I’ve had several hits regarding a Logic Pro Studio torrent.
While I know that Bittorrent can obviously be used for legal purposes (WoW patches, Linux distributions, etc..), as well as illegal purposes (95% of stuff on The Pirate Bay) I really don’t like this.
Yes, there is downloading stuff that’s a “Grey area”. It’s stuff that’s probably illegal (Watching the Daily Show on Miro), but isn’t harmful (often commercials are left in) and isn’t making anyone a profit. John Stewart doesn’t care, and neither does Stephen Colbert apparently. They make a mockery of it being on YouTube if anything.
However, people wanting to download Logic Studio Pro upset me.
“Why?”, you may ask.
First of all, you should look at the differences between Logic Pro and Logic Express and Garageband. If you are just doing music, “for fun” then Garageband should be all you need. It comes with every new Mac basically for free.
If you are a student, you can get Logic (either express or Pro) for a huge discount. At that discount, there is no reason to pirate it. If you don’t have the money for it at that point, just cut back on beer and drugs (or even coffee) for a week and you’ll have it. I am not indicating that everyone is an alcoholic, but seriously you can raise the money for Lopic Express in using minimal effort and cutting back on a few things.
Then look at Logic Pro vs Logic Express. If you “need” Logic Pro, so that you can have surround sound and some more professional features, then I’d say it’s damn likely that you are (or should be) making money from it. If you’re making money from it and pirating it, then that sucks.
It’s like a graphic arts house pirating Photoshop. I think a kid in high school pirating it is one thing, and not harmful. However a graphic arts house making a business off of the software (and it’s not just a plugin, it’s their main platform) is horrid.
If you can’t afford Logic Pro 8 then you don’t need it. If you don’t need it, why are you pirating it. In all seriousness, audio PROS need Logic Pro. You don’t need it for a podcast. You don’t need it to record yourself playing a song on your acoustic.
If you want some actual free (open source) multitrack programs there’s some good ones out there. Just Google for them.
But please, don’t pirate a piece of professional software for your professional studio. If you don’t have a professional studio, then use other software. It’s probably already on your computer (garageband), or at a nominal price (Logic Express, which containts 95% of the features).
Yes, Apple has removed the need for an XSKey. That is not a license to pirate it. It’s so that you don’t constantly have to drag around, break, lose, get replaced, have problems with an XSKey.
UPDATE: This post has gotten a TON of traffic here and generated far more discussion than I thought it would. I’m glad people are listening.
My position is pretty much the same, but maybe a little softer now. We all know we shouldn’t pirate software. Yea, Apple makes a ton of money, but that’s still not a justification for stealing. I still haven’t upgraded to Logic 8, because… I don’t have the money. I’m not at the same time claiming that I’ve never touched a bit-torrent program and have no pirated software.
Main point: If you have a studio that’s making money (at all) then you should buy your software/tools. If you’re 13 and in your bedroom, you aren’t going to kill anything by pirating it, but I just don’t see why you think you need professional software.
UPDATE 2: Looking back over the past year of comments on this a few things are pretty clear.
- Most of you haven’t actually read this post, but rather given a kneejerk reaction.
- You haven’t read other parts of my blog. Some of you think I don’t know what its like to be a poor musician, or attend college for music. I’ve been there and done that. I went to Berklee for 4 years. I worked in a recording studio for nearly 3.
- Also that many people are upset simply because of hivemind, follow the crowd attitudes. You honestly know the difference between right and wrong here, but you simply want to take the low road. That’s fine and I’m not judging you for that. I think you’re just feeling guilty, so you lash out.
- The personal attacks can stop anytime. I’ve been kind enough to allow any comments to stay here, even ones that are massive personal attacks, inaccurate, or uneducated. Let’s not ruin the party k?
To the pirated software users and supporters : (those who say “fuck you,fuck steve jobs,fuck me,fuck you your mom ecc.ecc. )
did you ever really try to WORK on cracked programs? i guess you kids just toy with it…well, cracked programs are UNSTABLE ,UNFUNCTIONAL,UNSAFE,THEY CRASH. Now go,please ,go work with them ! People is so fuckin’ stupid. SO-FUCKIN’-STUPID !
ungo wrote : I DO IT TO REFUSE TO PAY TO SOME CORPORATION. THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT WILL PAY FOR IT OTHERS WHO CAN’T WON’T
man,please,find yourself a job
It really doesn’t matter, either way; open source software will soon surpass the quality of marketed products.
