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Plugin Alliance: Boom $20 Voucher / Free plugins! (No minimum spend)


MusicMan

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Wow, this is like the old days of PA sales.  Picked up SPL Iron for $10.99.

They seem to be hitting different price points:

  • $10 voucher, no minimum
  • $25 voucher, $39 minimum ($14 net spend)
  • $20 voucher, no minimum
  • $20 voucher, $29 minimum ($9 net spend)

I appreciate that they're not playing games with the pricing and minimum spends like they used to (where the minimum spends were just over the costs of single plugins, requiring buying two plugins to qualify).  And there are plenty of selections at multiple price points.

Thanks, Dirk!

Edited by ALC
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3 hours ago, ALC said:

Wow, this is like the old days of PA sales.  Picked up SPL Iron for $10.99.

They seem to be hitting different price points:

  • $10 voucher, no minimum
  • $25 voucher, $39 minimum ($14 net spend)
  • $20 voucher, no minimum
  • $20 voucher, $29 minimum ($9 net spend)

I appreciate that they're not playing games with the pricing and minimum spends like they used to (where the minimum spends were just over the costs of single plugins, requiring buying two plugins to qualify).  And there are plenty of selections at multiple price points.

Thanks, Dirk!

Yeah, this is the first time in months that I bought anything. Looks like sales have massively regressed ever since they announced their "last voucher sale", so they're changing course yet again. :D

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3 hours ago, Jan Schmitz said:

this is the first time in months that I bought anything.

Yeah, me too!! There was not much I wanted at the prices before these "good vouchers " came around.  Now I done spent a fair amount in this week!!

Well ya'll talked me into it...

I got the Ampeg -15N and Bass Mint for $20, ten bucks each. Sweet

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48 minutes ago, Grem said:

Yeah, me too!! There was not much I wanted at the prices before these "good vouchers " came around.  Now I done spent a fair amount in this week!!

Well ya'll talked me into it...

I got the Ampeg -15N and Bass Mint for $20, ten bucks each. Sweet

Likewise. I have not bought anything since the voucher change. I used to buy a plugin a month on average. Now I used every voucher during this sale except the second $25 voucher, which probably brought my average up to one plugin a month again. Damn you Dirk!

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1 hour ago, Doug Rintoul said:

Likewise. I have not bought anything since the voucher change. I used to buy a plugin a month on average. Now I used every voucher during this sale except the second $25 voucher, which probably brought my average up to one plugin a month again. Damn you Dirk!

I think a lot of developers are rethinking their strategy these days.   See the recent 8DIO sales?   The world economy is not good right now and even some major retailers had to lay off workers because such things like TVs are now a luxury to upgrade.  Some rethink what the hurt in $10 here or there.   I worry about place like Guitar Center or Sam Ash closing up and also those manufacturers have to limit production because of lack of sales.

The new business model with the vouchers hurt PA. 

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2 hours ago, Paul Young said:

I think a lot of developers are rethinking their strategy these days.   See the recent 8DIO sales?   The world economy is not good right now and even some major retailers had to lay off workers because such things like TVs are now a luxury to upgrade.  Some rethink what the hurt in $10 here or there.   I worry about place like Guitar Center or Sam Ash closing up and also those manufacturers have to limit production because of lack of sales.

The new business model with the vouchers hurt PA. 

You're making some incorrect assumptions. There are a lot of businesses hurting in the current economy. But not the DAW, sample library and plugin market. There was a recent market analysis I shared here a couple of months ago. The market is doing very well and growing. It's an attractive market. You can't make a connection between companies doing deep discounts and financial issues. Traditional (brick and mortar) retailers have been in trouble for years and the pandemic magnified those problems. But that hasn't translated into the digital music making world. 8Dio has been deep discounting for many years, so has Waves. Probably a decade for Waves by now.  As a strategist and marketing professional (okay, I'm a business owner now, but even now, my business is a job site that focuses on marketing jobs that was a result of my publication on marketing strategy), a company like 8Dio and many others, that are clearly growing, offer sales because this is a growing market that is increasingly competitive. 8Dio is attempting to grab as much of the market as it can, and aggressive pricing is a big part of their strategy (I don't necessarily agree with how aggressive their pricing is, as I think that deep discounting too greatly all of the time, undermines your brand image to the point where consumers are being trained to no longer buy at regular prices but instead they wait and anticipate major discounts). So, 8Dio and many other sample developers -- and Waves on the plugin side (a much older, long established player) -- are pursuing aggressive growth strategies. Think of it as that they're buying these customers by giving away products very cheaply because they know that most of these buyers spend a lot of money over their lifetimes and want to grab them before the competition sells them an alterative. 

