I’m relatively new here, but has there been any effort made to negotiate with manufacturers who offer paid VCV modules, or perhaps work with VCV on an addition to their contracting processes, to allow paid module use in MM for additional money? In other words, we pay for the VCV version and some additional amount for a .yml iteration? I realize this potential for monetization could create a slippery slope in which we might see less free modules in MM, but it sure would be a nice option.
From what I remember last time this was discussed, some developers are open to this but VCV is generally not that interested in MM.
Which seems odd, but then again so is their resistance to an iPad VCV app!
1 Like
That’s unfortunate. Guess I’ll write VCV some friendly words of encouragement.
The DRM mechanism may be problematic. VCV Rack requires you to sign in in order to use it and I think it uses those credentials to regularly query their server to confirm what paid modules you have access to. That may not be practical in the MM.
1 Like
Understood. Perhaps some form of “watermarked” .ylm could be a workaround.
I guess, you could have some signing system (based on MM serial number?).
but that needs some support etc, and also as MM firmware is open source, its needs to be done carefully.
overall, I think it more comes down to market size vs effort to port/support.
MM is a fraction of vcv, and only a fraction of that will pay for ‘your’ module.
I suspect it becomes small numbers fast.
people that pay, have higher expectations, e.g. performance considerations/optimisations, or even handling form factor limitations, all add to the ‘cost’ of port.
(esp. as often paid vcv modules are more complex)
they also have support expectations e.g. firmware update may necessitate updates etc.
also, do you expect your customers to pay for both the VCV (desktop) and MM version? how much? if the extra is too low, then its just not worth dev doing…
finally dev costs, you need eurorack and mm to port/sell a module, a lot of vcv devs do not have these… so thats an extra startup cost.
I think the approach some have already taken where, the the MM is ‘free’ but they hope most will buy the VCV version - is a reasonable ‘compromise’ i.e. its a value-add to the desktop version. this also helps limit expectations.
I also think many here, would buy the VCV version, to support / show appreciation that the dev has ported to MM.
at the end of the day, I don’t mind either way - but even if there was a pay model for the MM.
I think the number of extra modules you’d see would be very small, and the number of ‘new’ developers very small.
iow, I doubt its holding the MM platform back.
Personally, Im just thankful for those that do support the MM, I expect mostly as a ‘passion project’ - something to celebrate 
3 Likes
All fine points. From my side, I would never be inclined to purchase a paid VCV module unless it was usable in MM. MM is really the only reason I use VCV at all.
1 Like
I was getting some support from Andy Simper/Cytomic for one of his plugins a year or so back, and I mentioned how much I’d love to see the Wasp filter on MM. He gave me a little insight into his approach to it, and basically the cliff notes are that VCV is not really a money spinner, but is more like a passion project.
I suspect that will be a common theme.
yeah, plugins (vst / au) have a much larger market, and are often also priced a bit higher too.
however, the dsp code for a vcv module and plugin aren’t that different,
so, if the dev find it interesting, then yeah, do it as a bit of fun, something a bit different.
I do wonder how many are also using it for prototyping?
(and perhaps release vcv modules as a ‘side effect’ of that effort)
one of my attractions to vcv / mm and similar platforms (daisy/bela/percussa) was the fact that modular allows me to easily focus on a single ‘concept’, and then just leverage other modules for the rest - modular creates a fantastic ‘development / test environment’
note: many devs used the likes of Max/PD for this.
(this is partly why I had an interested in doing the RNBO project, to bring these worlds closer)
Dann (4ms) mentioned this was one of the motivations behind MM, to allow their designers to prototype new modules, and they have been using it as such in recent times.
(things like Electrosmith Daisy are also similar in concept)
ofc, I don’t know, I just know its something Ive loved to do in recent years esp as its become so easy in things like vcv, and then being able to run your creations on hardware is so satisfying 
Yeah, there’s not a perfect way to handle DRM since 1) internet connectivity is not a given, and 2) we didn’t burn in a certificate of authority on all modules before shipping them out (I’m not even sure how that process works, as it falls under “intentionally limiting hardware” which I’m not so into). But there probably is a “good enough” way, if someone wanted to release something and ensure each copy was paid for. There’s a unique ID in each module, which could be used to encrypt/decrypt a plugin binary that was made specifically when you purchased it (e.g. the buyer would submit their unique ID when buying it). Essentially this would mean plugin binaries couldn’t be shared between MetaModules. It’s not foolproof, e.g. you could run a custom firmware that dumps the decrypted plugin to disk, and then share the decrypted copy. But I doubt many people would search the dark web for MM plugins rather than just pay a few bucks for the real thing.
Maybe a sort of sliding-scale donation model might work better. You can donate to feel good about supporting something you like, or click a link to just download without donating. As I’ve said before I don’t want to manage a storefront, but if it’s a matter of re-arranging our site to have donation links for certain plugins, I’m happy to do that.
4 Likes
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. Any such efforts that could expand the universe of available modules would be welcome, however they are implemented. Something like donations could perhaps even entice some of the more alluring devs (e.g. Instruo) who have free VCV modules that are not available in MM to come on board, as well. Or one can hope. I’m a dreamer, I know.