Native Instruments CEO responds to insolvency proceedings

Following the news of Native Instruments going into preliminary insolvency proceedings, the brand’s CEO, Nick Williams, has issued an update via NI’s blog page. He assures the community of creators, customers and partners that it’s “business as usual at Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx.”

Since the news spread, the internet has been rife with predictions on which company will acquire NI — InMusic, Splice, and Fender are among the many brand names that have been suggested as potential buyers. Meanwhile, many posts criticising and mourning NI are circulating, with one YouTuber even citing the news as “the upcoming collapse of the music industry”.

Williams suggests that such speculation is premature, saying that the company is “working diligently and responsibly to secure a healthy, financially sustainable future for Native Instruments.” He adds that the Native Instruments brands are also “continuing to develop and launch new products and features. Our NKS Partnerships team continues to process Kontakt Player licences and NKS Partner submissionss.”

Read the full statement below.

“I want to personally take a moment to address the recent news about Native Instruments.

“Please rest assured that business continues as usual at Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx. Our hardware and software products remain on sale and available for download and activation. Our passionate and dedicated teams are here and supporting customers as normal. In product and engineering, we are continuing to develop and launch new products and features. Our NKS Partnerships team continues to process Kontakt Player licences and NKS Partner submissions.

“We are working diligently and responsibly to secure a healthy, financially sustainable future for Native Instruments. As you may have seen, Native Instruments GmbH has entered a restructuring process in Germany, as have 3 of our German non-operating holding companies. In legal terms, we have filed applications to open pre-insolvency proceedings for those companies.

“We are focused on providing continuity for creators, customers, and partners. We’ll continue to share updates as we have them.

“I’m a lifelong musician myself, and have been a passionate fan of Native Instruments for 25 years. Our mission to inspire and enable creators to express themselves through sound continues.”

Keep up with more music production industry news. 

Sam is the Commissioning Editor at MusicTech, where he’s helped shape the publication’s editorial voice since 2019. With nearly two decades of music-making and a degree in music technology behind him, his focus is on the stories behind studio gear and the artists who use it. He’s spent way too much time sampling disco records.