Market size

[poetix]

So I’m guessing that for most if not all module manufacturers it’s a hobby or a side-hustle rather than a day job…

But I’m curious. What’s the size of the market for VM modules? What does a good month for sales look like for a must-have module or bundle? Is it worth putting significant effort into marketing and promotion?

I’m very happy that Vulpus Labs has sold just under 150 units in three months, grossing just over $1k - but are those n00b numbers? For those who’ve been doing it for longer: is it sustainable? Do you find you need to be constantly releasing new things, or do the top-sellers just keep ticking over? I guess it depends on the wider picture of VM adoption, and also on the quality and reputation of the modules themselves.

[utdgrant]

I've been a professional software engineer for the past 35 years, but VM development is 100% a hobby.
For me, it was simply a case of making the modules I wanted for my own use, but which didn't exist in the store already.

Once created, I figured that as I already had something which I found useful, then it could be useful for other users, too.
Any sales, no matter how small, would be a very welcome bonus to compensate for the hours / days / weeks of R&D time.

It's almost exactly a year since I placed my first bundle in the store (8th March 2022), and here are the latest totals:

DomeMusicTechnologiesSales.png (48.75 KiB) Viewed 3307 times

The Audio Computing Engine was the biggest surprise! I honestly thought it would generate next to zero interest, but it has been a consistent seller every month. Perhaps it's a value-for-money thing (9 modules for $5) or maybe people really do get as much pleasure from it as I do. Haven't a clue, I'm afraid!

I've made over 3,000 UKP from the last 12 months' sales. New sales really tapered off after creating the Ultimate Collection, as it will always include every new product free-of-charge for existing owners. Blue Velvet has only shifted 19 units, even at an asking price of $1. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, though. I've now got all the modules I wanted (which didn't exist) and it's a real buzz to know that other people are enjoying them and creating music with them.

This has pre-empted a thread I was going to start, talking about my experiences over the last year. It will be going live on Wednesday 8th, a year to the day since the launch of Dome Music Technologies on an unsuspecting world!

[seal58]

In my case I can say, manufacturing modules is only part of my hobby. Related to other manufacturers I think that I did not sell rather many modules. Some modules are selled some thousand times, others only a few. But there is a monthly money flow back and until now I earned much more money than I used to buy modules of other manufacturers.

[ChR_is]

i thought i was doing ok until this thread

my free modules tend to do well with 1k to 2k downloads, but for my paid modules i rarely pass the 10 to 20 sales mark.
in my experience the sales drop off after the initial spark and then old modules only seldomly sell.

so it's definitely a hobby only. i started because i always wanted to get into audio dsp. i've been a professional sw dev/architect for well over a decade and audio dsp has always fascinated me. VM provided me with a simple framework to get into the field without much setup. it even provides building blocks like oscillators and filters in the beginning to experiment with until you write your own. and so i mainly create interesting stuff for myself. like, i want phase modulation on a crazy oscillator but there is none, so i'll research for a couple of weeks and then create my dream oscillator to my liking. as a bonus you get to learn how simple some things are and what's actually valuable in the digital audio world.

marketing-wise i post in the facebook groups, on the discord server and occasionally an accompanying youtube video. sometimes i put in lots of effort in the shoppages and sometimes i just keep it simple. i don't see any significant increase/decrease whether i market more or less, so i doubt it really matters all that much.

[utdgrant]

my free modules tend to do well with 1k to 2k downloads, but for my paid modules i rarely pass the 10 to 20 sales mark.

During the week after CA posted the On The Run video, there were over 900 new downloads of the Dome Music Technologies Freebie Collection!

UnitsPerDayAfterOTR.jpg (33.15 KiB) Viewed 3248 times

What to take from this?

1) There IS an active audience out there for the VM ecosystem, and the products of third-party developers.
2) People love free stuff (including me)!

