Should You Crack Plugins? Are Musicians Entitled?

[@VinnieDangerous]

The fact that this has been a talking point in the producer community is so dumb! There are free DAWs and plugins out there you can use if you don't have the money. You have no reason to pirate anything anymore. This is just a level of entitlement I can't get down with

[@The_Sonic_Oasis]

Yeah true, when I didn't have money I used Cakewalk by bandlab (If you check my earlier videos you will see this) and there are soooo many free vst instruments as well. Universal Audio even has free DAW. There's literally no excuse anymore

[@johnsuggs7828]

And your point of view is completely lacking of any empathy for someone outside your situation. But it's nice to know that those who make some money to afford the nicer things still worry about those who can't. I won't tell any company what to charge for their product. don't begrudge them making their money. But when we forget that businesses gouge because they can, then it leads to problems. The free stuff is free for a reason. The free version of Ableton gives you 8 tracks the full version gives you unlimited tracks but its 800 dollars

[@neilpatrickhairless]

I have a few less-than-legal pieces of software but they are actually just refactored ports to play nicely with Linux kernel because audio companies don't give a shit about anything but Windows or Mac development (they can't utilize open source software as a cash cow as easily) and a few that are just so obscure or unsupported officially at this point that I literally CAN'T pay for it because the payment method no longer exists or that kind of situation. On Windows and Mac, there's so much free stuff that it's honestly oversaturated, ironically mostly with about 363927663926473919363 or so saturation plugins. Linux users have basically been using the same plugins since the early 2000's so you do what you gotta do. Nowadays the actual code of most plugins are generated using AI so honestly you're just paying the company's web server and payment processing bills for them

[@neilpatrickhairless]

If you really wanna pay, it's good to try to find smaller developers because they're actually the ones that put in the work and need the money the most. I have no problem with AI or "generated" stuff but it's just nice to pay an actual living being for work they did instead of paying an electricity bill for the fuckin Terminator. Moog is even selling this kinda software now and not cheaply. DAWs have never been cheaper and had more features on the cheap than they are now so that is a good thing. I mean, there are countless people out here making records left and right in the free download of Reaper and using the stock plugins only. Also, I like to pay for plugins I use CONSTANTLY because everyone has specific things they NEED to have on deck to do create what they are doing. I literally own the Fabfilter bundle SPECIFICALLY just to have Saturn2 for example because when I bought the bundle, it was the only way you could get Saturn2 without using a cracked version. I use that plugin on literally everything I record, on every single track I record so the mileage I get out of that one plugin was worth the cost of the entire bundle to me.

[@wooplayer5801]

piracy really has the capability of killing an industry and that prospect really scares me

[@haonrepulsor2227]

piracy not kill industry. the industry is killing itself. the industry's only goal is to make more money from fewer people.

[@johnsuggs7828]

it doesn't. That's just what those who stand to gain the most and do the least have convinced you of.

[@neilpatrickhairless]

Piracy definitely has an effect on the industry, especially when dealing with small developers and companies. Companies like Arturia and Native Instruments and Eventide and such are not going broke anytime soon, I don't care how many Russian torrent sites have their products available, but it still affects them to a much lesser extent

[@wolfgangdevries127]

Let's see.. how many people were actually killed by industrial endeavorments? Like a billion or more? 😊

[@wooplayer5801]

@@wolfgangdevries127 not speaking about people, but plugin manufacturers that suffer daily from the impacts of piracy reducing their revenue by a significant margin specially the small companies comprised by a dozen individuals or less such as aberrant DSP for example, a couple of examples i can think of that piracy could have indirectly contributed to the shuttingdown of a plugin manufacturing company is Spectral Plugins and Creative Intent both companies stated that they were shutting down on their own terms but i dont doubt the effects of piracy impacting their revenue and consequently making their business unsustainable contributed to them making this decision

[@eunseo-ls7vk]

Well said👏👏👏 what’s illegal is illegal. Simple as that.

[@eunseo-ls7vk]

I also appreciate what you’re doing for the community. Keep it up!

[@johnsuggs7828]

wow. You clearly haven't lived long enough or you have and you just don't see it (blind), But NOTHING in life is that black and white This was not a well said video. Of all the videos he's ever made, this one I don't like. Shows a complete disconnect from what he hopes things to be vs what actually is

[@eunseo-ls7vk]

@@johnsuggs7828 well im neither blind nor too young to understand how things work. I am not in a position where I can buy everything I want, but that does not justify me from stealing other people’s hard work. That’s why I follow this guy in the first place. Like he said, there are plenty of free/affordable alternatives to expensive plugins and DAWs. Until I save up enough money to buy all these stuff, I can still utilize free/cheaper alternatives to display my creativity to the world. What a good time to live in!

