https://audio.dev/ -- @audiodevcon​
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Distribution Strategies for Indie Audio Developers - From Plugin to Product - Dani Karanyi - ADC Japan 2026
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Building a great-sounding audio plugin is no longer enough to ensure real-world adoption. In today’s highly saturated plugin market, distribution has become the missing layer between development and sustainability. Many technically strong plugins remain invisible simply because developers do not have a clear distribution strategy. How do musicians actually discover plugins today? Which channels are worth investing time and energy into, and which ones look promising but rarely lead to real adoption?

In this talk, I will approach distribution not as marketing, but as a product design and infrastructure problem. I will share real-world experience from running my a boutique audio plugin company and walk through the decisions behind building visibility, discoverability, and long-term viability. I will show how distribution choices influence product design, onboarding, and communication, and why these decisions should not be treated as post-launch tasks. The session focuses on practical examples, measurable outcomes, and clear prioritization rather than hype or short-term tactics. By the end of the talk, attendees will have a clearer mental model of how distribution fits into the audio plugin lifecycle, and how to approach it in a focused and sustainable way without losing sight of development.

Topics covered
- Distribution vs marketing and why the distinction matters for developers
- How musicians discover and evaluate audio plugins today
- Direct sales, platforms, resellers, creators, and affiliate ecosystems
- Distribution as a product constraint, designing plugins that are easier to explain, demo, and adopt
- Email, content, and partnerships as part of onboarding, not post-launch add-ons
Common distribution mistakes indie developers make and how to avoid them
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Dani Karanyi

Founder of Karanyi Sounds, a boutique audio plugin company with 100k+ users - including Grammy-winning producers and composers scoring Netflix trailers. Over the last decade, Dani has led product, marketing, and distribution across direct sales, white-label deals, marketplaces, and bundle platforms. He’s also an award-winning composer and producer (Berklee Film Scoring), which keeps the products grounded in real musical use.
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ADC is an annual event celebrating all audio development technologies, from music applications and game audio to audio processing and embedded systems. ADC’s mission is to help attendees acquire and develop new audio development skills, and build a network that will support their audio developer career.
Annual ADC Conference - https://audio.dev/
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Edited by Digital Medium Ltd: https://online.digital-medium.co.uk
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Organized and produced by JUCE: https://juce.com/
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Special thanks to the ADC Team:

Sophie Carus
Derek Heimlich
Andrew Kirk
Bobby Lombardi
Tom Poole
Ralph Richbourg
Jim Roper
Jonathan Roper
Prashant Mishra

#adc #audiodev #dsp #audio #conferenceaudio #audioprocessing #audioproduction #audioprogramming #sound #music #musictech #soundtech #audiotech #audiotechnology