Sample Logic / Pulse / APD Owner Sends Threatening Email to Users of a Free Code

[LinkedMusicians]

NOTE: Some forums had distributed a code to get a free license of Sample Logic Drum Fury Motion. While I empathize with the developer for having his code misused, his response, threatening to de-activate the accounts of people who used the code is highly problematic, as his other company, Pulse, is used by many developers as a platform to deliver their sample libraries and plugins.

My guess is that the code was intended for influencers or affiliates and made it to public forums. IMO, the dev would have been wise to be more diplomatic and offer the individuals who found and used the code an offer for the full version of the product at a discounted price. Threatening these users with severe actions is not a wise and measured response, but looks a lot more like a knee-jerk response of someone who reacts first and thinks later. It will certainly result in ill will towards the developer from these users. This situation isn’t as clear-cut as typical software piracy, as these users didn’t know where the code they used originated from. Treating them as detested criminals is not a path to winning them over as future customers; it only serves to alienate them.

Here is the email Sample Logic sent out this morning:

Dear [Customer Name],

We are reaching out regarding the recent use of an unauthorized discount code that provided access to Drum Fury Motion without proper purchase through Sample Logic.

 

It has come to our attention that this code—shared publicly without our consent—was exploited by a number of users. While we understand that some may not have been aware of the situation, the code in question was not intended for free public distribution and its use constitutes a violation of our licensing and distribution policies. The full price of Drum Fury Motion is $59.99, and obtaining it without a valid transaction undermines the value of our work and the fairness to paying customers.

 

As a result, all associated codes have been deactivated, and access to Drum Fury Motion through Pulse has been suspended for affected accounts.

 

We are currently in communication with Pulse regarding these unauthorized downloads. Please be advised that continued use of our products without proper licensing may result in further action, including the potential deactivation of your Pulse account.

 

If you believe you’ve used this code in error or wish to resolve this matter by purchasing a legitimate license, we are happy to work with you directly. Our goal is to maintain fairness for all our customers and protect the integrity of our software.

To regularize your license or for any questions, please contact us at orders@samplelogic.com.

We appreciate your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Sample Logic Team
Sample Logic LLC
support@samplelogic.com
http://www.samplelogic.com

If you received the above email, I would recommend deleting the Sample Logic product and sending an email to support@samplelogic.com letting them know that you have deleted the downloaded files. If you didn’t download anything, but used the code, I would still send the developer an email to let him know that you meant no harm.

• This topic was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by peter.
• This topic was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by LinkedMusicians.

61

[Teebacca]

How does one delete it? If i never installed it does that make me safe? All i see in pulse is the product, the option to install or relocate, and clicking install notifies that the key is dead. Do i need to contact support? To be frank i don’t really want to, but have many paid items in pulse and dont want to put myself at risk there. Didnt know the severity of this

[peter]

On Teebacca said

How does one delete it? If i never installed it does that make me safe? All i see in pulse is the product, the option to install or relocate, and clicking install notifies that the key is dead. Do i need to contact support? To be frank i don’t really want to, but have many paid items in pulse and dont want to put myself at risk there. Didnt know the severity of this

I don’t have any inside information. I suspect that the guy behind Pulse is the same guy behind VSTBuzz, Audio Plugin Deals, and MusicSoftwareDeals. I’m an affiliate for Audio Plugin Deals, as I’m a customer and haven’t had any problems as a customer. However, I’m not a fan of how the practice of e-commerce sites ran by people who hide their names. It doesn’t exactly build trust. Also, it  would be highly problematic for Pulse — which handles the distribution of dozens of developers’ sample libraries and plugins — to delete accounts due to people using a code they found on forums like Cakewalk Forum. I would send off an email to Pulse Audio and let them know that you didn’t know that the code was so problematic, that you never downloaded the plugin, and they can delete it from your account.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by peter.