[@spaceiswater6539]

Perfect video you're correct it is theft I buy all my plugins as I want to support these companies so they survive.

[@nilespeshay1734]

Reaper's free trial has no time limit.

[@Beatstockpile127]

That's for personal use only.

[@Maplefoxx-vl2ew]

@@Beatstockpile127 still , it's only 60 dollars, and you have to buy your license every 4 years or so, like i purchased it at like 6.1 , my license is good til 8.0 comes out

[@neilpatrickhairless]

And yet I know people who have put out records left and right with the free version. Some of them are very well known producers and musicians who make hundreds of thousands a year easily. I record with the free version of Reaper and mix down on a paid version of Harrison Mixbus. It's not that I don't want to pay for it or feel entitled to not pay for it, it's just that I haven't paid for it yet and will get the full license when I get around to it very honestly

[@Beatstockpile127]

@@neilpatrickhairless You know well know artist putting out records with the Persnal version of Reaper? Name two?

[@macaius]

Great video. Support the developers!

[@wizbeatbang8264]

FL Studio is worth More when you buy it because it's life time updates and you can go back to old versions

[@tiffanyanthony]

In the 90’s, I paid a lot for the basics. My first DAW, “Digital Orchestrator Pro,” cost $399. And I had to buy a Soundblaster AWE32 soundcard for $199 for my PC, just to plug my analog gear into it. Analog gear that cost me thousands of dollars - taking a long time to save from my $12 per hour job. Now you can just buy a $50 midi controller on temu and get FL for $99 and you’re all set! The struggle was real. I do admit that I have in fact grabbed some cracked stuff over the years, but they’ve always resulted in virus’. Serves me right! Even individuals making plugins in their bedroom deserve some donations. I buy everything now. Not because I have money (which I don’t,) but because I tried to create one, and that sh*t is not easy! I respect the hard work people put in. Even a decent sampler sound pack is worth the donation! Do things right, and the right results follow.

[@3rdPersonProductions]

True dedication man. Even when it comes to software, sometimes limitations are good for us. Thanks for this comment

[@yodathejedi]

I bought Orchestrator pro back in the days as well, and a Kawai K4, that was how my 1st own music started :) It's crazy good pricing to get starting making music nowadays.

[@neilpatrickhairless]

Small developers are specifically the ones that need money. Large ones aren't missing any money very honestly and half the time it's not even an actual human coding the stuff at this point. Most of the time these days cracked software doesn't cause a virus but the way the code was refactored to facilitate the crack can trigger a malware or virus alert. If you get them from torrent sites usually the ones with the most seeders is clean because it's been up a while and people in 2024 won't continuously download and seed malware because there's no reason to do so and that stuff gets weeded out fairly quickly

[@grobinson9352]

Well said. If I didn't buy it or it's not flat out free, I won't get it. Even with the, free--I get leery on.

[@JohnPascalMahmood-l5m]

thanks for the video

[@Beatstockpile127]

There is no negativity here. You are right. I was shocked at how many people think it's okay to still software.

[@whisperer212]

Bravo. Very well said, as always. Amen.🎉

[@NerdVision100]

I think it’s kind of ironic because FL is big because of how easy it was to crack. People are still using FL 10 and 11. If it’s good it will be cracked.

[@neilpatrickhairless]

The first time I ever recorded music on a computer and didn't use a tracker of some kind was using a cracked version of Fruity Loops 3 back in the day that a friend had on his computer. I did end up buying a license from them after they shortened the name to FL Studio years later but I wouldn't have even known about OR necessarily cared about the software for at least a few more years if I hadn't of used the cracked version first

[@neilpatrickhairless]

Nowadays I use Reaper to rough mix and record then I bounce all that to Harrison Mixbus for final mixing before mastering so it's all come a long way since those days

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

I see your Tascam Model 24 back there! I have one I use for my live sound work and LOVE it. It's a fire mixer!

[@sneaksbyalfresco1561]

Chucking ethics to one side for a moment, find the plugins you actually use, and buy them. Nothing worse than not having updates, always wondering if your plugins a 'bit iffy' etc. Piracy is a good way to test things, but once you can not starve yourself to buy your chosen daw etc, do it just for some confidence in reliability.

[@haonrepulsor2227]

yes true. it is good to test. and I've tested a lot of them illegally and I always go back to stock plugins in daw. there are very few plugins that you would pay for.

[@neilpatrickhairless]

Right! I like to pay for stuff I use on every session. Luckily for me, I know how to EQ, gate, saturate and compress using Saturn2 alone so honestly I could have just that single plugin and mix an entire album with it

[@PrototypeAudio]

Good take man!