Years ago, when Troels started Tonehammer, he called me for some strategic advice on branding and marketing. He was a composer out of the UK with big plans to take his knowledge of sample libraries and build his business to appeal to film and games composers, hobbyists and a large amount of folks who aspired to be pros. Of course, most of the money is in the amateur market. So Troels' now uses very aggressive penetration pricing, deep discounting, especially on older libraries and libraries near retirement. 

These aren't new strategies or strategies done out of desperation. These are aggressive strategies to win over buyers in highly competitive growth markets. This industry is doing very well right now. There's hiring going on. I recently saw Steven Slate (who I also spoke with in his early start up days) was hiring  additional NEW STAFF for a number of roles in the US and in France earlier this year.  

From the analysis I recently shared, it appears that the pandemic has not hurt the DAW/plugin/sample markets and may even have benefited the market. Of course, that doesn't mean that all companies are doing great -- it's highly dependent on many factors, including the skillset of the management of a company. But the industry overall is doing very well right now. 

Edited by PavlovsCat
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2 minutes ago, PavlovsCat said:

....

From the analysis, it appears that the pandemic has not hurt the DAW/plugin/sample markets and may even have benefited them. 

The pandemic  helped this industry and it had a massive boom.

However, the economy problems started much more recenlty and this year is starting to see a big shift in the market.  Not only is there the oversaturation based on that windfall that was 2020 and 2021 for these products, but the same people buying them now also are now hit financially in ways that didn't exist previously due the the economy.  Check the stock market plus the current state of inflation and we are talking about massive losses in buying power.  Your couple months ago evaluation would now be outdated based on the current state.

The plugin market has started to see a massive correction and the attitude here regarding the lack of enticement a the PA sales reflects that.  

 

You mention Steven Slate (very small company in the scheme of things)...well no openings on his website for.  And even companies that are hiring that isn't always reflective of growth.  There have been tons of people leaving a position to do something else and companies have to hire just to maintain - not grow.  I'd say investment in this industry right now is risky.  PA shifting the sales and market strategy to try to figure out what works right now and what doesn't reflects that fact.  They were booming to the point that an investment firm wanted a slice of that pie and now I'm betting things are not looking quite a rosy as they were a few months ago and that has to do with the global economy not some change in the quality of products or services they bring to the table.  

image.png.3418c0c0778902655002fa1c4fc31d27.png

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3 hours ago, Brian Walton said:

The pandemic  helped this industry and it had a massive boom.

However, the economy problems started much more recenlty and this year is starting to see a big shift in the market.  Not only is there the oversaturation based on that windfall that was 2020 and 2021 for these products, but the same people buying them now also are now hit financially in ways that didn't exist previously due the the economy.  Check the stock market plus the current state of inflation and we are talking about massive losses in buying power.  Your couple months ago evaluation would now be outdated based on the current state.

The plugin market has started to see a massive correction and the attitude here regarding the lack of enticement a the PA sales reflects that.  

 

You mention Steven Slate (very small company in the scheme of things)...well no openings on his website for.  And even companies that are hiring that isn't always reflective of growth.  There have been tons of people leaving a position to do something else and companies have to hire just to maintain - not grow.  I'd say investment in this industry right now is risky.  PA shifting the sales and market strategy to try to figure out what works right now and what doesn't reflects that fact.  They were booming to the point that an investment firm wanted a slice of that pie and now I'm betting things are not looking quite a rosy as they were a few months ago and that has to do with the global economy not some change in the quality of products or services they bring to the table.  

image.png.3418c0c0778902655002fa1c4fc31d27.png

It wasn't my market analysis that I shared, it was from an industry analyst. I am a former strategist, so I definitely think like one. When I referenced Slate hiring, I was referring to adding new staff, not replacing turnover -- and that was earlier this year. Just a strategy 101 point that is a basic part of due diligence. Yes, the global economy is definitely straining right now. But tech is still strong. Hiring in the US is still strong right now and is forecasted by major analysts to remain strong into 2023. 

