Native Instruments file for insolvency...

[VitaminD]

Dear Apple. Please get out your checkbook.

That's how Windows users lost Camel Audio!!

That's how Windows users lost Logic Audio!!

Once they own everything, you will not be upset. You too will be an Apple Zealot. There shall be no other options.

I have a Mac Pro 5.1 with Logic that i use to switch on to use Studio One...

Apple shall own the Studios. One, Two, Three, all of them.

[VitaminD]

If Apple does buy it, they shouldn't be idiots this time and keep a Windows version going. They should have done that with Camel, but all they had at that point was Garageband. But now, they are flush with cash, so....

Well the point is to make highly desired software unique to their platform. If you want it, you must buy their hardware and work within their ecosystem. If they offered Windows versions, it would completely destroy their corporate plan.

[osiris]

Yes but when I was younger Apple had NOTHING and users would have to run something called Boot Camp so they could use Windows apps. (I think this was before a lot of you were even alive) They also had VMWare Fusion and VirtualBox.

[wikter]

...and Reaktor never had a proper sample management.

[Pepin]

Apple is pretty heavily emphasizing Logic for iPad, approaching feature parity with the Mac version while being subscription-only. Buying NI doesn't really fit with the direction they're moving. They're not about to port Komplete to iPad.

[billinder33]

OK, So ... What is the main reason for NI's cash-flow issue ?

Missmanagement ? Making wrong decisions ? lack of solid products/development ? Piracy ? Competition , etc ... ?

Just curious what is the main cause/s of their financial problems.

Increased interest rates on a financially engineered debt load. See the second post on page 20.

[jrwaltb]

Did people think NI was in a good spot before this announcement, this is a weird thread ?

[Milkman]

You could see this coming for years. This makes me... incredibly sad, for all the years of enjoyment Ive gotten out of most of the older NI products, and my earlier experiences on their forums... and just the fact that NI was one of the first software instrument brands I used. Despite the last 2 years of frustration and anger, with myself and many others making many angry posts on the NI forums, this still... makes me sad.

That said... this is the final round. When companies go through these PE cycles, the 3rd round and any subsequent rounds are usually the worst, and of course throughout the entire thing, all phases of the problem and whatever it turns into, there is dishonesty. Constant, universal, fascistic/corporate dishonesty in order to control perception in order to wring out any remaining money left inside NI, to the detriment of customers and employees.

This makes me... very sad, very angry, etc, but I hope that it illuminates something for some folks... that Ive been trying to illuminate for *decades* now. Best of luck to any current NI staff who read this, whatever happens. Support meaningful changes to the economic system that RELIABLY, PREDICTABLY generates outcomes like this, and for 100s of years now. We can do better than this.

[enCiphered]

That must be the most emotional post of the day.

[parma]

It amazes me that Plugin Alliance is apparently "doing fine". They sell 50 different compressors, 50 different EQs, 50 different channel strips, etc, etc. Who is buying all this stuff? Aside from Unfiltered Audio it feels like there isn't much to differentiate between one plugin and another. At least NI proper has definite, unique products in different categories.

[apoclypse]

2. There's this huge tech debt in completely modernizing some of these legacy products (e.g. Reaktor, Kontakt) - that's high risk and expensive - might not yield ROI


If I was the owner and it was my investment at stake, would I be like, "you know what would be cool? Making NI hip again. Let's have teams doing total, modern, ground-up rewrites of Kontakt, Reaktor, Guitar Rig. Toss out all the old code, maintain compatibility, modernize for performance and future-proofing? Make killer new products along the way. Spends years doing this; hope it pays off in the end?" Nope. I'd be like, "release more Kontakt libraries, get some Battery packs out, Maschine, Maschine, Maschine! Repackage existing plugins! Make money now, we've got salaries to pay and lights to keep on!"

I was going to respond to 2 alone, until I read your ending paragraph (which said the same thing I Was about to suggest).

Right now is THE perfect time to abandon the current Kontakt as a legacy product. Whoever owns NI can develop a new Kontakt (Kontakt X? ) with a modernized GUI, designed for wide screen modern displays and larger controls/fonts.

That way, there is a break point where those reliant on Kontakt as it is today still have their tools and NI can build a better product for the future, without the weight of decades of old design.

Not needed. This is coming down the line



Being able to use Figma to create the UI to your instrument without scripting knowledge is a game changer. It also has C Major which is a DSP specific language and its a really compelling alternative for Kontakt for everybody, not just people who know how to script.

[Sascha Franck]

Not needed. This is coming down the line

Oh wow, this is all how Kontakt always wanted to be like but its developers didn't allow it to be.

[TS-12]

If Apple does buy it, they shouldn't be idiots this time and keep a Windows version going. They should have done that with Camel, but all they had at that point was Garageband. But now, they are flush with cash, so....

There's is 0 chance apple will allow future versions of NI plugins to run on windows if they buy them out

[Sascha Franck]

Now stop giving Apple ideas, will you?
I mean, I'm a Mac and Logic user, but the thought of them buying out yet some more companies in the creative sector is simply making me cringe. Not only because of the poor Windows fellows but also because these programs just don't profit from being in Apple's hands. Just look at the lastest Logic update, it's pretty much a joke. I'd rather have an x-platform DAW and pay for it in case it's properly supported (but no, I likely won't switch - for reasons, even if I would possibly like to).

[darkydisco]

If NI have a user base of a million+ can we crowdfund $250 a pop and appoint a kvr board of governors and a CEO of our choosing?