculous software protection. It's just a hassle. Although I think the new internet unlock/dongle of Record is the future where all software companies will go. If Propellerheads would patent that and sell the service like iLok does then they would be the new anti-piracy kingpins.

I also think that plug-in developers need to release demo's like Massey does. Full functioning but no save feature. I use Massey plugs all the time but the no save feature makes me wanna make it my next purchase. It allows people to get the work done until they can afford it. And Massey allows 3 computers to run it also.
 
^
i completely agree.

i for one have tons of cracked software on my laptop which i use for demoing purposes. sometimes the demo offered is handicapped. i remember using the z3ta+ demo and the audio would fade out every 30 seconds or something. i just downloaded a crack so i could get a proper chance with it and then i ended up buying it.

when it comes to stuff like dongles i will gladly just pirate the software as i don't want to inconvenience myself (the customer) by having to use such a thing.

like morningstar said having a fully functional demo, with no save, makes people want to purchase something more-so than providing customers with something that is handicapped.

my main problem, and a lot of other people feel the same way it would seem, with dongles and overly-restrictive demos and overzealous protection against pirates is that the software companies are not treating every single paying customer like a potential thief.

if i buy a product i want to own it. i don't want all these god damn restrictions placed upon it.

in terms of products that are at the higher end of the spectrum (cost wise) i think the reason they are pirated is because most people just can't afford them. in those situations i don't think the software companies are losing money as the people downloading pirated versions wouldn't have gone out and purchased a legitimate copy if a crack wasn't available. case in point, all the people who download the waves plugins. the vast majority of people who download waves cracks would have no intention of purchasing the products if the crack was so easily available. no loss of sale.

i think the real problem is happening at the lower end of the market where cheaper producers, and smaller developers, are being shafted big time by piracy. let's say there is a plugin for 50euro. that is well within the price range for most people, but a lot of people would rather get it for free if they could.

the whole problem (IMO) lies in charging too much for software and the big companies are to blame for this. i think most people will agree that we are entering an age when digital products (film, music, software) are going to drop in price rapidly or cost nothing at all. i think the music industry is finally realises that the age where people pay for music is coming to an end and i think software companies need to realise this too.

having ultra high prices for software encourages people to download it. and unfortunately the habit of downloading is then ingrained into a person so it makes it a lot more likely that they will go and download a much cheaper products as well.

all in all i think piracy is a good and bad thing. in one sense it allows anybody, and i mean almost anybody with a laptop, to get their feet wet when it comes to music production. the bad side is that it is killing developers who in a few years won't be able to afford or justify employing full-time developers.


back to myself... like i said i have a lot of cracked software but i never ever save a project using a crack. like i said i only use it as a demo. the only cracked software i use, i don't even use it anymore but i have used it a lot in the past, is propellerhead's recycle. i downloaded it because i thought, and still think, the price is absolutely ridiculous.
 
Exactly people either pay for it or they don't. When it comes down to it I have used them as a way to test and see if it is worth paying for. If not it gets deleted. That is part of the reason I love reaper so much is their demo is their full version. Unrestricted. No need for cracks. I respect companies that do that more.
 
i got tired of viruses and crashing so i just bought my stuff it was hard to let go of my waves bundle though but it made me not like pro tools because of how long it to to load up. The good thing is I've tried all the software now I pretty much know what to expect out of most companies.
 
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Maybe it's just me but I really don't agree with piracy at all - I like to own the product and like having the boxes and manuals on my shelf, all registered and what not.

Besides, the amount of work that goes into these products is serious enough to deserve being paid for IMO. I wouldn't want to do a week's work and check my bank account to discover that someone had helped themselves to the money I had worked hard for.

Not too impressed that a much older, cheaper version of Reason can be upgraded to Record for the same price as my v4 will cost, but I can live with that - still worth every penny I paid for it. I was also happy to pay for the Abbey Road Keyboards, Reason Electric Bass, Reason Pianos & Reason Drum Kits refills I paid extra for in this deluxe version of Reason 4. Got a free Reason laptop bag, too! (all I need now is a laptop lol)

Only other thing I use is Pro Tools 8 that came with my MBox 2 Pro, and a Lite version of Ableton Live.