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

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2

[Teebacca]

On peter said

On Teebacca said

How does one delete it? If i never installed it does that make me safe? All i see in pulse is the product, the option to install or relocate, and clicking install notifies that the key is dead. Do i need to contact support? To be frank i don’t really want to, but have many paid items in pulse and dont want to put myself at risk there. Didnt know the severity of this

I don’t have any inside information. I suspect that the guy behind Pulse is the same guy behind VSTBuzz, Audio Plugin Deals, and MusicSoftwareDeals. I’m an affiliate for Audio Plugin Deals, as I’m a customer and haven’t had any problems as a customer. However, I’m not a fan of how the practice of e-commerce sites ran by people who hide their names. It doesn’t exactly build trust. Also, it  would be highly problematic for Pulse — which handles the distribution of dozens of developers’ sample libraries and plugins — to delete accounts due to people using a code they found on forums like Cakewalk Forum. I would send off an email to Pulse Audio and let them know that you didn’t know that the code was so problematic, that you never downloaded the plugin, and they can delete it from your account.

Good call, yeah saw it on Cakewalk and didn’t read into it much. Probably will loop in pulse guy then to be safe. Kinda wild, all this

1

[peter]

I just shot the developer some advice. It probably won’t be well received. But I sent it to be helpful. An excerpt:

“The next time something like this happens, I would recommend you take a breath before sending out a hostile, inflammatory, and alienating response. I think it’s reasonable to say that most people who got that code are not pirates…

Just a suggestion. I realize it may not be well received. But consider a more empathetic approach in the future — and even in the current scenario. How about sending another correspondence that is more explanatory and lets recipients empathize with you instead of feeling threatened? You may not convert many of the people on this list, but why not extend this group a special offer for the product — along with apologizing for coming off harsh. Explain to them that you realize that they may not have intended to steal anyone’s work, but, unfortunately, that was the end result and with your apology, offer them a great discount on the product.

Again, I realize that this may not be well received. If so, just delete it. Consider it well meaning advice from someone with expertise in tech marketing and branding.”

[My LinkedIn profile is linked in my email signature, so the guy can verify my credentials if he’s open to listening to advice.]

 

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

Check out my music. 

11

[bselack]

This has happened several times over the last few years. Same type of email, Perhaps if they cleaned up their coupon codes and paid attention, this would not happen.

Here’s one from 2 years ago… maybe not quite as bad…. but still….

Dear Customer,

We are writing to you with a very important and urgent request. We have recently discovered that you have downloaded Trailer Xpressions for free from our website due to a technical glitch that allowed you to bypass the payment process. This was a mistake on our part and we sincerely apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused you.

However, we are also asking you to please consider the impact of your actions on our company and our livelihood. Trailer Xpressions is a product that we have spent countless hours and resources to create, with the aim of providing you with the best possible cinematic sound design tool. We are very proud of this product and we believe it is worth every penny of its regular price of $199.99.

As a gesture of goodwill and appreciation for your support, we have offered Trailer Xpressions at an incredible 80% off for a limited time, making it only $40. This is an amazing deal that we hope you will take advantage of. However, by downloading the product for free, you are not only depriving us of the fair compensation for our hard work, but also hurting our ability to continue creating and developing more innovative and high-quality products for you in the future.

We are a small company that relies on the honesty and loyalty of our customers to survive and thrive in this competitive industry. We are not a big corporation that can afford to lose money or customers. We are a passionate team of musicians, composers, producers and sound designers who love what we do and who want to share our creations with you. We are also human beings who have families, bills, dreams and challenges like everyone else.

We are not here to judge you or to threaten you with legal action. We are here to appeal to your conscience and your sense of fairness. We are here to ask you, as a fellow music lover and a valued customer, to please do the right thing and support us by purchasing Trailer Xpressions legitimately. You can do so by following this link: https://www.samplelogic.com/products/trailer-xpressions/

We know that you may have downloaded the product out of curiosity or impulse, without realizing the consequences or the harm that you were causing us. We know that deep down, you are a good person who respects and appreciates the work of others. We know that you have the power and the opportunity to make a difference and to help us continue our mission of bringing you the best virtual instruments in the world.

We thank you in advance for your understanding and your cooperation. We hope that you will respond positively to our request and that you will enjoy using Trailer Xpressions as much as we enjoyed making it. We also hope that you will remain a loyal and satisfied customer of Sample Logic for many years to come.