Also, it’s noble to pay money for a product based on principle, but be aware of two things:
-It’s never noble to be self-righteous, assuming and condescending– I, a college student, in fact do not regularly spend large sums of money on beer and drugs (suprise, suprise)
-these principles that you hold dear have COMPLETELY evaded large companies like apple. They would, given the chance, take advantage of an “unethical” opportunity to make money. The companies that do have principles never survive to become as big as apple, because there are so many other competitors without principles and the cost drains that come with them. Apple would pirate software, too.
I will use a pirated version of what ever I want whenever I feel like it. Glory of the internet. I have bought one CD in the past three years. I dont need to buy movies. I have access to an unlimited amount of resources and you better believe I am going to use it. I will buy logic when I have the money. But I dont. I cant cut back on the drugs and beer expense mostly because it doesnt exist. See, Im in school. Which consumes 85% of my life. work consumes the rest. I barely find time to eat and sleep so drugs and beer are void in my life right now. I have no extra money and I have no way of purchasing the erroneously expensive program so that mr big shot where ever can finally get his million dollar car, sorry wont do it. You can live your life just the way you want as long as I can as well.
Torrents are not harmful. What is harmful is the greediness of assholes who think they own the world. Times are changing my friends, see, now we own the world. We set the prices, and we show demand. This is why the internet is the greatest thing of our lives. No big record studio executive will be determining what is good… we will… with blogs and everything else. No big shot CEO of some big ass corporation will be raping us of our money just because we want to make good music and do it with the same tools as the pros. The first company to see this and apply it will be the most successful company of our time.
Before you go ahead and bitch any more about the internet remember this. It is hear for me and because of me, just as it is you. So embrace and use it because no matter how much anyone tries… the internet is and forever will be controlling our global economy.
I agree with the poster. Apple has done a great job of taking off the stupid restrictions of the software, and these idiots want to go pirating a piece of software they can buy for cheap. I payed for logic studio and am happy I did. Do yourself a favor and stop being a a**hole, get a job, and go buy the software.
It’s the only way apple will come out with other great products. I want my software to be dongle free, and you jerks make it bad for us legal users.
Enough said
Fuck you Will!! You can afford it, ’cause you have a job, high-paid, or some mother-fucking manager. Not everybody has enough money or budget. Those mother-fucking corporations so stupid, if the product’s price can be lower, everybody can afford, who need to spend the fucking time to download from fucking internet????? If everybody can afford, and the product is great and powerful, of course, everybody love to buy. For example, if they sell for original price, $1500, maybe 10 people can afford in 500 people. Now they just earn $15000. If they sell that for $100, well, maybe 80% of 500 people think that is reasonable, but still 400 people want to buy, so, how much they can earn now???? $40000…..
Those corporations are stupid moronic asses…
Fuck Off you self righteous son of a bitch. Going around telling people what they can and can’t do has nothing to do with you. I buy all my software and always will but don’t tell others to just because I do. BTW love the site asshole!!
Why download it? well i’m not 13..i’m 21 and I dont have a professional studio and I still can’t afford the software..I want what the pros use so that i can have pro quality..I’m an aspiring producer and yea i might use hacked software but just because i can’t afford it I should totally give up music? Plain and simple…some people are lower than middle class…47grand a year is ‘RICH!’ in my eyes,I’m still in the hood/ghetto (and i dont drink or do any drugs and yes i work to support my kids,so fuck u stereotypers) but i still have the hopes and ‘dreams’ to make music and right now using pirated software to get professional quality is the only way i can do it.So there’s one answer from 1 perspective of why people use a pirated Logic Pro rather than somethin lesser or cheaper.
LOOK EVERYONE….
people convert to using macs because their wonderful software for audio/video editing.
their computers are completely overpriced, and that’s definitely no controversy.
maybe if logic was made compatible with the PC’s i already have, i would actually buy logic,
but
when you make someone spend 2k+ on a computer you could get 30-40% less, and THEN get the software, I think you’re a little to greedy.
Props to the people who made Logic, but fuck Apple for overpricing everything
no anymore, look at a Macbook vers. a PC, search on the web, there isn’t any differences. The price is a little bit above, but hey, you’ve got a nice and WORKING computer.
So no need to complain now, you really have got the choice !
Same for Windows, do they offer you Excell, just because you own Windows XP, or Vista ??
Why should apple make discount ? you even don’t own a Mac and probably never will… So don’t bother arguing like 15 years ago.
hi
As someone who’s brought all my software, I’m glad for piracy , because it forces the prices down.
Software companies always claim that piracy makes things expensive for the consumer, despite study after study proving the opposite happens.
