Reply To: Native Instruments GmbH is in preliminary insolvency

[LinkedMusicians]

It is possible that Dr. Martini could sell off the crown jewel of NI. It would raise money. Now, just imagining that and potential buyers in the industry — and not an investment group — what are other players you would be interested in it going to? This is my hot take on potential places Kontakt could land if Martini decides to sell it off. (NI management doesn’t get to decide this with the German insolvency process.) Now this is pure speculation. Martini might be able to make enough from selling off other parts of the company from recent acquisitions so that he doesn’t have to sell the crown jewel. But let’s imagine that he sells Kontakt and it goes to a player in the industry. Which one do you think would make the most sense and where would you like to see it land and why?

COMPANIES WHERE KONTAKT MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT AND I WOULD  BE HAPPY TO SEE IT LAND

Fender – Kontakt may be a good fit for Kontakt with their software focus and pro DAW (Fender Studio Pro). I’d be good with this. Fender is certainly large enough to afford it.

Arturia – Kontakt could be a good fit. I own a number of Arturia plugins and preset banks and have had a good customer experience. I would be good with them owning Kontakt.

Yamaha – As they already own Steinberg, buying Kontakt would absorb their biggest rival and consolidate the market.

Universal Audio – I know some confidential things about UA’s own attempts with their sampler and I really respect the ethics of how they worked with partners. I own a lot of UA plugins and feel good about the company and they would likely maintain the perpetual license model. However, Universal Audio is a mid-size company and may not be able to afford Kontakt or want to take on the debt necessary to purchase it in the current economic environment.

Roland – With their shift towards software/hardware integration, Kontakt might make sense.

Ablleton – They don’t have a history of large acquisitions, but it might make sense.

COMPANIES I WOULD NOT WANT TO SEE OWN KONTAKT

Apple – I sure hope not. It would guarantee the subscription-only model for Kontakt was in the near future.

InMusic – They usually only buy dying brands and don’t invest enough to keep software state of the art. They have a terrible track record with their software acquisitions. My guess is that they don’t make acquisitions that would cost as much as they would need to shell out for this one.

BandLab – It would practically guarantee that Kontakt would go subscription-only. BandLab’s mismanagement of Cakewalk / Sonar is another reason for concern. I really don’t see Cakewalk Sonar having a very long life. However, even if Sonar is killed off in a year or so, Kontakt could make sense to help gain BandLab greater access into the pro market, which they clearly are interested in, but have so far not shown any skills in entering. Sonar is a less-than-halfhearted entry. It isn’t competitive. It’s ignored by influencers, developers, and magazine publishers. There could not be more signs that it’s a product failure. I suspect that in a year, either  BandLab will incorporate more Sonar features into NEXT or acquire a successful DAW with a solid user base.

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