Sincerely,

The Sample Logic Team

1

[peter]

Again, my guess is that the code was for influencers and affiliates in an effort to get them to promote his plugins. Because it wasn’t limited, it likely went out to a lot of folks and one of them decided to share it publicly (of course, he shouldn’t have). I get that any developer would be upset by a code like this being leaked, and if I were in his shoes, I would deactivate the serials of anyone who registered it using a code they shouldn’t have used. But as they weren’t deliberately engaged in outright piracy, I wouldn’t treat them as he has done. I would explain things to them and wouldn’t write threats, especially threats to de-activate people’s Pulse accounts — which is a pretty major threat when a lot of people have a good deal of sample libraries and plugins that rely on Pulse.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by peter.

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

Check out my music. 

[bselack]

Yea, never bought anything from them again, nor will I.

 

1

[thesteven]

As a developer – the problem with issuing a generic discount code (not tied to specific accounts) that are not usage limited (E.G. only X number of uses grant the discount) is that it can be easily abused – such as someone posting it in a public forum.
And when that happens you’re pretty much SOL.

Granted in spite of multiple safeguards mistakes & glitches can still happen but having the same kind of major snafu happen more than once is a big flag that you have problems with your business operation and that you need to fix things on your end to prevent future damage and income loss.

 

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by thesteven.
• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by thesteven.

2

[Kirean]

Same thing happened around last Black Friday or holiday season.

Looks like nothing was learned.

2

[peter]

On thesteven said

As a developer – the problem with issuing a generic discount code (not tied to specific accounts) that are not usage limited (E.G. only X number of uses grant the discount) is that it can be easily abused – such as someone posting it in a public forum.
And when that happens you’re pretty much SOL.

Granted in spite of multiple safeguards mistakes & glitches can still happen but having the same kind of major snafu happen more than once is a big flag that you have problems with your business operation and that you need to fix things on your end to prevent future damage and income loss.

 

Yep. A lot of developers and retailers in this business send out generic NFR codes in blast emails to influencers and affiliates. The best they can do, IMO, is stop using generic codes and only issue personalized codes or even only do them by request. But sending out inflammatory emails to people who commonly buy your type of products is not a great idea. So yeah, while I empathize with devs when screws up happen, I’m not a fan of a developer who quickly lashes out and makes threats — especially the threat of killing people’s Pulse accounts.

Wait, it just occurred to me. The anonymous guy behind Sample Logic is based in North Carolina. The anonymous guy behind Pulse, VSTBuzz, Audio Plugin Deals, and Music Software Deals is also based on North Carolina. All of them share in common that they hide their owner’s name(s). While a couple of devs have brought up the name/names of the owner of APD and VSTBuzz, I can’t recall the name. The addresses in their emails are residential addresses in NC (the CAN SPAM Act in the US requires all email marketing to feature a physical address; every legitimate email marketing service provider requires their customers to comply). Perhaps it’s one guy or business partners? In any event, it does blow me away that they can run a bunch of businesses while remaining anonymous. There aren’t many industries where consumers would have over their credit cards to anonymous site owners.

Sample Logic
96 Overlook Rd, Asheville, NC 28803

Audio Plugin Deals
106 Red Cedar Lane Asheville, North Carolina 28803

Pulse Audio
31 Byrdcliffe Ln Asheville, NC 29464

Okay, I may have inadvertently just ended my affiliate relationship with Audio Plugin Deals by sending him an email with what most marketing and branding experts would tell you was very good advice. It’s clearly the same guy (note the zip code). But now, I think I just solved the mystery that the same guy or same three guys that work together behind VSTBuzz, AudioPluginDeals, MusicSoftwareDeals, Pulse and Sample Logic.

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

Check out my music. 

1

[joegyork]

Pavlov ‘Columbo’ Cat ‘Just one more thing Mr Sample Logic – do you also go by the name of Mr APD & Mr Pulse?’

1

[peter]

On joegyork said

Pavlov ‘Columbo’ Cat ‘Just one more thing Mr Sample Logic – do you also go by the name of Mr APD & Mr Pulse?’

