Music-Making & Subscription


The story behind Gobbler Marketplace


Released in 1992, Waves’ Q10 Paragraphic Equalizer was the first commercially available plug-in effect. At a time when computer DSP was still pricey (though growing), it was a revolution to have a virtual effect that acted in place of the physical racks and stompboxes that preceded it.

23 years and many technological revolutions later, plug-ins have become a de facto part of both home and studio music-making. Many younger musicians and producers use plug-ins inspired by classic hardware they may never have seen in physical form. Plug-ins from companies like Zynaptiq and Sound Radix push the boundaries of what is possible with digital sound. It’s an exciting time to be using plug-ins!

R2 and Excalibur from Exponential Audio — two plug-ins now available on Gobbler Marketplace.

DSP and design technologies have evolved in incredible ways, yet, for many, premium plug-ins remain out of reach. The model for plug-in purchasing and development has not kept pace with modern times — you buy a perpetual license, and then wait 12–18 months (or more) for a paid update to appear. It’s a long time to wait for improvements to your favorite plug-ins. Perpetual ownership provides few advantages long term — plug-ins won’t appreciate into a vintage product like hardware, and, given the lack of scarcity in a digital good, the resale value is nil.

For publishers, waterfall style development is risky. Bundling new features, updates, and fixes into major updates (to justify selling an upgrade) means waiting longer to improve a product and leaving users hanging with outdated technology. This approach makes sense in the hardware world — you can’t release a synthesizer and then constantly send owners new parts to solder in — but why take that approach to plug-ins? Moving to an agile form of development and release is beneficial for both publishers and users.

We looked long and hard (Hehe -Bob) at these issues when working on the initial alphas of Gobbler 2.0 a year ago, and came up with the concept behind Marketplace. Far from being just another retail channel (there are many of those already — some great ones!), we laid out these criteria for Marketplace:

  • Make the plug-in experience — from purchase through installation to authorization — as user-friendly as possible.
  • Offer plug-ins by subscription/rental — make things more affordable and flexible for musicians and producers
  • Give the best possible deal to publishers (we literally sent our initial agreement draft to 10 of our close publisher friends to figure out anything that wasn’t up to snuff)
  • Help publishers to normalize revenue and deliver consistently to their customers
  • Help publishers find customers, and help musicians/producers find great plug-ins
  • Take care of all file hosting, delivery, installation and authorization from the Gobbler 2.0 app.


For a taste of just how easy it is to go from purchase to using a plug-in with Marketplace, check out this video:

We’re really proud of Marketplace, and are excited to see what you all think! Check out the launch offerings from Exponential Audio.