Get an Extra 5% Off Komplete w/Code +FREE GIFT +BestCoin

[LinkedMusicians]

Get an extra 5% off instantly: Just enter promo-code KOMPLETE at checkout. Valid through May 12 – including upgrades, crossgrades, and updates from €/$149.

https://www.bestservice.com/en/native_instruments.html?aid=ZBgL2roqVxRSujmR

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[Yan]

5% instantly, but no Best Coins

[fretman]

I’ll prob wait until BF or if they have their usual summer sale.

Studio One, Windows, RME UFX, Yamaha MSP7

[GoncaloL]

I would say that the Summer of Sound sale is gone for good, based on the fact that changing the name to Komplete 26 implies that it will now be updated annually (leaving no time for 50% deep discounts), and that they lowered the upgrade price by $100.

Maybe there will still be some kind of discount on Black Friday, though.

[LinkedMusicians]

Well, now that inMusic has acquired all of NI, it’s now incredibly safer to buy Komplete, which, as I stated before, is a product I use and love.

As I’ve shared my background, which includes serving as a Fortune 500 business strategist, I thought this is the perfect story for me to add some value to the community and wrote a blog post that breaks down what this acquisition of NI means and could mean for the company, its products, NI employees and for us (customers).

Native Instruments Beyond Insolvency: The Good and the Uncertain

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[LinkedMusicians]

 

On GoncaloL said

I would say that the Summer of Sound sale is gone for good, based on the fact that changing the name to Komplete 26 implies that it will now be updated annually (leaving no time for 50% deep discounts), and that they lowered the upgrade price by $100.

Maybe there will still be some kind of discount on Black Friday, though.

Looking at InMusic’s history that may be true. However, considering how effective NI had been at doing its periodic Summer of Sound sales, my guess is that they’ll keep it. Why? They’re looking to bring in revenue and that schedule will give them a nice infusion of cash that offers what every software company wants: predictability. I think, strategically, it would be a bad idea to end that rhythm when the  know that their customrs pull out their wallets — and purses — like clockwork every summer.  Of course, they might. They’ve made plenty of choices I never would.

What inMusic has historically done are tactics like flash sales, bundling software with hardware, But I’m going to put my money on the Summer of Sound continuing because it’s proven and extremely reliable cash flow. And if we judge by inMusic’s track record, they’ll deep discount older products. 70% discounts on older products wouldn’t be a surprise when they’re trying to clear out the “virtual shelf” to make room for the new stuff they want to bundle with their hardware.

Your favorite gear could likely get a lot cheaper if you’re patient (well, if you don’t live in the US and see the product you want get hit with a new tariff). I don’t think they’ll do that with Komplete. My instincts are that they”ll stick to the seasonal 50% off discounts because it has  an excellent track record. But again, those are just my instincts.

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[GoncaloL]

I don’t know how they would pull that off timeline-wise with a yearly revision, and they are clearly changing things (hence the $100 reduction in upgrade pricing at launch)

[LinkedMusicians]

On GoncaloL said

I don’t know how they would pull that off timeline-wise with a yearly revision, and they are clearly changing things (hence the $100 reduction in upgrade pricing at launch)

Because they realize that the changes and uncertainty slow consumers from buying. It’s much harder to get people to buy during the insolvency and now, after the acquisition, there’s still going to be hesitation, so many retail brands will use extra incentives and inMusic has a long history of using major incentives and doing major deep discounting to the point where it would be no surprise to see better discounts become a regular thing. I wasn’t impressed by the marketing execution of the renaming. However, I think it makes sense and may result in more buyers doing annual updates. But the reliability of those seasonal sales — especially the Summer of Sound– is the next best thing to a subscription for a software developer. My money is on inMusic keeping it going.

FTR, on CF when Waves announced that they were going subscription only, I at first posted that I give them one month before they add back a perpetual license option and later revised my guess to 2 or 3 months. Of course, they changed course in days. But I was literally trolled — mocked by a forum member (one of the the usual suspects) as a know nothing marketing guy. I’m not as confident in this case, but I would give it an 75% probability of happening.

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[GoncaloL]

Hope you’re right 😉

1

[LinkedMusicians]

On GoncaloL said

Hope you’re right 😉

Me too! 🙂

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[doug]

Did you read some place that Komplete is changing to a yearly release cycle? To me, changing the name to include a release year does not necessitate a yearly release. Look at Windows 98. No 99, but there was a Windows 2000.

This would be a clever signature if I could think of one.

[LinkedMusicians]

On doug said

Did you read some place that Komplete is changing to a yearly release cycle? To me, changing the name to include a release year does not necessitate a yearly release. Look at Windows 98. No 99, but there was a Windows 2000.

This would be a clever signature if I could think of one.

NI didn’t issue an official statement that they were changing the release schedule, but the signs certainly make that look like the case.. Here’s why I feel confident that NI, under inMusic is going to shift to an annual release scale and is, in effect, turning Komplete into a soft subscription model for those who want to stay current?  While the update price is lower, paying $149–$399 every year rather than every two years represents a higher long-term cost for users and consequently more revenue for NI.

