Developers, take note: Why people keep flocking to Linux in 2025 (and it's not just to escape Windows)

[audiojunkie]

Developers,

Linux popularity is continuing to grow. Everything, including development, is getting easier with Linux. True cross compatibility not only includes Windows and MacOS, but Linux as well. Please support Linux! Read this latest article regarding Linux's rapid growth:

Why people keep flocking to Linux in 2025 (and it's not just to escape Windows)

By my count, Linux has over 11% of the desktop market. Here's how I got that number - and why people are making the leap.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-peopl ... e-windows/

[Paul_Pulsonix]

I have a hard time believing that any serious producer would switch to linux.
the os is great, but and some point you'll get stuck because common plugins aren't available for it. Why would you do that to yourself ?

[audiojunkie]

I have a hard time believing that any serious producer would switch to linux.
the os is great, but and some point you'll get stuck because common plugins aren't available for it. Why would you do that to yourself ?

Pretty much everything available (with only a few exceptions) on Linux also has Windows and MacOS support. As long as the plugins and tools you need are on Linux, you should be able to have the same plugins and tools and even work flow, as that which is available on Windows or MacOS. Very few apps are developed on Linux first (but even that is changing). There are some exceptions, as mentioned above, but by and large, everything is cross compatible.

The only part where it could be a problem, is if the tools that one needs are not able to run on Linux. In that case, where a plugin or tool does not natively run on Linux, we have WINE, WineASIO, yabridge, Linvst3, Carla, and other tools that can largely fill that gap through a compatibility layer. Many Windows-only plugins and applications can run on Linux with no problems and almost no difference in performance or CPU/RAM usage.

In short, with a few exceptions, using Linux for Pro Audio wouldn't be a problem at all. The weak point has been the availability of special instrument libraries, such as those from Native Instruments' Kontakt. Kontakt is not known for playing nice with WINE (the compatibility layer I was previously speaking of). But there are many other sampled instrument providers whose instruments and plugins do work great on Linux.

There are even people using Ableton and FLStudio and Windows only apps and plugins completely in WINE. I don't personally do that. I prefer Linux native applications and plugins, and I have a custom curated list of tools that work great for me and do nearly anything that I would want to do. It didn't used to be that way, but year after year, things just keep getting better.

Just a few short years ago, Linux was really difficult, and had no available plugins. You had to string apps together with JACK (an audio server that allows connecting audio apps together), and record the results. There were only a few good DAWs available. There were only a few quality synths and samplers. You had to have a custom-made realtime kernel. None of that is applicable anymore.

These days, configuring a system for Pro Audio is much, much easier. There are multiple plugin standards supported, including VST3, CLAP, LV2, and others. There are more DAWs available. There are very high quality synths and samplers available. And the best part is that it keeps getting better with every single year that passes. More and more people are flocking to Linux than ever before. It's an awesome operating system, and it is so flexible to make it be and do exactly what you want it to be and do.

There's still a bit of a learning curve to Linux. Linux works quite a bit differently than Windows or MacOS. But the Linux paradigm is just different, not hard. While there is still some typing in a commandline required, there is much less than there used to be. There is a GUI front end for nearly everything these days, and hardware support is much, much better too. The days of requiring an IT degree to know how to use Linux are long, long past.

In short, the most likely reason you have a hard time believing that any serious music producer would switch to Linux, is because you have heard about the Linux of the past, but have not heard about the Linux of today. Linux is now friendly enough that anyone can use it--and it's great!

[Paul_Pulsonix]

I have been using linux for many years, just not for any DAW or music related stuff. it's just too much of a hassle I think. You are already limited in choice when it comes to audio interfaces, and have far less plugins available. None of the plugins I like are available for linux and that is where it stops for me, also my audio interface is not completely supported.
I'll stick with mac for now. The operating system is great, absolutely, but not for music producers or recording studio's. Having DAW's like Bitwig and reaper supporting it is nice, but not enough.

