Atlantic Audio went from cycling through licensing systems to recommending one platform for every new client

Atlantic Audio is a software engineering consultancy entirely focused on audio technology. The firm specializes in end-to-end development of professional audio applications, including JUCE-based plugins, C++ DSP algorithms, and increasingly machine learning systems for audio. Their client roster ranges from established audio software companies like Audiomodern and discoDSP to a growing number of individual musicians, producers, and YouTubers with product ideas but no infrastructure to bring them to market.

Gustavo, the founder, describes the firm's dual role: "Most of our work involves building production-ready products for other companies. Many of our clients are established audio software companies like Audiomodern or discoDSP, where we collaborate as part of their engineering team. At the same time, we are seeing more projects coming from musicians, producers, and YouTubers who have strong ideas for audio tools but need help turning them into real products."

For these newer creators, as Gustavo notes, "the infrastructure around selling and distributing a plugin is often the hardest part, which is where platforms like Moonbase become extremely useful."

The previous setup

For years, Atlantic Audio worked with whatever distribution and licensing infrastructure their clients chose. "Over the years we have worked with several different setups. These include WooCommerce and WordPress stores with self-hosted licensing systems, Lemon Squeezy, and for more established companies, iLok."

Each option came with tradeoffs. iLok, the industry standard for professional audio, offered legitimacy and integration with existing ecosystems, but the barrier to entry was high. "iLok is great, but the barrier to entry is quite high for smaller companies that are just starting, both in cost and development complexity," Gustavo explains.

Lemon Squeezy worked better for smaller teams. "In terms of simplicity, API quality, and pricing, I would probably rank Lemon Squeezy as the closest alternative," he says. But even "simple" solutions meant Atlantic Audio had to help clients assemble a patchwork of services.

The real problem wasn't choosing a single option. It was the cumulative burden on teams trying to launch a plugin. When a client wanted to release a plugin, Gustavo notes, "a lot of non-audio problems suddenly appear. These include licensing, user accounts, payments, downloads, updates, analytics, and how everything connects with the plugin itself."

For small teams, building that infrastructure from scratch wasn't realistic. "Even choosing and integrating multiple services such as payments, licensing servers, storefronts, and update systems can become a large engineering effort," he observes.

The decision

Gustavo had been seeing Moonbase posts on LinkedIn for about a year when they began appearing with more frequency. He decided to reach out to Tobias, who walked him through the platform. "After that conversation, the whole approach made a lot of sense and I decided to try it in one of our projects. That experience basically convinced me."

What convinced him was the specificity of Moonbase's design for plugins. "Moonbase stands out because of the tools designed specifically for plugin development. Features like logging in directly from the plugin with a user account and the JUCE module make integration significantly easier," Gustavo explains. When comparing Moonbase to Lemon Squeezy, the cost difference wasn't the deciding factor. "When you consider the time saved on development and infrastructure, the cost difference between Lemon Squeezy and Moonbase becomes almost negligible."

The recommendation shifted immediately. "Because of that, Moonbase is the option I now recommend for most new projects."

The migration

Atlantic Audio chose to test Moonbase on a live project with an existing user base. The client had roughly 4,000 users on Lemon Squeezy who needed to migrate to the new system.

The JUCE module was the standout. "The JUCE module in particular is excellent. It took me about ten minutes to get it running, and a bit more time to adapt it so it matched the look and behavior of the plugin. Compared to other licensing systems we have worked with, it was by far the fastest integration."

The storefront also moved more smoothly than expected. "Even the storefront side was easier than expected. My team was able to embed the Moonbase storefront directly into the product website, even though we are primarily C++ engineers and do not really specialize in web development."

From starting the integration to having a fully functional system live, including the migration of all 4,000 users from Lemon Squeezy, took 2 days.

Implementation

What made the implementation straightforward was the scope of what Moonbase handled as a unified system. "The biggest benefit is that it removes the need to build an entire ecosystem around the plugin," Gustavo says.

"Moonbase handles commerce, licensing, user accounts, storefront embedding, update notifications, and product analytics. It also integrates directly with the plugin, which simplifies user activation and notifying users about new versions."

The alternative would have been fragmentation. "Without something like this, most companies would end up building and maintaining a lot of custom infrastructure or combining multiple services that were never designed to work together. Thus increasing cost in infra and web dev."

What changed

The most visible change was speed. The full integration, including migrating 4,000 users from Lemon Squeezy via API, took 2 days.

"Moonbase makes it possible for audio software companies to launch and sell professional products without having to build their own commerce and licensing infrastructure," Gustavo states plainly. "Instead of spending months building backend systems, developers can focus on what actually matters: building great audio products. And in the end, that is what we enjoy doing most. Not having to deal with taxes is also a big plus."

Where they are now

Atlantic Audio now recommends Moonbase as the default solution for new client projects. As Gustavo puts it: "Because of that, Moonbase is the option I now recommend for most new projects." For Atlantic Audio, the impact is cleaner projects and more time building audio tools, which is the work they wanted in the first place.