The trick is that the market will literally compete against anything. Piracy provides heavy “hard” competition against commercial software, so it forces software companies to drop their prices to encourage people to licence.
Ultimately honest consumers win big time because they get cheaper legal product, and the pirates , well I guess they’ll just keep on doing what they do.
All you people are whining away at how expensive Logic and Apple computers are …
When sales go down because people steal the product, those who DO pay for it get a higher price.
That’s basic economics.
So stop all the bitching and get a better job or go play with GB. I seriously doubt a 15 yr kid needs Logic. He only wants it because it is the latest software he can download and never use because GOD FORBID he might have to RTFM!
A 15 yr old boy can handle almost anything except alcohol, women, and reading.
Can’t get a job? Move out of Detroit – trust me here, Detroit sucks.
“dmx”
By your logic (see what I did there) car thieves make car prices more economical.
I weep for the future.
Just because he refers to students as stereotypically being on drugs and spending all their money on beer, it makes me want to torrent it.
Hey folks remember don’t limit your self to the internet… there’s also stores, schools, shit hospital taking huge advantage of ALL of us let’s see who else… and who got the balls like my boys on the streets running wallets kissing babies and keep it a 100… but nah that’s WRONG LOL !! ya’ll bunch crooks internet automobile wallstreet crroks………. it don’t matter, you take and you take and you take, but what do you give back bitches
cut back of beer for one week or so, come on man not everyone is us resident where you might do that. so fuck you. it’s also nonsense that even a mac costs you 30-40 % more because you’re european and even from hungary. so fuck you. one thing i invested in apogee duet is because it has the same price all over the world. even one pack of d’addario strings is 8 euros in a country where you gotta work 3 hours for a fuckin bigmac. so fuck you. and im happy i got my apple mac running logic studio! yeah fuck you.
Where can I download a safe pirate version of Logic 8 please?
err…I did read the whole post and I think you’re way off man. I’ve never downloaded a torrent in my life yet have spent serious amounts of cash on both hardware and software. I know plenty of people who have loads of software which is all torrented and you reach a point where you think “fuck it if everyone else is doing it then why am I spending thousands on this shit?”. We’re constantly getting fucked over by these companies anyway with the endless updates to both hardware and software making the version you’ve just forked out on worthless. That’s what I call stealing. And refusing to offer support on older versions. And who the fuck are you to say if you’re not making enough cash out of music then you’re obviously not good enough to use the software?? I really don’t think you’ve thought this thread through before posting.
making money with music is not as easy as people think. I’m talking to all the people that have resigned themselves to making a living in music no matter what. When you live music and no nothing else that any other lifestyle would defeat the purpose to living. I have a pro studio and legally purchased all hardware and software. However, I also make beats and electronic music very seriously. But this is not something I expect to pay off for quite some time. I know if I keep my nose to the grind stone it will pay off eventually. But if you expect me to shell out every last cent for the software I employ to create my ’sound’. You can tack on another 5 years to my dream. Just to afford the fucking software. Thats how much it is to really make pro music. You really do need a beefy computer many HQ plugins a host.. keyboards etc… So I’m a full time student and have barely any free time, how am I suppsoed to raise like 10 Grand?? And how long am i supposed to wait with hundreds of ideas every day just getting wasted because you have to be upper middle class to afford software.. Fuck that. Music is the expression and release of everyone. You shouldn’t have to have money to do it. And thats why a kid like me otherwise nothing special could have a rep like I do. And that shit you said about cutting back on coffee and alcohol and shit and you’ll have several hundred cash within a week I really can’t quite understand. Anyway, I make a serious effort to pay for as much as I can but basically I think software is to expensive.
Man, this guy makes me laugh, with comments like cut back on drugs and alcohol.
Yo dude I wonder how much you been paying for your drugs and alcohol son, cause it seems like you been getting ripped off!!!
Why don’t you come to my part of town and I will sell it to you at a discounted price, so you can afford to keep buying all the latest software these global conglomerates keeping pushing out.
Maybe in time I can then afford to buy rather than torrent.
To all the pirates out there lets keep fucking Steve Jobs up the ass.
No homo.
I totally agree with Bobby Valentino here, Lets keeping Fucking Steve Jobs up the ass, I mean I would really like to fuck him up the ass, for the amounts of Billions in a year he is taking from my company, with his fancy software and hardware products.
Just don’t Pirate my products guys, please only torrent Steve, not me OK, I will love you all long time, and may be suck your cocks as well.
To the guy who made this Blog I think your an asshole, only because, you didn’t my products, and software.
