I say used to because once I started making money I started buying what I used. If there was something they missed they also released the script so you could strip plugins yourself. XVX figured out how to completely strip the iLok protection from the plugin files, and then systematically released literally everything. You could do this indefinitely as long as you didn’t let it expire. There was a hacker team called XVX that basically obliterated the original iLok - prior to them there was an iLok reset script that as long as you ran it before the 14 day trial ran out it would reset every single trial period.

So that's my non-american perspective of piracy. And I also know most of them gradually buy the software when they can because there are many obvious benefits, like always having the latest version, it's more practical, you don't have to be worrying about downloading virused shit, or inadvertently downloading crypto miners and shit when getting some cracks. I know plenty of small studios that own some pirated plugins and software. I still own some pirated old plugins and for the most part they can't be bought anymore, such as iZotope Spectron, one of my all time favorites. But I do mind when small operations or independent developers who have their stuff moderately priced are getting their stuff cracked.

I don't mind it at all when big companies like Waves get their stuff cracked. The majority of people who are pirating, wouldn't buy the software if they couldn't pirate it. So I grew up pirating stuff and I don't think it's theft (in fact I find the notion laughable), it's not a nice thing to do, but it's certainly not theft and as such I don't think it's really hurting anyone significantly. I live in a country where software piracy is not nearly as badly seen as in the U.S.

Cla vocals stereo crack