In the audio software industry, marketing terms often paint an idealistic picture, promising capabilities that may not align with reality. As a professional in the fields of blogging, marketing, and music production, I understand the importance of scrutinising these claims. This (tongue in cheek) article aims to dissect three commonly used marketing terms in audio software and present a more grounded perspective.

"Infinite Track Count"

The claim of an "infinite track count" in Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) is a frequent selling point. This term suggests limitless possibilities for building up tracks, giving the impression of unbounded creative potential. However, this promise comes with significant caveats.

In reality, the number of tracks you can effectively manage is constrained by the processing power of your computer and the complexity of the individual tracks. Also the way the DAW handles the technology is a factor, a point made by Mike Thornton in his highly informative article Apple Silicon: A Guide To Choosing The Right Mac For Your Studio

High-quality plugins and effects, for instance, demand more processing resources. Depending on the plugin, this can really tax a machine.

While the software itself might not impose a hard limit on track count, practical limitations arise from the hardware you use and the nature of your project.

In our article Apple Mac Mini M1 Audio Power Test - Pro Tools, written in 2021, we ran a power test of the then new Mac mini, infinite tracks were not possible. We’ve been running power tests for several years and as the chart above shows, none offer infinite track counts, in fact in many cases any track limitation imposed by the DAW is never exceeded.

In marketing terms, it’s a slight of hand trick, infinite track count is impossible. It’s as bad as suggesting that a pair of running shoes gives you infinite speed.

"Only Limited By Your Imagination"

The phrase “Only limited by your imagination” is often used to imply that the software can facilitate any creative idea. While this sounds encouraging, it oversimplifies the inherent limitations of the tools at hand.

For example, expecting an EQ plugin to produce reverb effects is unrealistic, your imagination has no bearing on the limitation.

Each tool and virtual instrument has specific functions and capabilities. While imagination plays a crucial role in creative processes, the tools' technical constraints are equally significant. This term often overpromises, suggesting that the software can transcend its built-in limitations, which is rarely the case.

Zooming out, the phrase could be used for almost anything on the planet; bread, water, toilet roll! Take the claim with a pinch of salt. Oddly enough, it’s often written by those who lack the imagination to come up with something more original.

"Huge Content Library"

Many audio software products boast a "huge content library," suggesting a vast array of sounds, loops, and samples. In the marketing world, content has become somewhat of an arms race.

While this may appear attractive and may sway a buyer to one DAW over another, the reality of navigating such extensive libraries presents two primary challenges.

Firstly, the quality of content in these large libraries can be inconsistent. Among the high-quality samples, there may be a considerable amount of mediocre or subpar content. For every great kick drum, there’s ten that sound like a wet cardboard box, for every bass loop, most are about a useful as a chocolate fireguard.

Anyone who edits videos and uses library music will know that finding the right track can be time consuming and make one want to blow their own brains out. Take for example the offering from the excellent site Epidemic sounds 40,000 tracks and 90,00 sound effects. A huge offering, but in some ways it’s hard to see the wood for the trees. It may be the case that every single file on the site is amazing, but here’s the second problem…

This huge collection of content necessitates the creator spending significant time sifting through the library to find suitable sounds. Even with advanced search functionalities, including AI-based tools, finding the right track, sound, or sample can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. It really is like trying to find a winning lottery ticket.

In his Harvard Business Review article “More Isn’t Always Better” Barry Schwartz writes;

“Choice is good for us, but its relationship to satisfaction appears to be more complicated than we had assumed. There is diminishing marginal utility in having alternatives; each new option subtracts a little from the feeling of well-being, until the marginal benefits of added choice level off. What’s more, psychologists and business academics alike have largely ignored another outcome of choice: More of it requires increased time and effort and can lead to anxiety, regret, excessively high expectations, and self-blame if the choices don’t work out. When the number of available options is small, these costs are negligible, but the costs grow with the number of options. Eventually, each new option makes us feel worse off than we did before.”

Balancing Expectations with Reality

What links all these marketing terms? Abundance. Some marketing professionals think this is the most compelling reason to invest in their products, after all, who doesn't want more?

However, ask anyone who lived in the world of track limitations, a single piece of hardware, or little additional content, and many will tell you they did their best work in these situations. Check out My Fantasy Audio Christmas Present - Tascam 244 Portastudio, and the comments left by those who used a four track cassette recorder.

In an oversaturated market like music technology, brands are doing everything to get your attention, but it is essential to approach marketing claims with a critical mind. While these terms aim to highlight the software's potential, they often don't fully account for practical limitations and realities. As professionals and enthusiasts in music production, it's important to balance our expectations, recognising that while software tools offer tremendous capabilities, they are not without their boundaries and constraints. 

Ultimately, the value of audio software lies not in its hyped marketing promises but in its real-world utility and compatibility with our individual creative workflows.