I mean come on I am only a Trillionaire, I am trying to be the first Zillionaire, at least before that fucking Steve Jobs.
I will let you in on a little secret, we made a bet, in our secret Billionaires Boys club, on who would be the first Zillionaire,.
So please help me make my dreams come true please please please.
Sincerely Yours
Bill Gates
CEO
MICROSOFT.
If you want to pay too much money for a program thats up too you, but companys like apple make 1000% profit margins, pirates will never go away and are a thing of the future, so you may aswell join in. cunts
Hi Ben,
If you look at Apple’s quarterly reports, you’ll see that they aren’t making anywhere near 1000% profit margin on their income vs expenses.
He is so right, it worked for me. I work two jobs and am in school but all I had to do was stop feeding my baby for a week and a half and BAM. Logic Pro.
I run a studio. I have software I have bought and paid for, and software I have “borrowed”. I’m glad torrents exist – I call it “try before you buy”. There are two types of software I have paid for… software that does what it said it would, and software that absolutely @%#^#$^ did not. That only happened to me a few times before I realised to accurately judge the worth of a piece of complicated software such as Logic 8 Pro, you need to spend a good deal of time with it in a production environment. For example, I bought into ProTools… what a let down, in my experiernce it was buggiest piece of crap I’ve ever used. Great workflow, great environment – it was all basically awesome, except that it DIDN’T WORK PROPERLY. I have never spent so much time chasing tech support issues, and it kept me constantly behind Mac OS X updates (Digidesign taking months to get the latest protools version working with the latest OS upgrade – by the time they’ve done it, you’re months behind again). Basically I got screwed. So, after a few experiences like this – I try before I buy. Now, if there was a way to walk into a car dealership, hit the “copy” button on my replicator and have an exact replica of one of the cars appear next to me I could drive off in – I would have no qualms about trying before I buy in that situation either. Especially if the car industry was such that you could continue to sell a car with a known fault that causes it to randomly explode on the freeway when all you were doing was *driving it correctly* (an analogy for the situation as it exists in software sometimes!). Yeah, maybe if I could *trust* software companies I wouldn’t need to, but the fact is – I can’t. So screw ‘em, I want proof before I dish out. After I have proof, fine, heres your dollars. End of story.
I don’t normally post on threads, anywhere, ever, but I am admittedly very fascinated by the “torrent wars” going on.
Everyone is so up-in-arms about all this right now, what with Pirate Bay being on trial.
I stumbled upon your blog, and I respect your opinion, and your request that people not pirate Logic, or any software you plan to make money on. This is a perfectly reasonable request.
HOWEVER, I can’t help but feel that the internet is outgrowing the human race a little. It has, in essence, become a “physical” form of our collective conscience. The exchange of information at an immediate pace, on a global level, has changed the way our world works. It is as simple as that. It is too late to stop illegal downloading, on any level.
I am a musician and I am personally thrilled by the age we are living in. I don’t expect to make any money at all by making music, because if I am worth my salt, people will like it and share it with each other. That’s wonderful! Don’t you all see??? Music is SUPPOSED to be free! It belongs to the air around us, not to us!
As far as software is concerned, companies will simply have to change the way they make money, just like musicians. Musicians will inevitably be forced to earn their income by performance and merchandise. Software companies? Well, they’re clever. They’ll figure something out.
I downloaded a torrent of Logic because I had read wonderful things about it. I am also a big Nine Inch Nails fan, and Apple has a video with Trent Reznor talking about how great MainStage is for their live show. I decided to check it out, so I downloaded a torrent on my girlfriend’s Mac and I am floored. I have decided to (as quickly as possible) buy a Mac and Logic. I will never use a PC again. If Apple heard my testimony, do you really think they’d be upset about me downloading a torrent? They’ve likely made a fan-for-life out of me just because I went on a limb and decided to try something new.
I did indeed read your blog. I am in no way trying to justify my stealing of Logic. Yes I know right from wrong. The argument I’m trying to make is, to quote an old wise man, “The times, they are a-changing.”
When mankind first developed the technology to record music, there were scores of people who were vehemently against the idea, claiming that music is ‘meant to be experienced live’. Where would we be today if those people had gotten what they wanted, and we never started recording music???
No one can stop this technology. It is here. Don’t be afraid, embrace it. Celebrate. This is a wondrous time. Our generation are pioneers of something entirely new and fantastic. It is insane to me that anyone anywhere could waste their precious energy complaining about the fantastic abilities this technology affords us. Mark my words, I absolutely promise you, in ten years people will look back at all this and laugh. Our childrens’ children will think it is bizarre and archaic that we bought songs for a dollar a piece when we were young.
