all of the Akai plugins for One/Live/X were “one-time activations” at the time they were purchased. it’s only in the last month, apparently, that they are now requiring periodic re-authentication. which AFAICT is a solution in search of a problem, if the point is to stop people from pirating their plugins. the authorization code isn’t going to get more (or less) authentic over time so if you’re good on day one there’s no seeming point to checking again in 90 days to see if you’re still legit.
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Might as well post this here too …
Personally, I think the best way to deal with the matter is for everyone who “owns” an inMusic MPC to initiate a refund request with the retailer immediately.
I hate to break it you all but I’m afraid your inMusic MPC was misrepresented. Since the activiation system requires an internet connection, the device is not “Stand Alone”.
By law, I do believe that under these circumstances you are entitled to a refund regardless of how long you’ve owned it. This is because inMusic have changed the very “Stand Alone” nature of the item that you purchased, after you purchased it.
In effect you have a faulty item, because they cannot hold you to something you never agreed to in the first place. Money is the only language these corporate assholes understand., so what you do is you cut-off their money supply.
Demand a refund on your current misrepresented inMusic product.
Never buy activation-based hardware again under any circumstances.
If everyone suddently starts demanding the refunds they are entitled to, the retailers themselves will deal with inMusic in whatever way necessary, because they’ll be bombarded with refund requests that I do believe they are required to honour by law under such circumstances.
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This whole debacle is almost as bad as petitions that ask me for money or to sign other unrelated petitions.
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I admit my objection may seem like a small thing relative to the more tangible live musician and consumer ethics aspects of this policy. But what gets to me is how much they are shooting themselves in the foot in terms of shifting how people perceive of these instruments.
We all know that a cheap used laptop accessible to nearly everyone can do pretty much anything the MPC/Force line can, and is far more expansive of an environment. Nearly the same can be said of an iPad. But people love hardware, and for good reason - we conceptualize it as separate from our computers which invade our everything and work and communication and dating and leisure lives.
The MPC/Force line were already brushing up against that point of feeling like a computer. You can sometimes strain to flex that suspension of disbelief muscle hard enough to keep the illusion alive - to think of it as something other than a linux notebook with a touchscreen and a midi controller attached. Requiring regular internet checkups to function at all breaches that implicit contract of what hardware is and should be, and so the illusion is shattered, and so you’re staring at a machine that’s more laptop than instrument and wondering why you need it in the first place.
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I’m new to Elektronauts so hello all.
I sold my MPC Live 2 a couple of months ago. The whole random ‘plugins disabled because not authorised’ bug was an absolute workflow killer. That plus endless poor software update QC issues (every firmware patch seemed to introduce brand new bugs that weren’t there before) and shocking customer support (zero response when seeking support, zero engagement on any online forum, zero transparency on anything… Akai don’t even publish release notes for each firmware patch or acknowledge problems like authentication servers going down for days at a time) has turned me off any InMusic brand for life. So disappointing.
I doubt a petition would make any difference. I’m not sure anyone there would even read it let alone act in response.
Side point… I’m now in the market for a new DAWless ‘brain’ replacement for the MPC Live 2. I’m leaning towards Digitone as I love the sounds and it looks like a great MIDI sequencer too. OT would be another option although TBH it’s all a bit intimidating for an Elektron newbie, the DN looks like a safer bet for my first step into Elektronworld. I’m good for drums (Roland TR8S) and I also have a Hydrasynth Desktop (love it). Ended up here and am getting a lot of useful info, so much knowledge on this board.
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Signed!
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To all those who think the petition won’t be effective, I totally get it. It’s more likely Akai will never read it. However, the amount of effort to sign and join is extremely negligible so please consider signing. The odds are against us, but when are they not?
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…what deserves a shitstorm, deserves a shitstorm…
latest example waves…shitstorm changed their mind…
also bitwig, surprised to face a backlash, also had better 2nd thougts…
meanwhile, i ask myself, if akai will give a shit, since all that was ever great about them, was a totally different company than this actual wannabe fancy brand that carries just the name…
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Update:
Hello John,
Thanks for your message. Our plugin authorization is designed to work entirely seamlessly and offline once you have authorized a purchase; there is no timeout. However we’ve identified an issue related to DST time zone adjustments that can, in rare cases, cause a re-authentication request. We’re working on a fix for this right now.
Thanks,
Dan
Daniel Gill
Senior Product Manager
Akai Professional
We’ll see, I guess. It seems to be affecting a lot of people, for it to be considered “rare”.
Anyway, there’s the explanation thus far.
Cheers!
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That may be a smooth way of backtracking. Either way, great news. This thread made me consider selling my Force, but if this ends up under the carpet as a “rare issue”, I’m keeping it for sure.
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Well, at least everyone can be sure that we’re being heard.
My advice, having done this sort of thing before, is to keep the pressure on until the issue is publicly acknowledged and ultimately fixed.
Cheers!
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The other thing to consider which companies and even governments don’t seem to - is that ransomware and being hacked is a very good reason not to rely on the internet for everything, from banking, healthcare, military/defense, power grid, tax agencies you name it, all seem quite content to trust in having all the eggs in one basket, dumb dumb fucks.
SaaS and music gear that requires internet connection are something I won’t tolerate, fortunately it seems that a lot of people feel the same.
I feel the same about iPad apps too, spent way too much money on them, lots no longer work and the work made on them is now lost forever, and you can laugh but I have software on older platforms that still works after decades, and is still useful, and still used.
The quiet obsolescence of physical media in the name of convenience is yet another con, internet is cool yeah, but we rely on it too much, and it isn’t making everything better.
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Very interesting – in my own case, my problems with authorization, as reported here (AKAI Force - #2352 by pmags), did indeed occur March 11/12 during the switch to daylight savings time. And I did file an issue w/Akai at that time expressing my frustration about the activation.
But it’s unclear to me this is a sufficient explanation as users have reported issues with authorizations both prior to and after that date.
I responded to Dan, and pointed him to the petition, if only to let him know how many people are being affected by this issue.
Cheers!
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Good luck and hope they sort this out.
Lately hardware wise ive been thinking of getting rid of anything tied to software (editors, plugins etc) which the hardware relies on. Have an SSL piece that is on its last software legs.
Did he play you a tune?
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I hear you.
In my reply to Dan, I was sure to let him know that the MPC’s standalone nature is wherein lies its value for touring musicians like myself; and that despite whatever software ecosystem they might build around the MPC platform, the hardware itself had better stay autonomous.
Cheers!
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Whaaaaat
This is work of art!
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Haha…
Now that you mention it… No, he did not.
Cheers!
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Nice!
Being in and out of corporate America I’m very skeptical this is not intended behavior but more of a “oh shit, they caught on, let’s fix and act like it was an accident”… but, as long as it’s fixed, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
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