[quikquak]

I's difficult to assess how 'friendly' it really is to set up, or how to do it, and on what hardware?
Shop bought PCs have Windows or MacOS preinstalled.

Individuals also use their machines for other things, like gaming, art and design, or video work.
Have you tried GIMP? - it's fecking terrible.

I thought recording studios still prefer Pro Tools, do they not? I don't think they'll want to go through booting Linux outside of it.
I would say there's a long way to go before major adoption is taken seriously.

[suthnear]

Aside from plugins, another problem in the past was the widespread availability of decent low latency drivers for multi input and output audio interfaces. I even had issues with big standard USB devices. Has that changed?

[audiojunkie]

I's difficult to assess how 'friendly' it really is to set up, or how to do it, and on what hardware?
Shop bought PCs have Windows or MacOS preinstalled.

Individuals also use their machines for other things, like gaming, art and design, or video work.
Have you tried GIMP? - it's fecking terrible.

I thought recording studios still prefer Pro Tools, do they not? I don't think they'll want to go through booting Linux outside of it.
I would say there's a long way to go before major adoption is taken seriously.

It’s not difficult to try out linux. You can get a version that runs live off of a flash drive and doesn’t affect your had drive at all. Simply boot from your flash drive. If everything loads up and works, then Linux supports your hardware. When you are done, reboot back to your hard drive.

Also, Gimp is not the only solution out there. There are many solutions, and there are alternatives for probably any app that you can think of. For example, instead of Gimp, try these:

https://www.xda-developers.com/forget-g ... re-better/

[audiojunkie]

Aside from plugins, another problem in the past was the widespread availability of decent low latency drivers for multi input and output audio interfaces. I even had issues with big standard USB devices. Has that changed?

Absolutely! Linux uses Class Compliant audio interfaces. But unlike Windows, Class Compliant hardware works at low latencies.

[audiojunkie]

Here are more alternatives to Adobe products:

https://itsfoss.com/adobe-alternatives-linux/

And remember, there are alternatives to the alternatives. If you don’t like a particular app or tool, try a different one.

[imrae]

I suspect that for the "real professional" mix or mastering engineers, access to every new plugin release is a low priority but access to well-supported high-end audio drivers is critical.

[mystran]

Have you tried GIMP? - it's fecking terrible.

Depending on what you want to do, Krita might be a better choice, but both of those run just fine on Windows and macOS too...

[quikquak]

@mystran I just tried Krita (Windows), it's a little lacking compared to the likes of the Affinity Designer and Photo suite.
Anyhoo, it doesn't matter, if I wrote Linux software it will be designed elsewhere and merely compiled for Linux.

That reminds me, although it's an old stereotype, do ALL Linux users automatically expect software to be free?

[mystran]

@mystran I just tried Krita (Windows), it's a little lacking compared to the likes of the Affinity Designer and Photo suite.

Sure, but unlike GIMP you can actually do some things (especially paint) with Krita without completely losing your mind.

[audiojunkie]

@mystran I just tried Krita (Windows), it's a little lacking compared to the likes of the Affinity Designer and Photo suite.
Anyhoo, it doesn't matter, if I wrote Linux software it will be designed elsewhere and merely compiled for Linux.

That reminds me, although it's an old stereotype, do ALL Linux users automatically expect software to be free?

No. There are still some hardcore users that ONLY use FOSS, but there are a lot more that don’t have a problem with buying well supported software tools and plugins.

[quikquak]

@mystran I just tried Krita (Windows), it's a little lacking compared to the likes of the Affinity Designer and Photo suite.
Anyhoo, it doesn't matter, if I wrote Linux software it will be designed elsewhere and merely compiled for Linux.

That reminds me, although it's an old stereotype, do ALL Linux users automatically expect software to be free?

No. There are still some hardcore users that ONLY use FOSS, but there are a lot more that don’t have a problem with buying well supported software tools and plugins.

Good, then it’s just something I need to get over, I have this image of ‘free software is king’ within the general Linux user base.
It needs some more big players to get involved with it, like Avid for example.