Correction: YOU bought songs for a dollar a piece. I got a torrent. I also posted a torrent of my most recent album (which I made with REGISTERED versions of Cubase and Reason). So, enjoy. And lighten up a little.
Great post man! Keep them coming. I agree 100% with you.
The whole internet era is taking the world by storm. It creates opportunities that were once limited to few. Back then, people look at producers and musicians wishing they have the tools and ability to do what they do, but now pirated programs give that talented kid to become a producer/musician of his dreams.
The way I see the whole thing is this: when we “invaded” America, we turned land into a money making scheme. What was once truely the land of free, where the earth belongs to every living soul, became a land for those who has the money to buy. In terms we became money slaves.
Perhaps this will evolve into a new way of living and economy. Instead of enslaving ourselves to companies just to have money to make ends meet, maybe one day we will be free. We will do things because we love to do them, not because our boss wants us to make profit for the company.
As for piracy, it indicates how the world is changing and the develops need to adapt.
and ohh if it wasn’t for pirated software, you wouldn’t be getting this many hots talking about Logic pro… now you will probably make some money off of it… I already see those Logic Studio ads for Amazon
Papertape, you’ve got me caught. I made $3 last month from someone buying Logic Express
Note that my Slicehost costs me $20/month, so I’m still at a loss… Oh well. All in fun
I agree the world needs to adapt.
You guys are a bunch of socialist pussies. The fact of the matter is that if we lived in the jungle, you couldn’t pirate anybodies hut or food, and just because it’s through a computer doesn’t mean you have the right to seize the product of someone elses work. I’m not on a high-horse, I pirate things from time-to-time, but I realize that the reason that these guys have nice cars and homes is because they MAKE things. WAH WAH I don’t have any money so I have the right to steal. Be a MAN and produce something half-decent for society you moochers.
EVERYONE DOWNLOAD LOGIC STUDIO 8 FOR FREE RIGHT NOW! IT’S AWESOME!!
Ok. I am the LEGAL owner of all the software i have in my computer.
As a legal client of logic since version 4 (youve been there as well for sure) I just think that the fees they apply to upgrade are just insane.
The difference between buying the software new and upgrading is minimal. So basically they could not care less for the clients.
They don’t care at all for the people that have been there since the start and hence have upgrade fees that will be almost the same as buying the software some months later when it is discounted.
Also the software in itself although is very good is missing key feature nowadays…
So Ive bitten the bullet and instead of giving them another check worth almost the price of LOGIC PRO (8) Just for upgrading, I’ve bought a UAD2 and use it now with Ableton Live and Pro TOOLS LE (and I hate pro tools)
Besides this. just face the fact that Logic is what it is now because Apple chose to have it BTIM available to any one that can get their hands on a serial.
APPLE IS NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF SOTWARE, THEY SELL COMPUTERS….
Long Live EMAGIC!
I love apple but I hate the prize of his products. Do you know how much is for a man of country here in italy 1299 € (the new iMac)??! And so I sad… Tengo na minchia tanta… Ma non tengo una lira… If you can reach the ammount of money that cost something, you have to work hard and buy legally… But if you don’t have the possibility, pirate, but don’t think that you are in the right… You are just a clodhopper… That’s all i’m doing…
Fuck Microsoft!!!!!!!!!
thanks dudes
David, I appreciate your blog post about this topic as it actually changed my mind about pirated software. I was previously working with a pirated version of Logic and as I got used to the features (I previously only used pro tools), I bought a legal copy. Imagine my surprise when I realized the pirated version was seriously flawed and lacking many of the essential plug-ins and jam packs! Needless to say, I’m glad I bought the legal version. To the people that say the program is too expensive, they really cut the price by a LOT from what Logic 7 cost, and I think it’s a reasonable price for all that comes with it. The various pirated versions out there are just not worth it!
Cut back on coffee for a week and you’ll have it.
I could not disagree with you more, David. As a supposed alcoholic and coffee addicted college student (neither of which I partake in imbibing, mind you), I don’t have the hundreds of dollars that you so casually write off as nothing, thanks to a “huge” student discount. I feel that your post was extremely elitist and naive of the situation of musicians who lack the funds that you seem to have. It’s as if you find it impossible that a serious musician and lover of music doesn’t have hundreds of dollars to throw around. I’ve been making music for years now, and I love doing it, and I have never profited from it. Does that mean I have to use Garageband, as you suggest? Have you tried Garageband? It’s a toy. It’s for pre-teens to record riffs of Smoke on the Water onto. It is extremely limiting.