Now, I’ve estimated the probability that NI, under inMusic, will have a Summer of Sound sale at 75%, but let me clarify that I don’t think the probability of Komplete being part of that is 75%.  I would put the probability of Komplete being part of the Summer of Sound at 50% because NI just launched five days ago (May 5th), and software companies typically don’t offer deep discounts so close to a release and doing so could cause a backlash from those who recently bought the product soon after release.

But here’s why I think inMusic will have NI go on with the Summer of Sale,

• It creates immediate cash flow right after inMusic’s big spend.inMusic needs to demonstrate immediate liquidity to stakeholders. There is no faster way to generate eight figures in revenue than an SOS sale.
• It Breaks the Purchase Paralysis: Many potential buyers froze during the preliminary insolvency (Jan–April 2026). A dependable, massive sale is the most efficient way to signal “business as usual” and convince those hesitant customers to finally pull the trigger.
• The “Double Dip” Strategy. By moving to an annual release cycle with Komplete 26, they can offer the “50% off” discount every year instead of every two. This keeps the perceived value high (“I’m getting a deal!”) while doubling the actual annual revenue per power user.
• Centralized Efficiency: inMusic’s CEO Jack O’Donnell is known for centralizing engineering and marketing across brands (Akai, Moog, Alesis). Running a unified, predictable sale across the entire NI/iZotope/Plugin Alliance ecosystem reduces overhead and maximizes the marketing “blast radius.”
• Akai/MPC Integration: With the acquisition, we’re seeing deeper integration (like the new “MPC Editions” of NI sounds). An SOS sale is a perfect vehicle to cross-sell hardware to software users and vice versa.

If I were advising NI on strategy, I would recommend that they do the Summer of Sound sale and issue vouchers for those who purchased Komplete just  (usable for future expansions or individual plugins and have an expiration date to motivate purchases) so they don’t resent seeing the big sale so soon after their purchase.

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[GoncaloL]

“do the Summer of Sound sale and issue vouchers for those who purchased Komplete just  (usable for future expansions or individual plugins and have an expiration date to motivate purchases) so they don’t resent seeing the big sale so soon after their purchase.”

They would resent anyway as in the Summer Komplete 27 will be “just around the corner” and they will be getting those same products just a few months earlier.

what that would certainly do is grant them never to sell a full price Komplete license ever again as people will obviously wait just a couple a months to get it, as well as, left the early adopters feel really stupid

I would be really surprised if we see 50% off Komplete sale in this next Summer of Sound or even BF, but sure hope we’ll do

[LinkedMusicians]

On GoncaloL said

“do the Summer of Sound sale and issue vouchers for those who purchased Komplete just  (usable for future expansions or individual plugins and have an expiration date to motivate purchases) so they don’t resent seeing the big sale so soon after their purchase.”

They would resent anyway as in the Summer Komplete 27 will be “just around the corner” and they will be getting those same products just a few months earlier.

what that would certainly do is grant them never to sell a full price Komplete license ever again as people will obviously wait just a couple a months to get it, as well as, left the early adopters feel really stupid

I would be really surprised if we see 50% off Komplete sale in this next Summer of Sound or even BF, but sure hope we’ll do

Are you saying that you think that customers will resent the increased release frequency of Komplete?

While Komplete Collector’s Edition contains a lot of NI products, it still doesn’t include all of their products. Issuing customers who purchased any version of Komplete a voucher good on expansions or plugins lets them purchase products NOT INCLUDED in the Komplete bundles and not included in the bundle level they purchased. For example, they maybe have purchased Komplete Standard and only want one product that is only included with CE, so they use the voucher towards that purchase. This approach is great for the brand because it (1) keeps the customer from feeling regret for their purchase by rewarding them plus (2), it motivates an additional purchase.

I’m not sure I follow your case for writing “that would certainly do is grant them never to sell a full price Komplete license ever again as people will obviously wait just a couple a months to get it, as well as, left the early adopters feel really stupid.” NI has historically had annual SOS sales. It certainly has resulted in consumers aligning their purchasing around those sales already. But the voucher design I already outlined would keep any “early adopters” from feeling remorse, in fact, they would feel a sense that the company had their backs.

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[GoncaloL]

They usually do 50% off around 8–9 months after release. This would imply a change to just 1–2 months right after release, since Summer of Sound normally happens in May/June. We’ll find out soon 😉

[LinkedMusicians]

I took a lot of criticism for posting that Waves would quickly make a U-turn on their subscription-only policy in 2023. I made this post on the Cakewalk Forum the day Waves made their announcement. I’m not as confident about my inMusic prediction, but I do enjoy making a prediction and seeing how things go. Here’s part of my past track record:

….My guess is that Waves move to subscription only will be short lived, and hopefully,  before our plugins stop working,  they’ll switch back to subscription and perpetual licenses…

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