Can’t even remember the last time I used any of my NI plugins, I’ve got my Maschine up for sale on Craigslist and Traktor which I usually DJ with seems all but forgotten besides the terrible subscription FX idea… the company has lost direction since the acquisition, I fear it’s spiraling out of business unless they bring out some major updates or a new product.
Can’t wait for another “cinematic pulse engine” revolutionnary plugin ! 
More seriously, I have several PA plugins from different brands,Neutron, it would be a shame if they need to phone home regularly as recent NI stuffs tend to do recently…( maybe they are already doing this and I never noticed ? )
Big unified installers/apps etc means prodcuts will be affected globally by marketing department decisions which are rarely beneficial to the consumers…
You’re missing huge market of sample-based libraries. Kontakt is the industry standard now.
Some large companies moving from Kontakt to to their own solutions, but smaller companies can’t afford that and have to use Kontakt as a platform. Unfortunately, UVI Falcon and Steinberg Halion aren’t so popular among users.
NI gets fee for every licensed Kontakt library. It’s much safer strategy for their owner than investing to something new.
Wouldn’t it be great If they implement all bx and neutron and ozone plugins into a new, updated, improved, better, maschine+?
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Any more speculations? 
yeh, they might spend 10% of their brand graphic design budget on updating some of their hardware to something decent.
The first part is about data, and the second about speculation (link points to the beginning of the NI part at 2:58):
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not just music production (private equity will gut everything eventually)
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Yeah I mean, this is of course the behind the scenes stuff that we don’t necessarily see. The key question is likely to be whether NI is able to take the “mothership” role and run it for the VC firm. If you look at business in general, VC tends to work when the folks who know the business are (mainly) left to do their thing creatively, while the VC firm keeps the actual business in check. But when brand and operational decisions are taken out of their hands, then it starts to go south.
I’m interested in the idea that he talks about re: buying Spitfire (remembering that Spitfire broke away from Kontakt to build their own thing). I’d have imagined they’d go closer to home and buy Output who already have ties in with NI, they have a subscription service that some NI products could be ported to, and they also have an eye for GUI design too (hell they even have a slick product portal that could effectively become Native Access 3.) Benn talks about the future of sampled instruments and I’ve often wondered if Arcade is effectively Komplete but for the modern age. It’s not as deep or detailed, so probably this would alienate the composer crowd - but it’s nicely tuned to the needs of a modern hobbyist producer. And it could also be a good way to let users try NI stuff without hard drive stuffing.
Actually all this relates somewhat to what @NoiseLab asked earlier; where we talked about why I thought certain products in the lineup of Izotope would disappear. The approach in the Benn Jordan video kinda alludes to part of the answer because the goal of most brand mergers is to keep customers while producing less stuff (and to be fair, this can actually be a positive thing if a company has too many overlapping products.) This video pairs well with Benn’s video with a similar take on why mergers tend to mean the end of well liked software products.
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They totally killed a fine music community (metapop).
mimimi!
Somewhat under the radar, they have also closed their Splice competitor Sounds.com recently and fairly abruptly.
After serato and pioneer fusion, i find that tracktor Kontrol s4 even more appealing, it can also support their stems format, which is artefact free, open to anyone… also tracktor standard isnt as crippeld as other sw in respect of recording a mix etc. Izotope integration is also a nice thing.
I havent used Komplete 14 much either, some fx are very good tho, phasis/driver etc.
I could write a humungous review of Komplete so far. And I will say it’s not without its drawbacks. You can get better versions of everything in Komplete, but it will cost. I’m not sure if this was a calculated move, or one to show off what was then the Soundwide group. But the inclusion of Ozone takes Komplete from a pretty good deal to a ridiculous deal if you’re buying Standard. From what I can see, Ozone Standard is theoretically $124 on sale in summer. Komplete Standard retails (in the same sale) for around $300. So you’re either getting Ozone for pennies, or all the included NI stuff for much the same.