I could get the answer with one PM to a developer friend, but it’s more interesting to figure it out on my own! A number of developers have told me things about APD and VSTBuzz. I don’t recall anyone bringing up Pulse. But they’re clearly all owned by the same person or persons. Now, I’ve been a customer of them both and haven’t had any major issues. I know developers have told me negative things, but I don’t know any of it first hand. So I went with APD for their affiliate program to help with the costs of operating the site. But the guy recently had made an email comment when I asked a question that I don’t generate enough revenue for VSTBuzz. FTR, I never thought the affiliate programs would generate enough revenue to pay for operating the site; I just wanted to work towards having the site be self-sufficient one day. The total revenue from APD for all of 2025 is somewhere around $25, so the APD guy is probably contemplating dropping LM as an affiliate from the tone of his last email with me (it’s a common practice to dump underperforming affiliates). The deals of APD are much better anyhow.

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

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[peter]

Mystery solved — and I didn’t even need to send a DM to a developer (okay, I was thinking of Kirk Hunter, who just made an exclusive deal to distribute his libraries to this fellow, who is Facebook friends with four of my friends, including Kirk).

“Sample Logic LLC was founded by Joe Trupiano and Keith Robinson. They turned a New York University senior thesis on sampling and synthesis into a company. The company is known for creating sound libraries that “blur the line between music and sound design.”

https://theorg.com/org/sample-logic-llc/org-chart/joe-trupiano

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

Check out my music. 

11

[peter]

His LinkedIn profile shows that he is also CEO of Pulse. So, confirmed, Joe Trupiano owns Audio Plugin Deals, VSTBuzz, Pulse, MusicSoftwareDeals, and Sample Logic. I’m not sure why his sites hide his name.

There is a serious ethics problem here. Joe Trupiano, the CEO of both Sample Logic and Pulse, threatened anyone who used the free code could end up having their Pulse account deleted. He wrote that he was “in communication with Pulse” — but he’s the CEO / owner of Pulse and Sample Logic. So, why the deception?

A quote from his email shared above:

“We are currently in communication with Pulse regarding these unauthorized downloads. Please be advised that continued use of our products without proper licensing may result in further action, including the potential deactivation of your Pulse account.”

Now, here’s why the threat to delete people’s Pulse accounts is so problematic. It would mean that Mr. Trupiano would be blocking access to all downloads from the third-party developers who have contracted with him to distribute their sample libraries and plugins through Pulse. That is what he threatened to do in his correspondence. If I were a developer working with Pulse, that email and the threat he made would put an end to my relationship with Pulse. The idea that he could even threaten that is, itself, a huge problem.

Now, I’m not a Sample Logic customer, but I am a Pulse, Audio Plugin Deals, and VST Buzz customer — and in the affiliate program for APD (granted, I don’t bring in much revenue, but I trusted that the business enough to have the relationship — but this gives me pause). Clearly, this is the guy that Kirk Hunter told me he made an agreement with to distribute his libraries. Other developers have told me that they won’t work with him for various reasons, one because they claim that he did some less than ethical things with email lists.

In my case, I’ll continue in the APD program and posting deals unless the guy sees this and drops me (which is very possible after he sees my criticisms; FTR, I’ve only made around $25 all year, so it’s not like it brings in much money towards operating this site), but this is problematic — far beyond the posting of codes.

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

Check out my music. 

61

[jorge]

Thank you for the information @peter

I don’t understand why, that the code is distributed to a few people, they don’t make a single-use code. It’s technologically possible, and everyone avoids problems, extra work, and administrative tasks.

When they had the same problem with Trailer Xpressions, I understood the situation and I bought the product for $40. I didn’t receive a “thank you” and the product was in my profile as $0 in the orders. I contacted them to change the value in the order that I have in my profile and avoid future misunderstandings that I paid, and they didn’t never reply me and… of course, they didn’t change anything about it.

Everything being said here, about different businesses and the same person… sounds like an oligopoly to me. In many countries around the world, oligopolies are persecuted for impeding free competition and forcing exorbitant prices.

With some notable differences, all this episode reminds me of my bad experience with the people of Karanyi and its owner.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by jorge.

