Native Instruments file for insolvency...

[Sascha Franck]

Ok. NI needs to give a safe answer in the case things really go bad otherwise I will be very careful in buying future Kontakt Libraries.

Use what you have (it won't stop to work until you need to set up a new system or install a new OS version significantly different) and don't buy anything requiring NI products for the time being.

[Sascha Franck]

Fwiw, I actually think that people using sample libraries may even profit from all this in the long run.

It is now abundantly obvious that it's possibly not the best idea to bet all your money on a "standard" controlled by a company that could go down the shitter any day soon. So a little bit of "diversification" is possibly on order. Which is a good thing as the new sample library playback engines will have to compete with each other.

It'll also make users think twice whether they still like to get away with forced online activations - or whether they should rather ask the developers for alternative activation methods. Or rather: not just ask for other methods but demand them. Simply because this event is setting a precedent, as in that even a big player could just stumble and fall, so all of the possible statements along the lines of "if something like that happens, we'll sort you out" aren't worth the bytes used to write them.

[BJ]

I imagine NI, PA, and iZotope’s sales have dropped off a cliff.

Regular folks don't know this yet, hell I didn't even stumble upon this topic until yesterday.

[Stokely]

Good points above. I'm personally glad I held off on upgrading Komplete (the value was deemed not quite there, I was intending to do so maybe when they went to Komplete 16, no way I'd do it now no matter what happens).

I have a lot of Kontakt libraries but a fair number of non-Kontakt libraries as well from Orchestral Tools, East/West and others. The Kontakt libraries I'd miss the most by far are 3rd party ones, and those companies are the ones I figure might be in trouble from this (Heavyocity etc). Maybe not, I have no idea how easy it would be to "port" a library to some other player. I'd have to imagine they are having some discussions about this now, and probably have had them for years...I doubt any of them are naive enough to be completely surprised by this.

It will be interesting to see what happens. Some new standard (hopefully not driven by one company)? Lots of proprietary players (Sine, Opus, VSL's, etc)?

[IvyBirds]

I imagine NI, PA, and iZotope’s sales have dropped off a cliff.

No doubt

What NI needs right now more than anything is a rapid influx of cash from people buying expensive packages and suites. They are not going to get that business

NI needs cash and they need to trust of the general public who are potential customers to get it

Ultimately NI really needs to change the way authorization for their products works, so it's 100% off line. Then they need to very publicly indicate they have made that change and put out an honest video from someone at the very top about the changes they are making to instill trust in the company. A YouTube video that could be shared on various places would be ideal

What they don't need is the generic statements they have put out that sound like it's written by a lawyer that don't instill any confidence

[Sascha Franck]

Some new standard (hopefully not driven by one company)? Lots of proprietary players (Sine, Opus, VSL's, etc)?

I said so before, at least as long as it comes to any kind of a "typical" library sampling engine (as opposed to some more "creative" approaches directed at users willing to mangle samples themselves, such as, say, with Waves' CR8), I think it'd be the best idea if there was a kinda consortium with members of the various sample library developers taking care of that new "standard".
It should still allow them to bring in their custom controls, UIs (and maybe features which are driven by whatever embedded scripting language), but in general, all sample libraries would work with the same core engine.
Pretty much as is the case with Kontakt right now, but the main differences ideally being:
- Library creators decide which features would be added to the core engine, not one single company driven purely by their shareholder's interests. Ideally this would result in less bloat.
- Offline activation without any exceptions.
- Compatibility for the (un-)foreseeable future - as there'd be more shoulders carrying the responsibility of maintaining the core engine. Which, in the end, is in the library makers and customers interest.
- No library developer would have to pay licence fees per each sold library to NI anymore.

[vertibration]

I imagine NI, PA, and iZotope’s sales have dropped off a cliff.

No doubt

What NI needs right now more than anything is a rapid influx of cash from people buying expensive packages and suites. They are not going to get that business

NI needs cash and they need to trust of the general public who are potential customers to get it

Ultimately NI really needs to change the way authorization for their products works, so it's 100% off line. Then they need to very publicly indicate they have made that change and put out an honest video from someone at the very top about the changes they are making to instill trust in the company. A YouTube video that could be shared on various places would be ideal

What they don't need is the generic statements they have put out that sound like it's written by a lawyer that don't instill any confidence

They need to go on KVR right now, read the comments, and implement all of these exceptional business ideas to save the company

[conundrum]

You scoff, but if they had cared what their userbase thought, it probably wouldn’t be as big of a
mess as it is.

[jancivil]

NI really needs to change the way authorization for their products works, so it's 100% off line.

The importance of this in this market is probably negligible, a pet issue of a tiny minority.

[jancivil]

I have no idea how easy it would be to "port" a library to some other player.

Yeah, you don't. A new standard that will support libraries built to exploit Kontakt's features is a contradiction in terms.

Even if the idea is purely to streamline it, too many things will be broken. Start pulling on threads and it unravels.

[sellyoursoul]

NI really needs to change the way authorization for their products works, so it's 100% off line.

The importance of this in this market is probably negligible, a pet issue of a tiny minority.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. There is a major buzz of concern and uncertainty right now on the future of NI. And the recent statement put out by NI mentioning to expect delays from support right now can't be about new sales. If I had to guess, it's related to license transfers, but I have no evidence of that.

[Sascha Franck]

The importance of this in this market is probably negligible, a pet issue of a tiny minority.

Right now: Likely.

But should NI really vanish from earth without a solution in place, that'd become something fundamentally different. People would all of a sudden become aware how a large part of their stuff depends on a) one single company and b) their authorisation scheme.

[jancivil]

[...] I will be very careful in buying future Kontakt Libraries.

Use what you have (it won't stop to work until you need to set up a new system or install a new OS version significantly different) and don't buy anything requiring NI products for the time being.

I'm already planning on my two main machines to stay offline once there are no more security updates for OS15. Upgrading the rest of my VSL means an enormous expenditure even given the break most of it qualifies for. I don't know to what extent this legacy player will work under "OS 26". I have another computer for the internet.

[vertibration]

I work for a music retailer, and the majority of people buying gear, are not on KVR. Most folks are new to music production, and those that are professional, could care less about this and that. What is the majority of customers? KVR? or everyone else?

[jamcat]

I see a bunch of Brainworx plugins have been updated with these changes in common:

- General: Changed audio behavior for unlicensed plugins
- General: Added usage data tracking