“I’m curious how copying a product and selling it at the exact same price is a ‘not for profit’”: Loopop slams Behringer’s “not-for-profit” claims
Behringer and the product reviewer have been engaged in a heated dispute ever since the brand said influencers such as Loopop are refusing to support them “because they don’t provide free products for reviews”.
Image: MusicTech
Loopop has fired back at music tech brand Behringer after the brand seemingly took aim once again at the product reviewer recently, claiming “‘influencers’ have decided not to support us anymore because we don’t provide free products for reviews”.
- READ MORE: “We don’t pay to play”: Behringer further outlines policies on supplying free gear to reviewers
In a post to X made yesterday, Loopop questions Behringer’s ethical stance following claims made by the company in August that they’re a “not-for-profit” organisation. The post features a screenshot of Behringer’s Arturia Keystep clone, the Swing, alongside the original and set at the same price on the online gear store, Sweetwater.
It reads: “I’m curious how copying a successful, in-production product and selling it at the exact same price is a ‘not for profit’ or ‘empowering the ones who have not’, as opposed to, say, simply making a profit off someone else’s investment in product design (source: Sweetwater Oct 2)”
I’m curious how copying a successful, in-production product and selling it at the exact same price is a “not for profit” or “empowering the ones who have not”, as opposed to, say, simply making a profit off someone else’s investment in product design (source: Sweetwater Oct 2) pic.twitter.com/0sAo44qbNA
— Loopop Music (@loopopmusic) October 2, 2023
“I’m no FTC lawyer,” he responds to one X user, “but it sounds deceptive to me to tell your customers you’re a non-profit that empowers the have-nots, but then go and sell the same product at the same price “have-nots” buy from for-profit companies (and yes, a cheaper copy sucks too)”
The claim Loopop’s referring to was made in a Facebook post by Behringer in August. The post reads: “Purpose before Profit. At Behringer [sic] we pay zero dividends to shareholders and we reinvest all our earnings. This is the reason why we’re selling our products at such low prices and at times even below cost.”
In the comments, Behringer goes on to say, “If profit was out [sic] focus, we wouldn’t sell our products at such low prices. At times we’re even selling them below cost. We are a ‘not for profit’ org as all our earnings are reinvested.”
Despite all this drama, Behringer is continuing to tease and launch loads of new products. Stick around on musictech.com to discover every synth, drum machine and controller Behringer is working on.
