What's new

Behringer Launches Bizarre Attack on Music Journalist Peter Kirn (CDM)

Reid Rosefelt

aka Tiger the Frog
Apparently Kirn wrote things about Behringer's business practices that they didn't like, so they created a really weird, elaborate, and insulting social media attack, including a video and many posts. They also trademarked Kirn's name. Kirn is also the co-creator of MeeBlip synths.

Behringer-KIRN-CorkSniffer-1400x1050-1-696x522.jpg

The response from the Twitterverse has not been positive, to say the least, and Behringer has deleted their posts and video.

More info at MUSICTECH.
 
I have some Behringer products that I like but wouldn't necessarily defend their willingness to create knock off versions of popular products from other manufacturers. Especially before they bought MIDAS.
Still, I find it a bit amusing when companies try to attack Behringer (not this journalist which is different because it's basically his job to report and offer up critique on the industry) for those practices when I've seen all of them be guilty from time to time of the same practice. Still, it's probably fair to say that Behringer has been the worst offender in the past.

Edit. I probably should read the article because I have no idea if what I said here is part of his criticism.

One more Edit- I guess this is more about their synths. Kirn should be thanking Behringer. He will get more views on his article than if Behringer had not done this.
 
Last edited:
Behringer:
“Please allow me to respond to the video we had published today. For the past 20 years, Peter Kirn and Behringer have had an ‘interesting’ relationship to say the least.
What was meant as pure satire by our marketing department, has clearly offended some people and looking at the video, I could understand why. However, in no way did the team ever intend to make any connection to semitism, as some people have alleged.

We unreservedly apologize to Peter and anyone who felt offended.

Uli”
 
Never heard of Kirn before Behringer elevated his status.
I ONLY read SOS reviews because they pissed off Harman and Behringer by giving UN favorable reviews of gear. Years ago a big distributor whose name started with an A threatened SOS would never get gear for review again, etc.
Plus my old fav reviewer got a gig at Media Ventures years ago.

Guess I’ll go read this guy with a big nose reviews now.

Ah, they likely worked this out together since all of those fake CS80 threads are tiresome and ineffective.
This adds a spark to the kindling...
 
I don't see how people got anti-semitic from this. I just got Pinocchio. Though I never heard of Kirn I just assumed that as all journalist do, he exaggerated some claim to make a story more appealing. I now want to read the article so if I were Kirn I'd be jumping up and down with joy that people are now actually interested in what he is saying. Also, tons of free advertising for Behringer. It's a win win.
 
It's not anti-semitic. It's just the sort of stuff that should be kept in the house. It's unprofessional.

I say all that as a massive hypocrit because I laughed my arse off years ago at that Garritan comic strip.
 
I’m sure it is involuntary, but the typical nazi depiction of the Jews was bearded, grinning men with big noses and the hands like claws.

Paolo

Grin and beard seems to match, and I don't think the hands looks like claws.
Makes sense that the nose is long to emphasise 'cork sniffer', right?

Anyway, I don't really want to defend Behringer. I just think anti-semitism is a bit far fethed.

Peter-Kirn-e1399190886489-540x0-c-default.png
 
Grin and beard seems to match, and I don't think the hands looks like claws.
Makes sense that the nose is long to emphasise 'cork sniffer', right?

Anyway, I don't really want to defend Behringer. I just think anti-semitism is a bit far fethed.

Peter-Kirn-e1399190886489-540x0-c-default.png
The intent is obvious: Kirn is a lying Pinocchio who sees the worst in everything. But, if you go online, you will see that several people have called it racist or anti-Semitic. The perception is there, no matter whether it's a fair response or not.

I absolutely felt that it looked disturbingly like Nazi propaganda, and more recently, anti-Muslim imagery, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt because it would be insane for them to consciously alienate their Jewish customers in such a huge way. Whether you see the connection depends on how many pieces of Nazi propaganda you've been exposed to in your life. As a Jew, I've been shown that stuff since I was a child. I didn't mention it in my original post because I didn't think it was intended to be anti-Semitic. It was a thoughtless mistake.

However, as a German company, I think they particularly should be very aware of these things when they use social media for their messaging, where the outrage machine can quickly leap into action. As it has.

I don't see Behringer as racist or anti-Semitic, but I do see them as insensitive. The whole idea of this attack on Kirn was a mistake, but the style of the caricature only made it worse. They shouldn't be putting things out into the world that have any risk of making less people want to buy their products.

By the way, in true Behringer tradition, it was a ripoff of somebody else's design.

cork sniffer.jpg
 
I’m sure it is involuntary, but the typical nazi depiction of the Jews was bearded, grinning men with big noses and the hands like claws.

Paolo
Well, let us not be exclusive on other cultures, besides nazis, doing this exact same thing.

 
Well, let us not be exclusive on other cultures, besides nazis, doing this exact same thing.
Stereotypes survive the passage across cultures, without losing their inner violence. This is why they have to be managed very carefully, when trying to do "satire".

Paolo
 
Absolutely disgusting.
However, as a German company, I think they particularly should be very aware of these things when they use social media for their messaging, where the outrage machine can quickly leap into action. As it has.
As a German company, it's horrifying to see them use such imagery. Inexcusable.
 
Grin and beard seems to match, and I don't think the hands looks like claws.
Makes sense that the nose is long to emphasise 'cork sniffer', right?

Anyway, I don't really want to defend Behringer. I just think anti-semitism is a bit far fethed.

Peter-Kirn-e1399190886489-540x0-c-default.png

Regardless of what he wrote about behringer, he kinda deserves it for wearing his shirt like a 70's porn star.
 
Grin and beard seems to match, and I don't think the hands looks like claws.
Makes sense that the nose is long to emphasise 'cork sniffer', right?

Anyway, I don't really want to defend Behringer. I just think anti-semitism is a bit far fethed.

Peter-Kirn-e1399190886489-540x0-c-default.png

Although I think they were clearly going for the Pinocchio thing, the trouble is the graphic bears a striking similarity to a meme that goes by the name of "le happy merchant" that does the rounds in places like the fever swamps of 4Chan's somewhat right-wing /pol group. Behringer f'd up so badly they had no idea how badly.
 
Top Bottom