I've got lots to learn but this stuff is allowing me to make music, so paying for that isn't a problem to me. Makes me feel better and I agree that you take stuff more seriously when you have paid for it. :-)
 
Besides, the amount of work that goes into these products is serious enough to deserve being paid for IMO. I wouldn't want to do a week's work and check my bank account to discover that someone had helped themselves to the money I had worked hard for.

this is where i disagree.

some products are heavily overpriced for something that can be distributed to as many people as possible at almost no cost. that's the thing with software (especially software that is distributed through digital means) once it has been developed there is a lot of money to be made back as there are little (or no) physical costs to incur.

when companies are realeasing statements like this http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech...-software-a-commercial-developers-view-173755 it really makes me want to just go ahead and pirate their stuff.
 
I think most people on this board are serious producers/artists/engineers, and if you're serious about your music then you purchase what you use. So i'd be surprised to find many people who use all pirated stuff. Think about it.... if you're already spending money on hardware (you can't pirate hardware LMAO), then it's a no brainer to spend money on software... b/c you view it as an extension of your hardware.

I do produce on pirated software... but it's b/c I simply just can't afford to purchase yet. But once a significant amount of money is earned, that's when you need to buy the software. These software companies work extremely hard to make great software... and you HAVE to support that... or else they won't exist anymore, and then there wouldn't even be anything to pirate lol.

I think everybody goes through a phase of pirating (unless you're mostly hardware based) where they download almost everything they can get there hands on.. once they realize it's out there readily available, and it's very easy to do. I've been through that phase myself... and just found myself deleted gigs and gigs worth of unwanted setup files for software I either don't use,, or don't even know how to use.

Plus... you can only run ComboFix on your computer but soo many times before your motherboard says "screw u.. i'm quitting" lol. ;-)
 
How in da world would anybody figure out dat some1 uses cracked vst's or Daw's or Samples? It's Impossible right?

WRONG... 2 words...

Tone2 Gladiator.


ugh, thats a fkin nightmare. The software maker made it so if u DL a cracked version, it will be blacklisted and infect your computer with Malware... not really serious, but it changes your registry and doesnt allow you to surf very popular sites. that list is EXTENSIVE.
 
this is where i disagree.

some products are heavily overpriced for something that can be distributed to as many people as possible at almost no cost. that's the thing with software (especially software that is distributed through digital means) once it has been developed there is a lot of money to be made back as there are little (or no) physical costs to incur.

when companies are realeasing statements like this http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech...-software-a-commercial-developers-view-173755 it really makes me want to just go ahead and pirate their stuff.

This is a circular, and ridiculous, argument... the reason they are "overpriced" is because they have to make up for pirating.

Besides there is more to costs for a company than just physical distribution... how about overhead? Employees salaries/benefits?

I'm assuming you're on this site because you make music... well I can also download Mp3s, which cost you nothing to distribute, so are you also saying you don't want anyone to ever pay you for your music?

Makes no sense.
 
This is a circular, and ridiculous, argument... the reason they are "overpriced" is because they have to make up for pirating.

Besides there is more to costs for a company than just physical distribution... how about overhead? Employees salaries/benefits?

I'm assuming you're on this site because you make music... well I can also download Mp3s, which cost you nothing to distribute, so are you also saying you don't want anyone to ever pay you for your music?

Makes no sense.

So wait when Cubase 1.0 came out it was 20 bucks??? NOPE!!!

software is always outrageously overpriced, take Windows OS... how much was it when it first came out, all buggy and sh!t??? Too damn much!!!

And what about the supposed uncrackable softwares like Sequoia??? It still costs what 3K??? No one can crack it, but it still costs 3K... whys that??? Has anyone cracked PT 8??? or PT HD??? still costs a ton of money... granted they come with hardware... but even then the software is still very expensive alone....

Software is priced high to make a profit... plain and simple... if all companies wanted to do was break even, most software would probably cost half of what it costs now... All they need money for is development which is basically paying the programmers... they dont pay for testing anymore... thats what open-betas are for... and maybe facility maintenance and equipment... so your argument if flatly wrong!
 