Computer scientist by profession, and musician as a hobby
https://jorgeserranomusic.com/

1

[peter]

On jorge said

Thank you for the information @peter

I don’t understand why, that the code is distributed to a few people, they don’t make a single-use code. It’s technologically possible, and everyone avoids problems, extra work, and administrative tasks.

When they had the same problem with Trailer Xpressions, I understood the situation and I bought the product for $40. I didn’t receive a “thank you” and the product was in my profile as $0 in the orders. I contacted them to change the value in the order that I have in my profile and avoid future misunderstandings that I paid, and they didn’t never reply me and… of course, they didn’t change anything about it.

Everything being said here, about different businesses and the same person… sounds like an oligopoly to me. In many countries around the world, oligopolies are persecuted for impeding free competition and forcing exorbitant prices.

With some notable differences, all this episode reminds me of my bad experience with the people of Karanyi and its owner.

Glitch sales and passwords shared across forums and social media are incredibly common. If a business has been doing this for a long time, it really needs to get its act together. But the responses from this guy are really problematic.

Well, let this thread stand as an example of prioritizing our community’s interests over those of developers / retailers. Of course, my doing this thread is not exactly helpful to my having a great relationship with this guy and his businesses and the affiliate relationship I have with APD. As this community grows, and I eventually accept advertising, I promise that this community will always prioritize our musician / producer members — the people that buy this stuff to make and engineer music — that they can always tell the truth about their experiences and practices they’ve observed/experienced without a fear of retaliation from the developer or fellow community members.  Creating an environment where musicians / producers can feel comfortable sharing their honest experiences with these companies, whether they are positive or negative.

I have firsthand knowledge that VI-Control censors and manipulates negative posts about advertisers/sponsors and censors the posts of anyone defending a developer the owner / sample developer is in the midst of attacking (case in point, Mike Greene deleted more than 100 posts from members defending 8Dio when set up two contractors for Impact Soundworks to attack them; he privately acknowledged to me that he knew that some of the stories beyond told by them were untrue and that what he did maybe wasn’t so ethical, but he had such animosity towards 8Dio for their deep discounting libraries that he competes with that he wanted to see them go down; he attempted to persuade me not to work with them in a series of emails he sent to me; FTR, I only got to know 8Dio after the 40+ page attack thread at VI-Control that included a contractor stating what I knew to be lies, because I had given him advice in the matter more than a decade prior. Greene had privately told me that when I did a thread about my bad experience with Fluffy Audio not responding to support requests for 11 months, that VI-Control was “the wrong place” to make a thread sharing a negative experience with one of his site’s sponsors / advertisers, because it would deter them and other developers from spending more money with VI-Control). We also have a community member who is a music journalist who was banned from one of the top gear forums for sharing a negative experience with an advertising developer.

That’s the reality of this industry. But this community is my passion project, driven by ideals over revenue. Cakewalk Forum is the support arm of a company valued at $450 million US that censors people from conversations about competitor DAWs or has employees attack forum members asking about the future possibility of perpetual licenses, while it lets community members make coded racist and anti-LGBTQ posts, and link to their Facebook page where they share videos of a neo-Nazi leader giving speeches (literally — I created a line in the policy to ensure that doesn’t happen here). VI-Control brings in 6 figures and promotes the developer owner’s sample library business and is weaponized to attack his competitors (every developer there knows this and most, with the exception of Greene’s pals, don’t like it, but see the traffic and remain) and is easily the most toxic community in the space — just ask Hans Zimmer, Christian Henson — or my friend @thor (who composes game music); all of these folks have publicly spoken out about the level of toxicity of that forum. But it’s not alone in being toxic, although I would consider VI-Control the most toxic of all of the forums in this space due to the fact that the owner himself uses the forum to attack competitors and anyone who disagrees with him.

Okay, my overshare of the day is complete. Just know that my making this thread likely burned a bridge. But I did it by standing for what I believe in, not by accident. Now for that second cup of coffee. And I do question whether the 25 bucks from affiliate fees from APD for this year was worth all of the effort.

LinkedMusicians Founder. Your friend who keeps the beat.

Check out my music. 

4

[Kirean]

Pulse wasn’t always his. He bought it last year, I think. Think he got the decaying corpse of Rigid Audio as well this year.

3

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