Warez sites playing hardball

[moonmadness]

There is no copy protection I am aware of that has ever worked, the best form of copy protection is an accessible price and very frequent updates so that 'pirates' always feel that they have old versions with features missing whilst they wait for someone else to hack it again....

Remember, most of these guys are not really musicians, just collectors of 'stuff' and they don't learn how to use anything. Without a price there is no value, no investment- they download, play for 20 minutes then download the next thing....when you can just have everything all at once it does nothing but waste your time.

well said mate!

it's 'cheaper' for me to pay for a subscription to YoutubePremium/Music than wasting my time surfing warez site looking for music.
the most precious commodity in the world is time.

also, i used to have lots of pirated software in the 'good old days'.
but i rarely used them.

now that i pay for my stuff, i'm a lot more motivated to actually use it.

[SLiC]

Appreciating and understanding what you have and actually learning how to use it is what makes good music or a good producer....I suspect it actually makes people happier and more fulfilled as well. Most people don't really like warez or having to deal with all the crap, outdated versions with no support and possible viruses and trojans, but having stuff (everything!) just becomes an addition for some, its almost a punishment in its self, as they invariably achieve nothing but wasting their own time.

[mguerrero90]

IF they dont live in the US/western Europe, it can be hard for you to do anything. IMO the best copyright protection is to have a good system were you give more to people who payed. More presets, updates, etc, so becoming an honest consumer comes with added benefits. Otherwise most of the people stealing from you are people from third world countries were your fair price becomes a day or a week of work for some, in countries with 15-25% unemployment.

[triggerthehorizon]

This is the truth

There is no copy protection I am aware of that has ever worked, the best form of copy protection is an accessible price and very frequent updates so that 'pirates' always feel that they have old versions with features missing whilst they wait for someone else to hack it again....

Remember, most of these guys are not really musicians, just collectors of 'stuff' and they don't learn how to use anything. Without a price there is no value, no investment- they download, play for 20 minutes then download the next thing....when you can just have everything all at once it does nothing but waste your time.

[tampacct]

russian websites stole my grandmas cookie cutter shape and when i told her about it she sent out a chain email inviting everyone over for a tupperware party

[Fender19]

russian websites stole my grandmas cookie cutter shape and when i told her about it she sent out a chain email inviting everyone over for a tupperware party

So are you saying the publicity on warez sites is potentially good advertising for real sales? I've thought about that possibility.

On the other hand, look at what Napster did to the music business...

[starflakeprj]

iLok does not seem to be completely cracked.
eLicenser (latest version) is not cracked.
Whatever Propellerhead is using has not been cracked.
Tone2's software has not been cracked.

So there are a few copy protections that work pretty good to damn good.

[AnX]

Tone2's software has not been cracked.

Google says different

[starflakeprj]

Tone2's software has not been cracked.

Google says different

Have you checked the released dates of those? And as far as I know they have only provided the license file, so not a "legit" crack.

Anyway, this is not the right forum for cracked software discussions, so I'm sorry about that. I'm just pretty sure that of the four I have mentíoned above, only iLok did have a breach (or if it was the software's iLok integration), so some iLok software were affected.

[tampacct]

russian websites stole my grandmas cookie cutter shape and when i told her about it she sent out a chain email inviting everyone over for a tupperware party

So are you saying the publicity on warez sites is potentially good advertising for real sales? I've thought about that possibility.

On the other hand, look at what Napster did to the music business...

warez sites are a wonderful vector point for understanding obsessive compulsive behavior and how computers advance organization skills. something else must be subsidizing the entire industry, because i don't see where the sales could possibly be happening, not kvr users.

napster really didn't do anything to the music business, worth noting, but it kept the propaganda machine going, it kept personal associations alive in the movie industry, by keeping top twenty artists present, when gateway and dell computers created a social black hole of interaction-over-experience-behavior modifications of cultural values.

[david.beholder]

Lok does not seem to be completely cracked.
eLicenser (latest version) is not cracked.

It's all matter of passion to search for vulnerabilities

[dnekm]

I have dealt with warez sites in the past and sent DMCA notices - a lot of how you are treated is how you phrase things....

If you come off as genuine and the owner they tend to back off.

But you have to be you - who you are - and your sounds and your heart.

I have pretty much stamped out all of the Anomaly pirates except for a few,,,,

Had to end soundsets because of this.....

So I would say I have had mixed results - but mostly for the good....

[Topcheese]

I'm not sure how I missed this one. Warez is not all that it's cracked up to be. There are so many nice free and open-source plugins, you don't even need to use pirated software. The best thing is to offer generous promotional sales, and steady updates and support. Also, don't plan to get rich and owning mansions.

[starflakeprj]

To be honest, and unfortunately, I think most people who started using pirated software will continue doing so even though they can afford them later in life. I base this on looking at my friends, as well as reading internet forums (and Facebook groups). No matter how cheap you can get the software, "free" is always cheaper, right? And people see more value in free software that used to cost money, than free software that has always been free.

I do agree with your that there are loads of free and open source plugins and other software though. I use Blender and Inkscape for instance, but not so many of the free VST plugins nowadays, since I have already bought so many. Most of them in sales or second hand, so I do agree partly with "generous promotial sales", that this works for some. I can't resist a good deal, unfortunately

Now when Cakewalk by Bandlab is free, you really have what you need in the DAW department, but people will still want a pirated copy of FL Studio (which think has more pirated copies out there than legal, but in this case I think it's good for them, as it always put FL Studio on top in all lists). Photoshop is another similar story, besides Windows OS, probably the most pirated software in history.

Anyway, you can just hope everyone who uses pirated software gets hit by a ransomware, that might teach them

[quikquak]

Anyway, you can just hope everyone who uses pirated software gets hit by a ransomware, that might teach them

Naaa, they'll just moan about Windows being crap, wipe the drive and reinstall all the same shit again.
I think they feel starting again somehow cleanses them of all their piracy.