So wait when Cubase 1.0 came out it was 20 bucks??? NOPE!!!

software is always outrageously overpriced, take Windows OS... how much was it when it first came out, all buggy and sh!t??? Too damn much!!!

And what about the supposed uncrackable softwares like Sequoia??? It still costs what 3K??? No one can crack it, but it still costs 3K... whys that??? Has anyone cracked PT 8??? or PT HD??? still costs a ton of money... granted they come with hardware... but even then the software is still very expensive alone....

Software is priced high to make a profit... plain and simple... if all companies wanted to do was break even, most software would probably cost half of what it costs now... All they need money for is development which is basically paying the programmers... they dont pay for testing anymore... thats what open-betas are for... and maybe facility maintenance and equipment... so your argument if flatly wrong!

Sorry buddy. Your argument is the one that is incorrect.

Of course they company wants to make a profit. Isn't that the whole point???? Music software makers are not charities, so your suggestion that they should merely try to break even is ludicrous.

Also your argument that software priced "too damn much" is totally subjective and also crazy. First, its supply and demand... look it up, and second, you personally have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what it costs a company to develop/maintain this kind of software, and equally NO IDEA what kind of profit margins these companies have on these products... you are guessing/assuming things you have no business guessing/assuming at. Do you work for IK? Digidesign? Native Instruments? Propellerheads? I didn't think so...
 
Its shocking to me that just 10-20 years ago musicians were willing to (and did) spend thousands and thousands of dollars for music hardware, and yet today's crop of "musicians" isn't willing to spend 1/10th that cost (or less) for something that can do 1,000 times more.

I have no problem with u using a cracked version of something to try it out before you buy it, but if you use cracked software with no intention of ever paying for it, you need to face facts: you are lazy, greedy, and do not take your craft seriously at all. Period.
 
This is a circular, and ridiculous, argument... the reason they are "overpriced" is because they have to make up for pirating.

Besides there is more to costs for a company than just physical distribution... how about overhead? Employees salaries/benefits?

I'm assuming you're on this site because you make music... well I can also download Mp3s, which cost you nothing to distribute, so are you also saying you don't want anyone to ever pay you for your music?

Makes no sense.

yes i never intend to charge for music i create. if i am ever to live off music it will be in other avenues rather than straight music sales.

i was talking about when the product is released there is little to no cost to distribute the product.

saying this argument is "circular and ridiculous because they have to charge so much to make up for pirating" is just like saying "hey i don't like what you're saying so therefore it is stupid".

you mentioned that software companies are not charities. that is true. they operate as businesses. that is their function. to survive and thrive as a business. but it is up to me the consumer as to wheter i want to support them or not in their.

i could confront you with the argument that something that can be almost infinitely reproduced at an almost no cost (software) should carry no price tag at all.

if the notion of paying for software went out the window and the notion of paying for music went out the window a lot of people would quit making software and making music. but a lot of people would keep at it.

i have no problem with software developers making a profit at all. but a lot of them are screwing the consumers price wise, thereby encouraging piracy.
 
Its shocking to me that just 10-20 years ago musicians were willing to (and did) spend thousands and thousands of dollars for music hardware, and yet today's crop of "musicians" isn't willing to spend 1/10th that cost (or less) for something that can do 1,000 times more.

I have no problem with u using a cracked version of something to try it out before you buy it, but if you use cracked software with no intention of ever paying for it, you need to face facts: you are lazy, greedy, and do not take your craft seriously at all. Period.

i respect the fact you feel strongly about this but that is just opinionated garbage. to say it is a fact that somebody is lazy, greedy and does not take their craft seriously because they use cracked software with no intention of ever paying for it is incorrect.

and that is a fact. you simply cannot state your opinion and call it fact.

if you think that people need to go out and buy software so they can be a legit musician then go ahead and think that. but stating your opinion as fact just makes yourself look foolish.

if i purchase all my software and make crap music and the guy next door pirates all of his and makes some amazing stuff does that make him any less of a musician? does that make him greedy and lazy? do you know the personal situation of every person in the entire world? this may come as a shock to you but some people don't have the money to spend on luxuries such as software, things that be attained quite easily for free.

that is why i think more people would buy and less would pirate if software companies priced their products more effectively.
 
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