As LinkedMusicians has taken off, I’m increasingly receiving codes for NFRs (Not For Resale — basically free licenses) from developers for plugins and sample libraries. I always make clear that I’m not an influencer and I have no interest in becoming one. If I really like a plugin or sample library, I’ll mention it. If I think something is meh, I won’t. It’s funny, after sharing that, some developers never ask about sending me over an NFR again, others send something over.

So we’re clear, developers often give freebies away to frequent posters at forums. The guy that used to frequently post deals here for the first several weeks of LinkedMusicians life, received freebies from multiple developers in exchange for posting their sales. In fact, one developer even posted that he gave Larry freebies for years in exchange for his deal posts. Legally, he’s supposed to disclose that (FTC regulations, technically). I urged him to disclose it, but he refused.

I have declined free product from numerous developers since I started LinkedMusicians, and the reason is, some small developers will feel you owe them something if they give you free product and I don’t want that. I’m not charging developers to post here, and we’re starting to see serious traffic at the site (our registered members account for a small percentage of our visitors). So I certainly don’t feel any obligation to any developer who posts here for no charge. But I also want to disclose this information because I think it’s best to be transparent and for those pragmatists who say, “I don’t trust a guy with a marketing backgound who has consulted to developers and sometimes gets free product,” I can say that is a very reasonable concern to have. So, if you feel that way, feel free to look beyond my praise for any tools and look to other members. Over time, you can compare someone’s insights and opinions to your own experiences to see if they hold hold up as credible. I think that any fair minded person who has watched how I dealt with how one of our members shared his negative experience with Karanyi and how i invited the developer here to dialogue about the situation, can see that I’m not willing to shill for anyone. It’s not in my character. I know my weaknesses, and they include pizza, pets, my kids when they’re disappointed, but they don’t include being willing to shill for money.