Native Instruments acquired by InMusic

[Guy Rowland]

From NI CEO Nick Williams:

To our friends, artists, partners, collaborators, and community:

After three months of hard work, and three months of extraordinary loyalty from you, I am pleased to share that a definitive agreement has now been signed for Native Instruments to be acquired by inMusic.

Two iconic music technology companies, with decades of shared respect for this industry and the people who make music in it, are coming together to build something greater than either could alone. Our NKS hardware and MPC Editions collaboration last year was the beginning of this story. Today, we look ahead to a common future.

inMusic has spent three decades building and growing the brands that creators rely on every day — Akai Professional, Moog Music, Denon DJ, Numark, Rane, M-Audio and more. They understand what it means to build tools that musicians love. And they understand what Native Instruments means to our customers and community.

What this means for our community
The products, platforms, and brands you rely on continue. Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, Brainworx — all of it continues. Our teams continue to build, ship, and support every day.

What happens next
We are working towards the transaction completing in the coming weeks. Between now and then the business continues to operate normally, and we will share more about the integration as we have it.

As Jack O’Donnell, CEO of inMusic, put it: “Our commitment is simple: continued investment across all brands and product lines, and a long-term focus on innovation that serves creators at every level. The tools you rely on today will keep working, and the tools you will rely on tomorrow are actively being built.”

This is the fresh start we have been working toward. Thirty years of building tools for creators, and now a new chapter with a strong partner who has spent just as long dedicated to this industry.

The loyalty you have shown us through one of the most challenging periods in Native Instruments’ history is something we will not forget. From the partners who supported us, to the artists who kept creating, to the customers who kept showing up — thank you so much.

This moment belongs to all of you as much as it does to us. Thank you for standing with us.

Nick

https://blog.native-instruments.com/an- ... -williams/

[wst3]

I would love to be enthusiastic and optimistic about this. I do believe that Kontakt, at a minimum, will survive. Will it be reduced to a bargain basement tool? I hope not. The rest of the NI catalog is iffy. The first things to go may well be their libraries, especially the higher end stuff. The hardware will also survive, I think, although it may be re-branded, or folded into the M-Audio line?

I don't think the sky is falling for those of us that make use of Kontakt, but watch closely because it may be time to find alternatives to some of their libraries. Or Not?

[Guy Rowland]

I would love to be enthusiastic and optimistic about this. I do believe that Kontakt, at a minimum, will survive. Will it be reduced to a bargain basement tool? I hope not. The rest of the NI catalog is iffy. The first things to go may well be their libraries, especially the higher end stuff. The hardware will also survive, I think, although it may be re-branded, or folded into the M-Audio line?

I don't think the sky is falling for those of us that make use of Kontakt, but watch closely because it may be time to find alternatives to some of their libraries. Or Not?

I don't see any reason why they would stop anything that currently exists library-wise. Those are assets, they cost peanuts to keep going.

I've read a few doom-mongers, but others saying that although there have been layoffs (at Moog for one), their existing companies are doing okay broadly. I presume they will consolidate things heavily on the DJing side of things as there is quite a lot of duplication there. But there's little overlap as far as I can see in the nuts-and-bolts music-making.

[Geoff Grace]

I think of InMusic as hospice care for companies that would have otherwise died, so I’d rather see Native Instruments acquired by InMusic than close doors.

I expect to see some future product development, perhaps even ongoing product development; but Native Instruments’ days of being an industry leader are almost certainly behind them.

Best,

Geoff

[wst3]

I don't see any reason why they would stop anything that currently exists library-wise. Those are assets, they cost peanuts to keep going.

They have never really stopped anything, but they have condensed, simplified, and otherwise mucked around with assets. Give the breadth of the entire NI catalog, and especially considering Plugin-Alliance and iZotope, I think it is inevitable.

I do hope I am wrong!

[wst3]

I think of InMusic as hospice care for companies that would have otherwise died,

Absolutely brilliant!

[Hywel]

I confess I haven’t read every word on the NI insolvency saga… but now that NI is taken on by InMusic what happens to the large debt that was laid at NIs door? If I had been an investor in this sorry tale what would be my chances to cover my losses? Asking out of interest and not as an investor fortunately.

[Guy Rowland]

I confess I haven’t read every word on the NI insolvency saga… but now that NI is taken on by InMusic what happens to the large debt that was laid at NIs door? If I had been an investor in this sorry tale what would be my chances to cover my losses? Asking out of interest and not as an investor fortunately.

I don't think anyone knows, Hywel.

As I understand it (and I'm well out of my comfort zone here, so definitely open to correction), deals are brokered and shareholders / banks agree to the best case they are gonna get. So some debt may have been wiped completely by this, or it may all have been absorbed by InMusic. We just don't know what happened here. Again, as I understand it, NI were doing just fine operationally, it's just the venture capitalists saddled them with debt. I have no idea how or why these things are legal, but apparently it's very common and all part of the magical wonder of capitalism.