I'm pretty much with Nym on this one, I personally dislike any form of DRM with a passion as it ultimately does nothing but inconvenience real, genuine customers. The whole premise somehow assumes that most people who pirate 'would' have bought it if the cracked copy wasn't available - this is of course an assumption backed up with no evidence whatsoever (and many studies are now showing the opposite is true - pirates tend to buy more stuff - I'll dig out some links later)
Everywhere you look, DRM causes problems only to paying customers - be it online gaming, DVDs, streaming services, music, apps etc. In the meantime, the pirates have already cracked 90% of all DRM products and get a significant better experience for it. The other 10% aren't cracked simply because no one is particularly motivated to crack them. If someone can crack an ipad 12 hours from release, I'm pretty sure that person could crack the MPC Software without too much effort.
As is often the case, all that will happen is that genuine customers looking for more freedom from artificially imposed restrictions will buy the Ren and replace the official software with the cracked version. Or they'll just buy something else.
DRM is a useless attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist. IMO, sales are not lost due to pirates, sales are lost because many companies are incapable of connecting with their potential customers. Reaper is a prime example of how a more relaxed attitude leads to highly passionate customers like Nym who go out of their way to promote the product to communities.
Just because 'everyone' is using DRM, it doesn't make it the correct decision.
I used the MPC Software for nearly a year without the hardware, and I can tell you it's a poor experience when you can only control it with a mouse. Horrible. If people want to use the software on it's own, let them, and give them unrestricted use of it. All it will do is make them desire one of the controllers, be it a Ren or a Studio. That's the only way you're going to get 'the full experience'. I mean, isn't that how it's marketed - the fusion of software and hardware for the classic mpc workflow? Doesn't it make a bit of a mockery of the whole product 'model' if they are not prepared to publicly show they are not worried about people using only the software for free?
Seriously, the only people in their right mind using only the software would be using it for one off necessity use like Hellfire suggests.
And genuine customers should be able to do what they want with it. They bought the hardware, let them use use it on as many computers as they wish, they can only use it properly on one computer at a time anyway, as they only have one hardware unit.
As for people who buy the hardware second hand, how is this any different to someone who buys a second hand MPC1000? If the MPC1000 owner told he cannot use his MPC1000 because he didn't pay any money
directly to Akai, there would be uproar. Why should it be different rules if someone buys the Ren second hand? Just give them full access to the software. At this point, it's up to Akai to come up with a way to monitise all these new customers - for example, paid support - I think it's completely fair to charge secondhand purchasers for tech support, in fact I believe after a year, Akai should also charge existing customers for tech support, e.g. yearly phone support contract.
Offer new VST instruments, paid upgrades etc. These are all ways to make money without trying to restrict genuine people who did nothing wrong other than want to actually buy your product.
