NI Insolvency

[Oli Ullmann]

That's crazy! Do you think it's because of the poor global economy and music software isn't as profitable a business as it used to be, or do you think NI made economic mistakes?

What does this mean for our future as audio software developers? Is the market dead? Or does the disappearance of such a major competitor present opportunities?

[David Healey]

@Oli-Ullmann It's because they were bought by a private equity firm and this is exactly what such companies do, after a few years if they can't increase the profits as much as they would like, they exit.

[Oli Ullmann]

@David-Healey
Okay, I didn't know that. Given the size of the company, I still find it alarming that it immediately went bankrupt.

[Christoph Hart]

@Oli-Ullmann said in NI Insolvency:

Given the size of the company, I still find it alarming that it immediately went bankrupt.

Wasn't immediately, that buy-out happened a few years ago. Enough time to squeeze out the value for shareholders apparently.

[Oli Ullmann]

@Christoph-Hart
Yes... I just read that Francisco Partners is still the majority shareholder. Let's see how this develops. Kontakt will probably not disappear, but many developers are certainly looking for an alternative, which will definitely be a good thing for the HISE ecosystem.

[David Healey]

@Oli-Ullmann said in NI Insolvency:

will definitely be a good thing for the HISE ecosystem.

Not necessarily

[dannytaurus]

@David-Healey Large influx of "how the do I get started" forum posts?

[Oli Ullmann]

@David-Healey said in NI Insolvency:

Not necessarily

Why?

[David Healey]

@Oli-Ullmann More people using HISE doesn't mean it will be improved in any significant way - unless they also happen to be C++ developers.

[Oli Ullmann]

@David-Healey
Ah, okay, that's not what I meant. I meant that it will definitely be good for Christoph. I think that the bankruptcy will create uncertainty among library manufacturers. Some large manufacturers, such as Spitfire, already have their own engine, which smaller manufacturers cannot implement so easily. And HISE is a great alternative, which I think is better than other engines, such as the Gorilla Engine. That, in turn, will be good for HISE developers.

As a musician, I find NI's bankruptcy unfortunate and alarming, but I also think it creates opportunities.

[Lindon]

@Oli-Ullmann yes I must admit I've been getting a few more calls this month than I might have expected....all looking for an alternative Sample engine to Kontakt...but as Dave says we may be flooded for a while with KSP developers....expecting to turn it round in less than 6 months....they will need a LOT of hand holding...

[Oli Ullmann]

@Lindon
There was already dissatisfaction among library manufacturers before the bankruptcy. Some time ago, I recommended HISE to a well-known manufacturer, and as far as I know, this led to a collaboration with Christoph. I think this trend will now become even more pronounced. But let's wait and see... :-)

[Phelan Kane]

Been chatting to current and ex NI employee mates about the state of them for years. Since the CI and the racist marketing scandal its been a bit toxic. A few years ago a mate working for them on the stand at Superbooth here in Berlin said the CEO was fired after not making enough shareholder dividends. Think he only been there for a short time. The CI thing kinda fucked it. Has been a sinking ship for a few years. Same thing kinda happened to Digidesign / Avid years ago. At least Yamaha didnt screw Steinberg that badly. Ableton had loads of problems recently. There was a corporate restructure of the entire business due to liquidity issues post pandemic. A lot of the senior team at Ableton fled shortly after, many to L'Acosutics. Mind you Dirk Ulrich from Plug-in Alliance and Brainworkz seems to do well out of the NI CI thing. He recently brought Manley Labs. However clunky Kontakt is / was the engine was still well engineered. Timur Doumler played a large pat in that I believe, then he left to join the JUCE team at ROLI.

DE insolvency law is complicated. One of the DE audio colleges I freelanced at for years went down two years ago. If there is asset sell off its controlled by the government appointment lawyers. The NI board dont get much say. I guess the 3rd party lib devs will pull their IP out. Absynth 6 is fairly new so I guess as it was a dev partnership with Brian Clevinger may he can salvage his IP.

Not good news for audio industry the week of NAMM but I guess we might expect an upsurge in devs flipping to HISE.

P

[Felix W]

With the development of AI music, simple needs will no longer require music producers, leading to a significant number of music producers leaving the field. This indirectly reduces demand in the audio development sector, making it even more difficult for the already low-demand audio hardware and software industry to survive.