Google support music software piracy with YouTube advertising for fake plugin shops, a recent example shows it clearly.
“With YouTube ads, reach potential customers and have them take action when they watch or search for videos on YouTube, and only pay when they show interest”. This sentence pops up when you visit the YouTube ads page. A very effective way for companies such as plugin developers to advertise their products.
And if you surf without adblockers you’ve seen a lot in recent years. There are really good promotional videos, others are just annoying. I just say Unison MIDI chord pack. The tool is open to everyone, even YouTubers use every now and then to achieve more reach with their videos. Open also brings risks. I saw that again this weekend.
Megal Deals Via A YouTube Ad?
The YouTube advertising that I discovered this weekend is probably one of the parade examples of how mechanisms that are used to avoid fraud fail.
I watched a video from a YouTube colleague until an advertisement for a plugin shop popped up. This one advertises audio plugin bundles for only $3, A deal of $3 naturally makes every music producer sit up and take notice, especially for plugins that can cost a few hundred €/$, and here even in a bundle. Prices that even major plugin shops like Plugin Boutique or Audio Plugin Deals can’t keep up with, I thought to myself. Interesting, interesting.
I was curious as usual and visited the website. At first glance a modern plugin shop.
But if you take a closer look you will find points that bring down the entire house of cards.
- ValhallaDSP plugins are not passed on to the third-party shops, Sean Costello does his sale on his own. So he can keep the price so low.
- Kontakt 6 is not available in stores but only exclusively from Native Instruments, etc.
- …
Adding $3 or $6 for a plugin bundle from a reputable manufacturer makes absolutely no sense. Especially this shop that nobody has heard of before. What benefit does U-he, for example, have by giving his plugins to a shop for $3/$6. Don’t forget, the shop also wants to earn something from it. So nonsense deluxe.
From this, it can be concluded that the software offered here is not legal. These are cracked plugins.
Google & YouTube Support Music Software Piracy
The topic of music software piracy is not a new one. It’s been around for a long time and almost every software out there is available in a cracked version on the black market. Developers have been trying to combat this for a long time with better and better copy protection. But they still remain.
They are often used by rebels who are not interesting in paying money for software or by musicians who do not have the money. Well-known producers use or used them also such as Martin Garrix.
But what excites me more is the fact that Google support such shops and the music software piracy with YouTube advertising. At the same time, they damage the plugin developers with such actions. Even when they promise to check all of their advertisers, the mechanism has failed here.
All I can say is Google and YouTube, please stop it now. It’s time. And dear developers, spread your anger so that we can at least get rid of the advertising on YouTube. Taking the website offline is almost impossible. That would be a small success.
It’s not the first time I’ve discovered something like this. Last October 2020, I wrote about a website that offered Logic Pro for $79 including updates via mail. The deal was illegal because Apple does not offer Logic Pro at that price, nor does it publish it on any website. The website is now offline. Apple probably sent its lawyers to shut down the shop. But for how long.
So be careful when buying a plugin. And if you want to be absolutely sure, buy from the developers itself or from the Synth Anatomy partners. These are safe and only offer deals that are real deals.
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