Naturally, the “price” you pay is the techncial limitations inherent in NI’s ecosystem, that other software manufacturers aren’t hobbled by. The fact that they’re going to try and integrate Izotope & PA over the next few years will be choppy no doubt. But they are starting to deliver some updates. Kontakt is now resizable (Hallelujah!) If they can complete the deal by updating Komplete Kontrol and make Native Access more modern (eg: simple install/uninstall) then those would be fairly big upgrades.
The bundle approach feels kinda old school, but I like it. What I especially like is the way the instruments kinda force you to dig around for sounds when you need a little something in a tune. I’ve ended up using Deft Lines a fair few times (a drill sampled instrument library) even though I have absolutely zero interest in that genre and would never buy a sample library for that kind of music.
I guess what I’m finding is that there are naturally some best in class things you cannot get within Komplete. But for the price especially if starting out, there’s enough of everything to make it worthwhile. Want soundtoys? You already got Guitar Rig. Want V Collection? You got Oberhausen, Super 8, Monark & Retro Machines. I assume I will eat my words and get burned technically at some stage, but even then, so far as a first big bundle it’s hard to pass over even with its current quirks and tech issues.
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It is a very big bundle and all the NI Stuff is pretty good, but I just never seem to end up using it! It would be great for someone starting out or needing a bit of everything but I suspect most people end up buying the tools that work for them and generally these don’t end up being all from one company.
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Izotope has released Music Production Suite 6. What’s interesting is the way the products are currently bundled and cross sold and also the time spaces between releases. I have heard many people saying the upgrade has come too soon. Izotope Ozone 10 was not released that long ago. And Guitar Rig 6 took 10 years to make, while 7 has come out 3 years afterwards, and seems to be a minor upgrade. Could NI move to a yearly numbered upgrade for all products?
Normally, I’d expect Komplete 15 to come out in September 2024. But the problem with that is anyone buying Komplete today is getting Ozone 10 - which is now old news. And who knows, by the time Komplete 15 comes out, it would surely be bundled with Ozone 12. NI will have to decide whether to leave all Komplete users with a copy of Ozone 10, or give new users Ozone 11 (but face the backlash of those who already bought.)
I notice that NI now has a sub offer with all its businesses. You’ve got Komplete Now, Production Suite Pro and MEGA. I know that no-one will subscribe to all their offerings, but if you take out a sub to all their stuff, it’s a minimum of $540 per year. Bearing in mind Komplete Standard is $299 on sale and lasts 2 years, it makes that sub seem quite expensive. I also think wonder if people might get a sense of upgrade fatigue? I enjoy getting my hands on new bundles from time to time, but that amount of updates to something like mastering software (where I assume you’d want stability) could that make people jump ship?
To be fair to NI, they’re not alone here. The Arturia bundles update every 18 months, so you’re never far from a numbered upgrade there either. Putting to one side their abandonment of certain synths, I still think Komplete is a cracking bundle, when you factor in the amout of stuff you get in the sampling department (I make it 12k one shots alone in Standard). But could the sub model bite? Or will folks get used to ignoring the updates (as I will do with Ozone 11) and only crack the wallet out when they cave and give you an offer you can’t refuse?
I guess there’s pros and cons to where this might go.
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I think I’m still on Komplete 9 ultimate which was a cross grade from having Maschine. I’ve never seen anything worth it for me to upgrade Komplete versions. The ozone stuff maybe but i got that as the separate bundle through NI rather than as a Komplete upgrade.
I less want newer versions of the stuff I have, more interested if they added completely new stuff (not saying they don’t, just none that have grabbed me).
I’d like to reiterate that I’d love a Maschine+ Keys
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SynthAnatomy did a provocative and wildly speculative article on having a NI Kontakt Standalone Sampler Keyboard. They are taking the recent MK3 announcement, and extrapolating. It’s definitely speculation, but i like the idea. It would be a great product, and it definitely fits into this thread.
The large color screen would definitely support this, and the electronic technology available now, would make this very doable, and it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.
What do you think ? Would you go for this sort of sampler keyboard, especially with all the great sounds available with Kontakt ??
Maybe it’s a dream, but dream on.
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Lol. That’s clearly not gonna happen.