Uli Behringer, founder of the musical instrument manufacturer of his namesake, has taken to Facebook to address critics of his company and their recent business moves. The company, often more in the industry news due to litigation, copyright / patent infringement and “ripping off” other manufacturer’s designs, rather than their own innovative products, has used the unscrupulous toxic internet wasteland known as Facebook to defend his tactics:
“There is not one magazine, forum or thread where we don’t get criticized or even attacked. We understand and respect that not everyone likes us or me and that’s perfectly fine.
We also see constructive criticism which we truly welcome as it’s a great opportunity for us to learn and improve.
In our Vision, we only focus on two obligations – to relentlessly deliver what our customers desire and to observe the law. We will always respect that people may have different opinions about what we should and shouldn’t do, however that’s not an area that we will ever engage in.
Technology is free for everyone to use unless it’s protected. That’s exactly the reason why the law was designed in this particular way, so it encourages competition — all for the benefit of you the customers and for society to progress. Imagine there was only one guitar or car brand? For example patents expire after 20+ years and its intellectual property becomes available to anyone.
We also understand that we’re controversial as we continue to challenge everything and especially our competitors to deliver better quality at lower prices.
Recently, we experience more and more companies to join us in our mission and we welcome everyone who believes in our Vision. We’re happy to collaborate with everyone and at times also acquire businesses where we see synergies.
We’re immensely grateful for all the support we have been receiving over the past 30 years and hence our complete loyalty belongs to our customers.
We call it Customer Obsession. That’s why our team and I are here to listen and serve our customers.” — Uli
“There is not one magazine, forum or thread where we don’t get criticized…”
There are many aspects of this statement that both industry observers and casual musicians will have trouble comprehending, since much of it is contradictory. First off, in our reporting, FutureMusic processes “Behringer News” and attempts to objectively separate the fact from the fiction. When we reviewed our Behringer reporting, we found a solid percentage of litigation notices, as opposed to reviews and/or new product announcements. This percentage far outweighs what other large manufacturers generate, which is indicative of their business practices. Other sources often showcase mind-boggling Behringer business practices that reinforce their negative public opinion. If “there is not one magazine, forum or thread where we don’t get criticized” — shouldn’t that tell you something? Worse, is how they have systematically attacked one of their harshest critics, Peter Kirn, the founder of Create Digital Music.
“…constructive criticism…”
Hard to buy into this when there are many Behringer products with quality control issues that the concern has done nothing to address. The company appears content to churn out new products instead of fixing blatant and crucial issues with existing gear.
“In our Vision, we only focus on two obligations – to relentlessly deliver what our customers desire and to observe the law…”
Well, half of this statement is accurate. Behringer does deliver products that customers want, which garners them a lot of sales. However, observing the law is a pretty subjective matter in the Behringer Reality Field. Especially when your strategy is to put your coffers behind lawyers to defend, sue, counter-sue, appeal and delay a bevy of litigation.
“Technology is free for everyone to use unless it’s protected…”
The problem for Behringer is the “protected” part. Apparently, they don’t see any technology as protected and employ the legal tactics cited above to proceed unabated.
“We call it Customer Obsession…”
The other points are pretty much self-promotion, so we’ll skip to this notion of “Customer Obsession,” which is hard to believe. It really should be “Profit Obsession.” And there is nothing to fault here. Behringer is a business. And the objective of any business is to make money. But how you make money, is increasingly becoming more and more important to consumers, which is why Behringer is feeling more heat than usual.
The biggest problem for Behringer right now (constructive criticism coming! —Ed.) is that they don’t understand the fine line between creating emulations (“inspired by…”) and just ripping off other manufacturers/engineers innovations, and how to effectively communicate that message. For example, apparently Behringer is looking to emulate the Korg Mono/Poly, an analog synth that debuted by the famed Japanese concern in 1981. That design may well be in the public domain and legally open to cloning, but to go and try and trademark the Mono/Poly name? That crosses a line. While, Behringer maybe “observ[ing] the law” in this regard, it’s just plain unctuous. And that’s a big part of the problem.
Observers will also find this aspect of crossing the line apparent in their social media posts. The aforementioned assault on Peter Kirn may have been chalked up to a “bad joke,” but Behringer crossed the line by filing papers to trademark Peter Kirn’s name, preventing him from releasing additional gear under his own moniker. Kirn currently releases micro synths under the MeeBlip name.
“I remember being at a NAMM show a fair number of years ago when Behringer came out with their guitar pedal lineup. It was such a blatant ripoff of the Boss Pedal Line, right down to the font, that the Japanese company’s executives were dumbfounded at the audacity of the announcement. Behringer ultimately was forced to make some design “adjustments,” but this is how Uli Behringer has operated the company for thirty years.” —Product Demonstrator
Is Behringer in store for a reckoning?
So what could happen to Behringer if somehow one of these lawsuits goes sideways for the company? With so much litigation pending, it’s fair to say that Behringer’s legal team could get one or more of their argument wrong and lose. But would it be enough for the company to change their approach or put it out of business? There was a large, independent record label in the United States who had a similar trajectory. The label adroitly sidestepped typical mechanical royalties, as well as some other legal issues, which would have hindered the releases, and launched a series of albums that became immensely popular thanks to the savvy use of television advertising. The money was then pumped into signing upcoming independent artists and the label took off. Unfortunately, after only a few years the increasing amount of litigation took over the focus of the company. A major lawsuit loss ultimately sank the company for good.
While Behringer may be currently winning in the legal arena, they are obviously losing in the court of public opinion. Even though Uli Behringer took to Facebook to voice his displeasure at the haters, no one really thinks he’s going to change his ways anytime soon…
Update: A complete historical breakdown of the Behringer / Peter Kirn brouhaha.
