I’ve been thinking about ecosystem lock-in and sound design monetization lately.
Most VST companies sell official expansion packs, while independent sound designers host preset packs on Gumroad, Patreon, or preset sites.
Are there any plugin companies (synth or FX) that actually run a native marketplace where users can sell their own presets or sample packs directly to other users inside the ecosystem / vendor hub?
Specifically curious about:
Do you know of any software instrument or FX vendors who tried this?
If you create patches or samples, would having a direct in-ecosystem store make you stick with a plugin platform over competitors, or do you prefer third-party storefronts?
What stopped existing vendors from doing this. payment processing friction, quality control, or lack of volume?
Would love to hear how patch creators and regular users view this concept.
I’m basically solely living in the Hardware World, so no: I dont know any Company offering something like this
Gumroad is the best place to be imho. If you are an individual with a small or even non existent Fanbase on Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram and the like, you wont find People subscribing to you on Patreon, so a one time sell option doesnt force people into anything and is mostly accepted. Plus: Gumroad has the Marketplace where People can find your stuff based on their Search on the Platform. Fees are quite high in such a case though (they take 30% + 0,50 $ for a Sale on the Marketplace + the Tax of your country), but if you stay below the 10 $ mark, its actually manageable. Plus: You never bind yourself to a vendor so you stay free in your decisions about what you actually want to make and therefore offer a great variety of Soundpacks for dozens of different Synths if you wish.
Like 1. I dont know that
I run the Shop on Gumroad and Fourthwall, but Fourthwall only, because Youtube offers that Shop Integration. Without any Platform you are already active on, Fourthwall is basically pointless, since they dont share your stuff anywhere. Its just a basic Shop. I see most sales on Gumroad even though i have the Links to Fourthwall in my Videos, so i would definitely recommend Gumroad.
That raises an interesting question: if a plugin developer hosted a dedicated in-ecosystem marketplace for their own instruments, taking 0% platform commission so creators keep 100% of the sale, would that change the math for you?
Meaning, you still keep your general multi-synth Gumroad shop for broad reach, but publish native preset/sample packs on the vendor’s 0%-fee hub to target active users of that specific toolchain directly without platform fees.
Do you think a 0% fee structure + targeted in-app discovery would make creators more interested in supporting a native vendor ecosystem, or does the hassle of maintaining multiple store uploads still win out?
Since i - personally - already have to deal with multiple store uploads it wouldnt bother me that much.
And yes - if a vendor would offer a zero percent fee on their In-App marketplace, i would probably be in. But thats an illusion. Maintaining such an In-App Store is an expense for the vendor and they need to make money as well. So … this would probably only work for a short period of time - as some kind of an introductory offer - until enough Creators are in and they start charging their fees as well. We are living in capitalism. No one does stuff for nothing in the end
