some argue that the end result will be better for the users.
certainly the software has a great deal of value. but it may be too hopeful to expect that the new owners of the various pieces will provide reasonable pricing and support.
in my view it’s just as likely that they will attempt to extract every penny possible from loyal/trapped users.
It would be interesting to know how much influence the constantly growing browser-based platforms for “AI music production” had on NI’s financial situation.
I’m seriously worried about the entire music industry in this regard.
it’s certainly possible that n.i. was feeling some pain from ai tools, but in this case it looks like a typical bain capital operation: buy up a company with good credit, load it to the gills with debt, extract the funds and send them to the cayman islands, then collapse the whole thing and sell off the pieces.
other bain examples include american pad and paper, toys r us, and guitar center.
I believe their model failed because their products were not good enough.
While I did use some of their products I never really enjoyed using them.
They are like the Walmart of the plugin world, endless selection, huge inventory but nothing outstanding.
Sorry if I offended anyone, I know a lot of people love NI products, I’m just not one of them.
kontakt is a bit like a high maintenance girlfriend complete with 72 suitcases full of clothing and makeup.
the odd bespoke instruments did appeal to me but it is true that i’ve never used any of them in a project.
my initial reaction was to quibble a bit with your walmart analogy but it is really quite apt.
It’s not AI. It’s Fintech that it’s destroying companies. I have never been a N.I. customer but I feel sorry for them.
hopefully i was over-reacting to the initial news:
After three months of hard work, and three months of extraordinary loyalty from you, I am pleased to share that a definitive agreement has now been signed for Native Instruments to be acquired by inMusic.
…
What this means for our community
The products, platforms, and brands you rely on continue. Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, Brainworx — all of it continues. Our teams continue to build, ship, and support every day.
When I saw Komplete 26 released last week, I was thinking that things must be looking up for NI.