[SoulfulKeys]

On LinkedMusicians said

Germany’s insolvency process moves much more quickly than the US chapter 11 bankruptcy process. That means that the administrator needs to raise cash to pay of debts more quickly. My estimation — and this is a hot take — based on that and the fact that, as of 2023, NI’s debt was around 10x its revenue — is that it substantially raises the likelihood of NI’s crown jewel (most valuable asset), Kontakt, being sold to another company. I wouldn’t be worried about Kontakt ceasing to exist —  it’s worth far too much money and will raise more capital than any other product/subbrand that NI owns — so with such significant debt, it’s very likely that the administrator will decide to sell it off.

As far as recent acquisitions, we really don’t know enough about the mindset of the administrator, but I would imagine that he could view recent acquisitions that weren’t successfully integrated as easy choices to sell off and raise cash. He’s trying to ensure the continued operation of NI, the acquisitions were clearly not a success, but a significant part of what led to NI’s insolvency.  Imagine if Dirk Ulrich ended up buying back his former company for a lot less than he was paid for it. As a Plugin Alliance and Brainworx customer, I would be very good with that situation.

The official LinkedMusicians account

If they sell all of that off could you see NI making any kind of comeback? What is NI without Kontakt?

[SoulfulKeys]

I like a lot of their products but don’t buy often since they charge the same prices even when the products have aged. This is also a good example of why many of us are apprehensive about subscriptions.

[SoulfulKeys]

Is it just me or does it look like they jacked up the prices before giving this “discount”?

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[SoulfulKeys]

I like the new Sonar. I was able to use the full version being on the Beta team. The free tier is annoying and I’m concerned they’ll lock up more features without notice. I agree with Peter, there’s no way I can trust this company. The way they’ve introduced and rolled out the changes with Sonar has been abysmal. This raising of the price without notice comes across as extremely shady. I can understand not wanting to maintain CWBL but it’s a slap in the face to the people that have been loyal to CWBL and Bandlab. We’ll see what happens. They don’t really seem to care about the feedback.

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[SoulfulKeys]

Being a keyboard player I’m always trying new piano VSTs but I’m also really picky. Right now the only one I like is the C7 Grand by AcousticSamples. I use it 95% of the time.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 3 weeks ago by SoulfulKeys.

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[SoulfulKeys]

And they pulled out a couple features from the free tier without warning, most notably for me is workspaces. I’ve started DAW shipping again because I’m not sure how long the free tier will be of any great use.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 3 weeks ago by SoulfulKeys.

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[SoulfulKeys]

I get what you’re saying, and I’m not disagreeing with how they’ve positioned Next and Sonar, but that still leaves some pretty big holes in the overall strategy. If Next is supposed to be the next step for BandLab users, where do they go once they outgrow it? If there’s no higher-tier option in the ecosystem, you’re basically forcing people to jump ship to another DAW. That doesn’t line up with how smart BandLab’s been about keeping creators in their system.

And honestly, if Sonar was never meant to be part of that long-term plan, then what was the point of keeping it alive all these years and investing resources into it? That would be an odd move for a company that’s made such calculated decisions with BandLab’s growth. If they just wanted a new DAW like Next that could handle BandLab files, they could’ve built that from day one without dragging Sonar along for the ride.

I’m far from a marketing expert, but even I know if you’re trying to grab DAW market share, you’d never limit yourself to just Windows. That would be a rookie mistake. So it’s hard for me to believe BandLab would make a move that short-sighted when everything else they’ve done has been so strategic.

[SoulfulKeys]

On LinkedMusicians said

Also, @soulfulkeys, welcome to the forum! I’d love to know how you found LinkedMusicians. Were you researching Cakewalk Sonar and found this thread and registered or was it something else? It’s also valuable to learn how people found our community.

I’m the guy who started this place, but don’t worry, you never have to agree with me! My kids don’t and I adore them! As you can probably see, I enjoy analyzing and discussing this stuff the way some guys enjoy analyzing sports teams and athletes. I totally geek out on strategy and my publication was just my hobby outlet for my sharing my thoughts on marketing, branding, business strategy and business ethics that unintentionally went viral. I realize it looks less than modest to share my bio, but people here — with the exceptions of some real-life friends — don’t know that is my professional life (analyzing strategies and companies).

Thank you! I’ve been a long time Cakewalk forum lurker and discovered this sight when Larry left the deals forum there and showed up here. I’ve been using Cakewalk and Sonar for 20 years now. Started with Cakewalk Music Creator 2 when I was a poor high school student and eventually moved up to Sonar 8.5 and the X series. I’ve tried other DAWs but no switch yet.

 

The point I was trying to make about BandLab and Cakewalk is that you’re still looking at Sonar as a standalone product when you have to look at it as a feature. It’s like the air conditioning in a car, car manufacturers aren’t trying to sell you the AC separately, it’s a feature that makes the car more appealing to the buyer. Sonar is a feature BandLab uses to sell their Membership subscriptions, not the main product itself.

You also have to consider the demographic BandLab is aiming for. Their core audience is younger, often just getting into music production, and typically doesn’t have the budget for a $300 DAW, plugin bundles, and paid distribution services. The fact you can start making music on your phone for free with BandLab is a huge draw for that market.

Now, with Sonar added to the subscription, BandLab can say: for $14.95/month you get everything we’ve always offered plus a full-featured pro desktop DAW.
For their target demographic, that’s a perfect value proposition. Most of them probably have little or no experience with pro DAWs and wouldn’t realistically pay for something like Cubase, Logic, or Ableton even if they wanted to.

It’s not about Sonar dominating the DAW market again, it’s about keeping users inside BandLab’s ecosystem as they level up. It’s an ecosystem retention tool, not a standalone money-maker.

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[SoulfulKeys]

I don’t think BandLab was ever concerned with marketing or selling this as a separate product, hence no perpetual license. It’s all about completing their BandLab ecosystem so a user can now do everything, from creating to distribution, through them with just one payment. They’ve never pushed it as a separate product and even now don’t seem particularly concerned with going in that direction so they aren’t really losing anything. You’d have to analyze the effect this had on overall BandLab growth. Did adding a full featured DAW draw in more customers and subscriptions? I think they knew there was already way too much competition in the solo DAW market and were never trying to go that route.

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