[@MCcrossout]

I used 2 crack products, once i understood whats been said on this video. I learned to buy and search freebies, specials of the things i love or may need to make music.

[@aspirativemusicproduction2135]

As someone who already has FL I don't want them to go out of business. 15 years old can't think like an adult but there is people out there who must know better as adults and publicly make excuses for this kind of behavior. There is free software out there. Is it better than FL? Probably not. But that doesn't justify stealing it. Some people thik they should have the mobile version for free. Even a child in thirth would can afford it. I think there is deeper issue here.

[@WayneHendersonsr]

Reaper works on a honesty system. It will work unhindered beyond the 60 days. Reaper with all the free fx and instrument plug-ins you show on this channel would be enough and you're right. Reaper is only $60 dollars and very powerful and can do so much the FL can't do. I use them both. I started with FL Producer and gradually updated to the ALL Plugins version.

[@JarleHagavei]

word! just straight up; word brother

[@jjbigzz2355]

I agree 100%, which is saying I don’t know why people like to just steal. They don’t realize there’s a lot of free. Good plug-ins out there. There’s no point of you stealing if you want something free there’s a lot of free stuff you could do and they’re good instead of trying to get crack plug-ins that’s probably gonna make it worse. There’s a lot of free plug-ins out there that they don’t realize how good they are. What the heck I feel like some plug-ins are better than plug-ins🤷‍♂️ or you can say crack plug-ins because crack plug-ins could be a risk for your computer🤷‍♂️🙂

[@producernoize542]

Only issue I have is when a producer puts it a kit and states it's royalty free. Until someone blows up off of it then they want parts. Not if they place in fine print that if it reaches a certain amount of streams then u owe down. I could understand

[@OperculumAudio]

Waddup Noize!

[@producernoize542]

@@OperculumAudio perc dog!!!!

[@EazyMoneyOnDaTrack]

16:15 hit me in my old chest 😂😂😂

[@alexp.6099]

I agree, developers like Image Line offer lifetime upgrades and you can start by purchasing the basic version of FL Studio, but I understand the side of those who crack some expensive software that puts you in an endless cycle of purchases to stay up to date, but cracking continues to be unethical.

[@HinduNerd]

I use open source!

[@JeanetteMeriles-gl1wz]

Windows?.. Linux? I use free pliñugins mostly.

[@88keyz]

It took almost 4 years to get To the all plugins version with every year using my birthday discounts code that imageline sends also black Friday deals in all I think I paid half or less then half of the total amount for the all plugins version 🙏🏾

[@aspirativemusicproduction2135]

FL studio mobile is affordable even in low income countries. People(a lot of them) in countries with low income buy mobile phones instead of computers. So the reasoning that low income countries can't afford desktop version of FL isn't even applicable. And FL mobile is almost as good as desktop and in some ways better. Unless you want to make some supper complex sounds the mobile version would be more than enough. I don't know if what I am saying reaches anyone but there is options.

[@rosestrikeCarrot]

Wonder what some people feel about this in relation to preservation and old software that isn't sold anymore. I know it's more of thing in the gaming community, but it still applies to some stuff here.

[@MrGenophyte]

There's so many defunct vst studios that legit the only way you can ever use them now is to pirate them. Or even the bigger companies whose older software just don't exist anymore outside of the warez scene. Or the infamous r2r basically cracking software and making it run better while fixing bugs 😂

[@p3pp3rcoat70]

i dont think FL studio is wrong for going after the kid, i feel like the WAY they went after him is more or so opening a can of worm FL studio isnt prepared for. If they kept it under wraps and quietly got the accounts deleted nobody would be the wiser but they pretty much threatened a minor with the wording of their reply. This just paints a target on their backs and cracks of their software will explode again like it did in 2012 with them and ableton. Again im not siding with the kid, but i also dont believe two wrong make a right and i just feel like this story isnt going to be over and may only be beginning again.

[@bLiNdEDM]

Dont rack up bad karma!

[@jiteshmahato3421]

FL has no match🦍🤝

[@EricJohnson-fh8zj]

I understand underserved kids or people from 3rd world countries cracking music production software to start...but its not very expensive and in a lot of cases FREE to get started doing music on a computer. If you arent willing to invest a little money and make a little sacrifice for your dream, then you probably dont desrve to have it come true anyways. Im sure if people started cracking a artists music....then they'd be pissed.

[@haonrepulsor2227]

"Im sure if people started cracking a artists music....then they'd be pissed." they already do that - almost forever

[@khdgitm9306]

14:35 If want royalties then dont put royalty free. Me buying your "Royalty free" sample pack was the payment.