The "lack of enticement a the PA sales" is not something I would make the leap to the assumptions you're making such as reflecting the industry slumping or PA in trouble. PA was recently acquired by Soundwise and their new ownership clearly has a belief that they can grow their marketshare, like many acquired companies. It's very typical to see  management  of a newly acquired company expected to grow to adjust and try different sales, pricing, distribution, partnership and promotions strategies -- these are the very obvious, simple things you commonly see in the short term.  So when you see a newly acquired company having these changes, it's not surprising under any economic conditions so you really can't make too many assumptions beyond that, particularly in the first year after an acquisition. I would add to that, that the competitive forces are a major factor in PA's strategies that you're looking at. Aggressive pricing and deep discounting is becoming increasingly common in the competitive environment, so that's the battle they face for marketshare, and especially for acquiring new customers -- and as the market is growing, that's especially critical, so it is to be expected that Soundwise wants to see PA focused on growing their marketshare. One might see it as a very extended bunch of rounds of penetration pricing that eventually became the norm.  The fact is, when multiple competitors began doing deep discounting, it can put major pressure on a company, especially if sales are stagnating and the deep discounting competitors are grabbing the new consumers in the market. 

Okay, there might be three people here who enjoy strategy discussions. I used to have a publication on strategy and a forum where lots of business people and academics enjoyed deep discussions on strategy and really enjoyed that part of it. I just didn't love having to write about it every day, so I don't anymore. Consequently,  it's more enjoyable to discuss strategy now that it's not something I'm obligated to write about regularly. Back to our regular programming. And whatever your thoughts on PA, one thing that's nice from a consumer/buyer perspective is that high quality plugins and libraries are more affordable than ever. 

Edited by PavlovsCat
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VOUCHER #6 
$25 OFF - AGAIN!

 

Use MEGA-25-OFF-39 and save $25 extra in the next 24 hrs only!

- Code is valid for one (1) order per user
- $39 minimum spend
 

MEGA-25-OFF-39

 

Copy/paste voucher code during checkout! 
Yesterday's voucher code has now expired and is no longer valid!

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While I wouldn't recommend engaging in such hyper intensive discounting like they're doing -- it wears out consumers and trains your market to only buy during sales. I think it shows that the new ownership is very hungry to grow Plugin Alliance's market share. Which, as a customer who wants these companies/brands to stick around, is a really good sign. As long as they don't introduce PAUP (that's a joke -- I hope -- Plugin Alliance Update Plan). ;)

Edited by PavlovsCat
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16 minutes ago, PavlovsCat said:

As long as they don't introduce PAUP (that's a joke -- I hope -- Plugin Alliance Update Plan).

Doh! Great Peter, you just put it out there. Now, when it happens, it'll be ALL your fault and you'll have to deal with the wrath of @Fleer...

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13 minutes ago, mibby said:

Doh! Great Peter, you just put it out there. Now, when it happens, it'll be ALL your fault and you'll have to deal with the wrath of @Fleer...

Yeah, imagine,  PA's head of marketing reads this thread, sees my post and thinks,  "That's a great idea!" I'd have to change my identity in this forum after that and hope Fleer doesn't track me down! ;)

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Well I'm gonna stick to my theory people just aint buying certain stuff anymore no matter what those stats say.    Collecting the "oh but it's awesome eq"  to go with the other 47 I have is now a luxury.   Maybe just maybe I realize I have too much stuff and would take 7 lifetimes to learn how to use any of it.

Then...........I thought about getting Tantra..........BUT I can't get it for $10............THEN I realize I can do the same thing in Live and probably those Cable Guys plugins I haven't used.  

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Voucher #7
SALE EXTENDED
$25 Off / 24 Hours

 

Use MEGA-25off39 to save $25 extra in the next 24 hours only!

- Code is valid for one (1) order per user
- $39 minimum spend
 

MEGA-25off39

 

Copy/paste voucher code during checkout! 
Yesterday's voucher code has now expired and is no longer valid!

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