The Genius of Offering an Ecosystem (25 for One?!!)

This is a little late to the party but, interestingly, this may be the best time to mention this. If you are an electronic musician or a computer-based musician, have a look at what may be the most epic sale ever offered.

This is not a sales pitch. I get nothing out of this... well, no, that's not entirely true. If enough people decide to go and take advantage and we can cross the 25,000 user threshold, I can get that last free item being offered. [ETA: as of Wednesday, October 20, 2021, the 25000 participants have participated and the 25 for 1 item deal is now fully covered].

That being said, let me set the stage for this and let me say why I think this offering is brilliant.

For starters, this offer is courtesy of IK Multimedia. They are a digital/electronic music company located in Italy. They make a variety of hardware and software products. I'd guess their best-known items are their iRig interfaces, which make it possible for guitar and bass players, in particular, to plug their analog guitar inputs into a USB converter so that they can plug into a PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or tablet device to record directly. They also make a variety of software applications ranging from keyboard sample software, bass modeling software, drum modeling software, and a huge variety of plug-ins for recording and mastering.

IK Multimedia Group Buy Status when I originally posted Oct. 14, 2021 

IK Multimedia is celebrating its 25th anniversary and as such, they have set up a "25 for 1" deal with the following conditions:

1. Customers have to purchase one product at the advertised price.

2. By purchasing that product, users can download another product of equal or lesser value for free.

3. For every 1,000 users that participate, they add a new product that can be downloaded for free (again, of equal or lesser value to what was originally purchased).

4. Their goal is to get to 25,000 users purchasing one product and with that, they can download 24 products for free (hence the 25 for 1).

5. The offer isn't limited to a single purchase. If you purchase a second product, that second product gives you the same benefit (meaning if you bought two products, right now you can download 46 free titles).

Also, their qualifying products are both software and hardware-based, so you could buy a hardware item (guitar pedal, UNO Synth, iRig interface, etc.) and still qualify for the software deal.

I should note that this offer has a limited time. It is scheduled to end on October 31, 2021. At this rate, the end of October date will be firm as they have met their 25,000 participants anniversary goal.

I could end the post here but really, that's not the point of why I am writing this. Understand, I am an IK Multimedia user. I was using their basic level Amplitube amp simulator and was quite happy with it.

Still, the basic program leaves out a lot of features, which can be purchased individually through their Custom Shop if desired. When I first saw this opportunity, I did some math and figured that for a full-price version of the program (at the time $299.00) I could probably purchase the equivalent of five Custom Shop packs and then some with the cost of the full license. Add to that the promise of 24 additional titles for free? What's not to like? 

When I saw they had bass guitar and drum modeling software packages, I said, "Ooh, that's cool". 

When I saw they had the ability to do full orchestral sample packs, I said, "Ooh, that's cool". 

When I saw they had mastering software, mixing software, acoustic treatment software, I said... well, I think you get the point by now ;).

To be clear, these programs are large. They take up a lot of space on one's hard drive so it's unlikely anyone will be able to use all twenty-five individual titles at the same time. The beauty is, once you have downloaded them and registered their licenses, you have the ability to add or remove a component at any time and redeploy it later. Why is this powerful? It means that I as an electronic music enthusiast can leverage what I might need at any given moment, use it, and then tuck it away until I need it again. What am I likely to reach for? Probably any of the two dozen IK products I've downloaded. Not for everything, of course, but now that I have an entire ecosystem of products that are designed to work both independently and together, why wouldn't I?

This is very smart marketing on the part of IK Multimedia. Now that I have all these programs and capabilities, let's say down the line I have a need for something that may not be in this ridiculous amount of software I've downloaded and implemented. Who am I likely to think of first for more? 

In any event, this is a definite niche area and I can understand if not everyone would want to go down this rabbit hole. Still, if you ever wanted to have the ability to explore the world of music system plug-ins in an expansive way, this is a sweet deal.