Berlin-based Native Instruments, the company behind Traktor DJ software, has been bought by US music tech firm inMusic. The deal brings Traktor under the same roof as Akai Professional, Denon DJ, Numark, Rane, M-Audio and Moog Music, and also includes Native Instruments’ Kontakt sampler platform and the iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx production tools. The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to customary closing conditions.
For Traktor users, this is the most consequential news the platform has had in years. We’ve reported previously on Native Instruments’ business difficulties, and Traktor has fallen behind Rekordbox and Serato in features and active user base over the past decade.
What this means for Traktor
Worried Traktor users will be looking for reassurance, and inMusic CEO Jack O’Donnell has tried to provide some. “The tools you rely on today will keep working, and the tools you will rely on tomorrow are actively being built,” he said in a statement to creators and partners, promising “continued investment across all brands and product lines”.
I spoke to Jack Hill at inMusic within the last hour, and he told me that, from inMusic’s point of view, having a mature, respected DJ software platform to pair with their controllers is an exciting prospect. That makes sense: inMusic owns Numark, Rane and Denon DJ, none of which currently ship with a flagship in-house DJ software platform.
First thoughts
I think this news will be greeted with a mix of optimism and concern. inMusic has a track record of acquiring brands and developing them, but it has also retired products it inherited – I’m thinking of Torq, the M-Audio DJ software platform, which didn’t survive its acquisition. That’s worth remembering.
That said, Traktor has hardly been well looked after recently anyway, and inMusic may well genuinely want a serious DJ software platform for its DJ hardware as an option. This could be the shot in the arm Traktor needs. We’ll keep you posted as integration plans are announced.
Phil Morse