[@ChrisLaupama]

👏👏👏

[@SuperLinuxAudioGuru]

RIP Egglo, GOL has him buried in his backyard under a concrete patio :)

[@im2cxe4u]

Short answer=NO! There is waaaay to much awesome free, inexpensive software and frequent sales (and giveaways) on high end stuff to justify it. This channel alone is pure proof of that.

[@sideshow4463]

I am saving money to buy FL studio 😀

[@haonrepulsor2227]

image line also offers monthly payment. it depends on which country you are in.

[@sideshow4463]

@@haonrepulsor2227 Yeah, It works through Klarna but not for me because I have debt. But It's alright, I will by FL studio on black Friday/weekend sale soon 😀

[@sjoneproductionmusic8584]

🤜🏼🤛🏼

[@88keyz]

🫡👍🏾🫡

[@xykosince9213]

FL studio is not that expensive any way hell you can donate blood a few times and boom you got it ..

[@truthisinfinite]

It's far better to crack an egg 🥚instead of a plugin. 👍👀👍

[@realtalkhustla5469]

welccome to the stripping business partna we cracking shit they made their money

[@brightonic]

I'm ngl I have pirated a couple plug-ins, I'm not really proud of it but at the same time I don't use them that often in the first place. EDIT: Just get Reaper what are y'all pirating FL for

[@MidnightVoid]

There are not that many reaper tutorials on YT

[@brightonic]

@@MidnightVoid Well I managed to teach myself so it can't be that hard

[@MidnightVoid]

@@brightonic that's the way to go tbh. I bought FL studio Black Friday 2019.

[@Jolazo-Music]

@@MidnightVoid You're kidding, right? www.youtube.com/@REAPERMania

[@libtekk]

personally, I think the companies should reduce prices so people wouldn't need to run risky cracked versions and those companies would yield better results.

[@eunseo-ls7vk]

@@libtekk as a broke student, i completely understand, but if you consider the prices of actual hardware versions of the vst/plugins, the current price kinda makes sense🥲

[@chicago_beats]

Heh... I'll take the Crack route. I'm still on fl studio 11

[@grandpreebeats5203]

When all else fails recycle

[@chicago_beats]

Shout-out to rich people who buy these expensive products and give it to us for free. It's no different when any product be available for a week then majority of people never heard about the demo. I look at this as a Blessing. I'm downloading it right now as we speak. Everything happens for a reason.

[@donnieharrisonn]

i feel like pirating/cracks was a lot more justified when waves was charging $15k for the mercury bundle but plugins are much more reasonably priced now

[@brandonwilliams966]

Right. Lol!!!!!

[@neilpatrickhairless]

You're not wrong lol

[@krazywabbit]

we will do what we have to do.

[@oxicemusic]

If i cant subscribe to own or purchase outright, ill crack. I don’t support forever subscriptions.

[@oxicemusic]

Or i just wont own it. Theres enough options today you don’t have to have one particular brand.

[@eunseo-ls7vk]

@@oxicemusic image line provided lifetime free update so cracking fl studio can’t be justified

[@suigeneris886]

I've spent hella money on FL (all plugin edition) & vsts over the years. On top of that, a brotha is poor af, so yea, no sympathy 😂

[@csdrealestate7134]

Crack em. I got a guy that can get you mostly whatever you need. I'd rather pay him.

[@haonrepulsor2227]

why would you pay a guy for crack softer. he literally asked google to take it down. I saw a sample pack in a tutorial video. I typed in google and guess where it took me. All for free. But when I saw the contents of the Sample pack and found the official website, I bought it. the best sample pack ever. Otherwise, I would never buy it because the price is a bit high and there are no details about the package on their website. maybe they should work on that. They also have sample packs, but I can't see what I'm buying...

[@vking410]

Mannnn this is America where I’m forced to pay taxes on my wages and then forced to pay taxes on the things I decide to buy with those wages so gtfo I’m running a cracked omnisphere cause ain’t no way in hell I’m paying $800 for a computer program🙄

[@DoomzDale]

L take.

[@jackbauer1805]

Ignorant af…..smdh

[@sobanoodles4286]

you could just.... not use omnisphere until you can afford it

[@eunseo-ls7vk]

@@vking410 you’re speaking like usa is the only country that imposes tax on its people. Everybody else does.

[@haonrepulsor2227]

@@sobanoodles4286 so probably, maybe never. I have it cracked. and I don't use it. because it's not something. if i paid that 800 dollars i think i would be mad. So "Delete" . Spectrasonics is a conceited company that does not offer a trial or free version of the program. And that it offers free or trial I would probably try the craced version. I do not give anyone a credit card or my data for any trials