However, there was also a corresponding peak in sales of paid-for modules during that same time-frame:

SalesPerDay AfterOTR.jpg (31.96 KiB) Viewed 3248 times

so I'll add:

3) Giving away good-quality, useful modules might persuade people to investigate your paid-for wares...
3a) ...or it could just be coincidence. "Correlation is not causation".
4) People like to experiment with VM on Saturday.

[poetix]

Good to hear others' stories. My experience has been similar - I've been a professional software developer for a little over 20 years, and most of the last 15 or so have been focussed on back-end systems with neither bells nor whistles nor blinking lights. It feels great to make a thing that has knobs on, that provides immediate utility and pleasure to people, and that makes cool noises and/or draws pretty pictures.

VM as a platform is welcoming to both experienced and hobby developers in a way that C++ based platforms tend not to be (compare the build environment you need to set up to get a basic VST3 project going...), and provides a way in for those of us who've always wanted to learn a bit of DSP. (Funny thing to want, but there you go). I agree with Chris - it's especially interesting to find out what's actually quite easy to do, as well as what's actually really hard, and develop an informed appreciation of other software tools rather than being wowed by marketing which promises deep authenticity, unprecedented clarity and richness, etc etc!

[Centripidity]

This is an interesting discussion and it it good to see what's going on with others. I'm very new to this, got VMD in January of this year, but for me it is certainly a hobby. I'm retired and music and electronics are how I occupy much of my time these days. The modules I write are things that I want to use myself and may not be of any interest to others - particularly since much of the synth music I'm interested in is ambient, aleatoric, non-harmonic pieces that are not a mean stream interest for most users I would think.

I really only decided to buy the commercial license for the experience of releasing a product and perhaps in the hope that I would earn back what I have spent on VM so far. I can't afford to earn too much because my wife is on a means-tested pension and I'll be very much in the bad books if they cut it.

I also wonder how much price is a factor. Most modules are very cheap but there are currently 1717 modules available so, even at a few dollars each, you have to be selective. I released my first module (an effect) about 4 days ago and priced it at $10, which in hindsight I think is too expensive. There is probably some sweet spot for basic modules like that where perhaps, $5 would sell more than twice the number that $10 would. I've just had three more approved but I think I might price them a little lower when I publish them.

Peter

[seal58]

Yes, price is an essential factor. When I started here as manufacturer, a $10 module price was set as minimum by CA. Well, related to hardware and fixed software this is really cheap.

But when that minimum was cancelled, I mentioned a growing interest of potential users.
Everybody wants to save money. So do I. When a module costs only 2 or 5 bucks, user's interest seems to be significant higher than at $10. And over time more modules can be sold. So time by time I reduced my module prices.

This can also clearly be seen, when CA initiates sale actions and prices are reduced to 70 percent or so. During these periods, much more of my modules were sold. And I baught more modules too.

Meanwhile I'm retired. It makes no sense to adapt time, that I need for developping a module to it's price. Because I'm not very experienced with Java yet, sometimes it takes me a while to finish a module, even when at least that seems to be a rather simple one.
Mainly I started module development with VMD in order to create modules, that I need for myself. When some others like these things and get a license for a little money, it's fine. Fortunately don't need that money to survive.

[utdgrant]

Yes, price is an essential factor. When I started here as manufacturer, a $10 module price was set as minimum by CA. Well, related to hardware and fixed software this is really cheap.

But when that minimum was cancelled, I mentioned a growing interest of potential users.

When I started development, I read that the minimum price was $5. This still appears to be the official line. However, it doesn't seem to be enforced very strictly, if at all. I've released two modules priced at $1, going down as low as 50c in the sales.

Maybe it's the case that if you are a new dev, then you must price your first commercial release at $5 or more. Once you become established, the rules might be relaxed? I don't know either way.

[Centripidity]

I think it would be interesting to see how many people download demos of a module and then how many go on to buy but, as far I can see, that information is not available on the dashboard.