bitflipper
I just have a hard time imagining anybody with half a brain allowing himself to become dependent on bootleg software to run a business, any kind of business.

Of course an honest person would say that. Think like a dishonest person (or one who wishes to do whatever it takes to maximize profits) and it's a whole lot easier to imagine.

bitflipper

Rain
I can't tell you how many professional engineers, studio owners and musicians I've met who were using cracked software. I don't mean one or two plug-ins, I mean tons of them. In fact, the ratio of cracked users vs legal users is probably the exact opposite of what one would expect. 

Are you saying that in your estimation more people are NOT buying the software than are buying it? 
 

Yep. 

I'm thinking of installing SONAR X3 on three machines. I'm sure that's what the 3 denotes.

The Bapu
Think like a dishonest person (or one who wishes to do whatever it takes to maximize profits) and it's a whole lot easier to imagine.

Yes, but the first step in maximizing profits is to stay in business!
 
Imagine...you're working on a major project that's going to pay your bills for the next month. The band's set up and ready to rock -- but your project won't open. Dollars tick away while you try to figure out why. Oh, it's a plugin you spent 4 hours automating last night. Too bad you can't call the vendor for help. No problem, though, since Google Search is your software support plan. You discover that the plugin has a bug. It was fixed months ago, but the new version also included better copy protection and there are no cracked versions available. The band is glaring at you through the glass...too bad you already spent the money they've paid in advance.

bitflipper

The Bapu
Think like a dishonest person (or one who wishes to do whatever it takes to maximize profits) and it's a whole lot easier to imagine.

Yes, but the first step in maximizing profits is to stay in business!
 
Imagine...you're working on a major project that's going to pay your bills for the next month. The band's set up and ready to rock -- but your project won't open. Dollars tick away while you try to figure out why. Oh, it's a plugin you spent 4 hours automating last night. Too bad you can't call the vendor for help. No problem, though, since Google Search is your software support plan. You discover that the plugin has a bug. It was fixed months ago, but the new version also included better copy protection and there are no cracked versions available. The band is glaring at you through the glass...too bad you already spent the money they've paid in advance.

In all fairness, this can happen w/ an entirely legit DAW. I've also read and heard many accounts of cracked versions working better and being less of a hassle than the legit version (the recent iLok upgrade comes to mind - I'm sure that crack users didn't even notice the downtime).
 
And obviously, there is always the possibility that a faulty plug-in has not been fixed. Or that offering support is a fairly low priority. Or that your issue won't be solved for a few days.
 
I don't know. I'm trying to think of one plug-in I own which suddenly became unusable... The very few problematic ones like POD Farm were put on a restricted list from the start. 
 
I'm not advocating cracked software - every single piece of software on my computer is paid for. I've refused cracked copies of plug-ins countless times - even stuff I'd like, like Waves SSL - and dozens of GB worth of samples. But in a strictly pragmatic point of view, legit software isn't immune to ruining a session. Personally, if the clock was ticking, I'd probably try to find an alternative instead of spending time chatting w/ support for a fix.
 
 

You're absolutely right. I do know people who use cracked versions of software they legitimately bought, just to get rid of the f*cking iLok.
 
I'm not a fan of copy protection at all. From an engineering perspective, it's a single point of failure and its sole function is to render the software unusable unless some intentionally-obtuse set of criteria are met. At best it provides zero functionality for the user, and at worst (its only other possible mode of operation) will give a paying customer headaches.
 
I can completely sympathize with someone using a crack for reliability.
 
But those users can always fall back to the legit version in a pinch, can always call the vendor for support, and are always up-to-date with revisions. They're not risking much, and by my reckoning aren't even pirates. 
 
But how often do plugins actually fail, and what's the worst that could happen if one did? Fortunately, they don't fail often, but when they do it could be major. Take Waves stuff, for example. One Waves plugin won't fail - they ALL will. 

Software protection - the suicide bombers of the recording world.  Nice bit.

No excuse to use cracked plug-ins - ever. You can justify any crime in the end. Until people get prosecuted it won't go away and it's impossible to prosecute the millions who do it and the thousands of sites who provide the service.
 
A huge amount of people steal if there's no consequences and at the moment there are zero consequences.
 
All you can do as an individual is to keep yourself legit.

I would have picked up a few more AD plugs if they were $25 each, but I only make $1000 a month, so my opinion may not count. Maybe an occasional sale would help generate revenue from people like me. But then most of the time its people who have the liquidity (richer people) who are able to take advantage of flash sales. Sometimes I see sale prices I could otherwise be able to afford but could not make it in 3 days. Groups buys like the current OTS that span for a few weeks are much better. But then I may not even belong to a market that worth considering from the start.

bitflipper
 
Are you saying that in your estimation more people are NOT buying the software than are buying it? Or just a large minority?
 
I just have a hard time imagining anybody with half a brain allowing himself to become dependent on bootleg software to run a business, any kind of business.
 

Welcome to the United States and it's corporate foreign policy. The US is founded on theft.