What is Kontaktlab and how does it work ?

ramscapri · 2023-09-21T10:35:35+00:00

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ramscapri

There are ads popping up of something called Kontaktlab.

This is the website :

https://kontaktlab.com/

How does this work ?

This is what is mentioned in their website :

"All Sample Libraries are licensed under the General Public License (GPL). This means that once we have purchased the item we are free to redistribute it if we choose to do so."

Could the Kontakt team from NI please confirm if this is true. Will the libraries from this site be recognized by NI and Native Access ?

I own a license for Kontakt 7 as part of Komplete 14. Would the libraries from Kontaktlab be appended to my NI licenses, thereby being part of Native Access ?

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Accepted answers

Jeremy_NI

This is definitely a scam, piracy or both. Reported it to our antipiracy channels.

All comments

DodMod

I personally would be very wary of this site. Native Instruments does not sell it's libraries under a GPL and I believe that their EULA would strictly forbid distribution of their products in this way.

It also states that no licence number is provided, so I doubt you would be able to use the product in Kontakt.

I'm always wary of some-one promising a free lunch.

However in the end its: Caveat Emptor.

Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/16907/what-is-kontaktlab-and-how-does-it-work

These are 3rd party libraries, nothing to do with Native Instruments. Of course they work with Kontakt, however since they are not NI products, NI Kontakt team can not confirm anything.

If they say on the website that they are free to redistribute, then so it is...

ramscapri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/95968#Comment_95968

Oh is it so ? But their site says the libraries are under GPL and if that's an incorrect statement, why doesn't anyone from NI or Kontakt team reply ?

As a licensed user and customer of NI since the Kontakt 5 days, which is more than 15 years, and there would be so many of us here like that, it is important that NI clarify this because at the end of the day, these are NI products.

And by the way, the site Kontaktlab is not promising free lunches, they are charging a price for all the products, only thing the prices do not seem to be as much as what NI is charging customers on their web site, even if the customer happened to be a 15 years or more old customer.

All that any customer would want to know from NI is if it's all good & fine and if it will work fine. From what I gather from many in various forums and SocNets, the libraries from their site seem to be working fine in Kontakt 7. 🤔

DodMod

You're right they are NI products and the fact that they are being sold, in some instance at -98% of the full price, leads me to personally avoid them and view them with a degree of suspicion.

I also, am a customer of NI and have been for a number of years but when I buy their products, I do so knowing that they are fully licenced, fully supported and my money is going to further support NI and their library development.

But as I stated in my first post: Caveat Emptor

ramscapri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/95970#Comment_95970

Well, point taken, that is, if all were 3d party libraries and they could be sold as such.

But check this link out :

https://kontaktlab.com/product/kontakt-7-with-libraries-full-bundle/

Is each and everything in this bundle 3rd party, which is stated as being 1000 GB size total ? I mean, I see these sold by NI directly in any case as part of their Komplete bundles, many only available under Ultimate or Collector's edition. So are these 3rd party libraries sold by NI under their Komplete bundles ? Maybe some, but are all of these indeed not developed by NI directly ? Does that mean these libraries can indeed be purchased from alternative sources other than NI in a valid manner and that they will work fine ?

For goodness sake, as a NI customer, that is all that I would like to know from NI please. 🙂

Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/95978#Comment_95978

Indeed you might be right, or, they could be NI partners and they can make such prices. Lets ask an admin then! @Jeremy_NI ?

Monochrome

It's 100% scam that should be reported. There is no way NI - or any other company listed there - is allowing their products getting sold at such ridiculous prices on a somewhat obscure website. You can't even find any online information about the alleged LTD company.

Plugin Boutique and Plugin Alliance are legit ones.

Kymeia

I'd be very careful even clicking the link - looks very dodgy. This site gives some server details etc

https://eveninsight.com/safety-checker/website/kontaktlab.com

They seem to have ads all over the place including YouTube and even found a LinkedIn profile of one of them - very brazen but probably also very stupid of them

Jeremy_NI

This is definitely a scam, piracy or both. Reported it to our antipiracy channels.

ramscapri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/96159#Comment_96159

@Jeremy_NI

Noted. But what's the roadmap to deal with this ?

Here are the prime concerns :

The web site is still up and running.
People could be purchasing libraries and what not at that site as we speak.
There are numerous responses in various forums and on SocNet posts like Facebook, etc., that the downloads and installs of guess what, NI stuff is working absolutely fine. If it is indeed a scam, how could the downloads apparently be exactly the same NI libraries which actually get downloaded, installed and work fine as well ! Now this is where the greatest concern lies. How are the libraries/plugins working if they should ideally work only if they are authorized by Native Access after a genuine purchase from NI or any other dealer authorized by NI ? That's what beats me ! For goodness sake, we are talking about many libraries that come only with Komplete Ultimate and some only with Collector's Edition !
Even if any fraudulent sales stop in near future, a lot of damage is already done on account of already made purchases at rates less than 5% of what NI is charging. And if those software actually work, it's a slap on the face of NI customers like me who pay 100s or 1000s of dollars to buy genuinely licensed & authorized software first time or updates/upgrades directly from NI. The point is how do they work if they don't even have a serial number as it's so stated and they are not authorized through Native Access ? What's the point of having Native Access then ?
The swaying towards the price differential is so large that it raises a question of why genuine customers of NI do not get substantially better deals more frequently. I for one, am all for genuine original licensed authorized software as the fruits of efforts should indeed go only to the genuine developers to run the show and keep developing in the interest of innovation. But as a genuine customer, I too am disheartened if the developer company (NI in this case) does not bridge the gap between premiumness and affordability.

Jeremy_NI

I've forwarded this to our legal department. I don't know what is going to happen next, I imagine it's not that easy to shut down such an operation. They obviously sell cracked software for a fraction of the price. Regarding offers for NI customers, there are offers at least twice a year that benefits to most users.

Fredric

I contacted them regarding their software. And they told me you have to download their SW and run all the libraries only with their version of the SW. But if you add libraries licenced by NI, they would work as well. It would not work with NI KK they told me. I am also concerned that when you install their software you have to give your computer password, and then what happens? You would take a great risk entering your computer password into their software. The deal is too good to be true. And it usually is some bad agenda behind it when it is like this. At least you can not be sure it will be ok, right? I was wondering if anyone have downloaded their software and libraries and if everything went ok and works ok?

Jeremy_NI

@Fredric It's definitely a piracy website, we strongly advise not to use them, it's already been on our legal department's watch.

KiniRod

Es muy simple. Ninguna de las librerías que ofrecen funcionan en Kontakt Playera, requieren la versión completa pero no la de NI, sino la que ellos venden, ya que ese es el software crackeado. Con esa versión de Kontakt puedes agregar cualquier librería sin necesidad de Native Access. Es una estafa y no solo para NI, sino para todos los fabricantes cuyas librerías ofrecen, y por supuesto para los que las compran, ya que esas librerías no se pueden usar en proyectos que se publiquen ya que son ilegales. Saludos

Drem B

As of today, I noticed that their website is down and their chat is blocked. It looks like legal action has been undertaken.

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