Elias was a producer with a "million-dollar ear" and a twenty-dollar bank account. He had spent the last six hours trying to get his vocal stack to sound like the shimmering, ethereal choirs he heard in his head. He needed a harmonizer—specifically Harmony by Waves. But at its current price point, it might as well have been a vintage Neumann microphone.
When software is pirated, companies have less revenue to invest in research and development. This results in fewer updates, slower innovation, and fewer new, innovative tools for producers.
He never searched for a crack again. Some harmonies aren't meant to be heard, and some "free" software costs more than anyone can afford to pay.