LANDR acquires Reason Studios (DAW/Plugin)
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machinesworking machinesworking https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=8505
- KVRAF
- 7967 posts since 15 Aug, 2003 from seattle
I thought about mentioning them as the exception, but I didn't want to ruin someone's fun.ksandvik wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:27 pmLike Gibson? I assume they didn't care about musicmachinesworking wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 9:26 pm Much more frightening when a company that has no interest in music buys a DAW IMO..
- KVRian
- 1051 posts since 21 Apr, 2004
Reason survived vulture capitalists with no real interest in the actual product. This seems a much more typical acquisition, though I wouldn't have thought Landr would have the kind of money to pull this off. I think this shows how relatively small Reason Studios is and why their development cycle is not typically very impressive. I'm not too gloomy about this but given the state of... everything, I'm also prepared to be disappointed! 
- KVRian
- 1492 posts since 7 Jun, 2021
maybe now with a new big pocket buddy in the backround ? you never knowparma wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 12:53 am ......though I wouldn't have thought Landr would have the kind of money to pull this off. ......
the question is, how much has this market grown in the last 2-3-4 years ?
probably immensly, no ?
which might explain why venture capitalism is creeping in.
"Plugin has turned Drug now"....and the business knows it.
- KVRAF
- 7872 posts since 21 Dec, 2002 from MD USA
I was worried when FL Studio bought UVI but I haven't seen anything change with UVI.
my music: http://www.alexcooperusa.com
"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." Muhammad Ali
"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." Muhammad Ali
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- KVRAF
- 5444 posts since 15 Feb, 2020
Think you mean Private Equity. VC is generally aimed at startups.
/nitpicking
I lost my heart in Cap de Creus
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- KVRAF
- 5200 posts since 17 Aug, 2004
You just forgot to mention how much Reason deteriorated and lost a user base (speculative assumption based on complaints)parma wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 12:53 am Reason survived vulture capitalists with no real interest in the actual product.
This above. Seems that they have been really like most of the people sensed. A bold muscle look-alike that is actually an old tiny crab.parma wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 12:53 am though I wouldn't have thought Landr would have the kind of money to pull this off. I think this shows how relatively small Reason Studios is and why their development cycle is not typically very impressive.
What do you expect from a company that at one time put a CEO in place who pissed at perpetual users and favored subscription (even to the degree of providing divided technical support) other than decline?
I feel so stupid buying into the ecosystem. I have 4000EUR RE's in my account.
Perhaps LANDR will allow license transfer
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- KVRAF
- 5200 posts since 17 Aug, 2004
They bought it because at the time it was a prosperous thing to buy. And they made a good decision. Do you sense the difference?ATS wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 6:59 am I was worried when FL Studio bought UVI but I haven't seen anything change with UVI.
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machinesworking machinesworking https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=8505
- KVRAF
- 7967 posts since 15 Aug, 2003 from seattle
No way to actually know, it could be as simple as Landr developers really liked Reason and made an offer.
In terms of Landr, they look like deep pockets, jumping into multiple areas to "corner" a customer in their ecosystem, it's possible Reason has been on their radar for a while, since a DAW is the only missing piece here.
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- KVRAF
- 5055 posts since 27 Jul, 2004
Afaik... IL didn´t buy anything...
They themselves got bought before by Waterland Private Equity in February 2019 ...
Just my thoughts, but I cannot imagine that a company which has the financial strength to buy several other companies allows to be bought by some other investors...
For me it makes more sense this way round:
The investors bought IL and used them as a kind of strawman to aquire the other companies like UVI, Melda, W.A., Producerloops, etc...
Last edited by Trancit on Wed Jan 07, 2026 11:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRAF
- 1767 posts since 20 Feb, 2003
All that choice in DAW hosts and music software? Private Equity sees this as “market fragmentation.” This is a “problem” which they aim to “solve.” Because who doesn’t want a handful of companies owning and controlling everything?Funky40 wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 5:32 amthe question is, how much has this market grown in the last 2-3-4 years ? probably immensly, no ?
which might explain why venture capitalism is creeping in.
For Reason users a lot will depend on the details of how / where LANDR got their funding to pay for this, since this is (ultimately) who they will answer to, regardless of any public statements of intent.
Not necessarily the best sign though, if AI Bubble hype is used to acquire companies, since that whole area’s going to see a “market correction” at some point.
- KVRAF
- 2323 posts since 2 Feb, 2009 from Germany
Not every acquisition has to be a bad thing. Just look at Image Line & UVI – UVI didn't get any worse because of it. And Reason, as a DAW, has felt like it's fallen far behind in recent years, especially now that there are more DAWs on the market than there were with Studio One & Bitwig. Maybe this will be a good thing for Reason, and perhaps it will even revive it?
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- KVRAF
- 7503 posts since 14 Nov, 2006 from Ankara, Turkey
Our user stats for our synth plugins confirm this. Reason is slightly more popular than Bitwig:Cyforce wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 9:08 am And Reason, as a DAW, has felt like it's fallen far behind in recent years, especially now that there are more DAWs on the market than there were with Studio One & Bitwig.
1. FLStudio
2. Ableton
3. Studio One
4. Reaper
5. Logic
6. Cubase
7. Cakewalk
8.Reason
9. Bitwig
10. ProTools
Works at KV331 Audio
SynthMaster voted #1 in MusicRadar's "Best Synth of 2019" poll
SynthMaster One voted #4 in MusicRadar's "Best Synth of 2019" poll
SynthMaster voted #1 in MusicRadar's "Best Synth of 2019" poll
SynthMaster One voted #4 in MusicRadar's "Best Synth of 2019" poll
- KVRAF
- 2323 posts since 2 Feb, 2009 from Germany
Reaper & Studio One are ahead of Logic & Cubase? That surprises me, to be honest. Thanks for sharing the info.kv331 wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 9:16 amOur user stats for our synth plugins confirm this. Reason is slightly more popular than Bitwig:Cyforce wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 9:08 am And Reason, as a DAW, has felt like it's fallen far behind in recent years, especially now that there are more DAWs on the market than there were with Studio One & Bitwig.
1. FLStudio
2. Ableton
3. Studio One
4. Reaper
5. Logic
6. Cubase
7. Cakewalk
8.Reason
9. Bitwig
10. ProTools
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- KVRist
- 375 posts since 9 Dec, 2014
kv331 wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 9:16 amOur user stats for our synth plugins confirm this. Reason is slightly more popular than Bitwig:Cyforce wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 9:08 am And Reason, as a DAW, has felt like it's fallen far behind in recent years, especially now that there are more DAWs on the market than there were with Studio One & Bitwig.
1. FLStudio
2. Ableton
3. Studio One
4. Reaper
5. Logic
6. Cubase
7. Cakewalk
8.Reason
9. Bitwig
10. ProTools
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