Phil O'Keefe Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 http://www.harmonycentral.com/news/s...-software-gmbh Kind of big news... at least for folks like me who use Vegas and Sound Forge semi-regularly. I wonder why they decided to get out of the creative content generation software market? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rikv Posted June 23, 2016 Members Share Posted June 23, 2016 As is read somewhere.. Vegas software is build on older softwarestructures (or something like that), which isn't sufficient anymore nowadays. That's why they build a new videosoftware from scratch (Catalyst).Which is also a paying-subscription based software (like CS from Adobe is nowadays) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 I'm not sure if Vegas was built on old code or not, but it's certainly possible. Vegas, like Pro Tools, Sonar, DP and most DAW applications, has been around for years, but Sony was pretty darned good about upgrading it regularly. As far as going to a subscription based sales model, Sonar did so a while back, as did Pro Tools - both with updated versions of the same software. I was just surprised at Sony's move, and I'm still not sure what prompted them to sell those assets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted June 24, 2016 CMS Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 I was just surprised at Sony's move, and I'm still not sure what prompted them to sell those assets. I suspect that it was just that they wanted to get out of the cheap software business. I'm pretty sure that they bought the Sonic Foundry primarily to get Vegas. That was in the early days of home video, and Sony was active in that business. They used to have a big Sony Sofware Users Group party at NAB shows with flashy videos, talks by the producers, big giveaways, and tables full of sushi. But there just isn't a lot of money in selling the software any more, and Sony Professional is directing their resources to high end pro video and audio and leaving the hobbyists to their consumer products division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 That could be Mike, but Vegas is still a powerhouse with pro-level features. I guess though that if they were going to get rid of the consumer side of the software business that would mean getting rid of Vegas too since the same software development team was probably coding both. Just an assumption on my part... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted June 24, 2016 CMS Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 That could be Mike' date=' but Vegas is still a powerhouse with pro-level features. I guess though that if they were going to get rid of the consumer side of the software business that would mean getting rid of Vegas too since the same software development team was probably coding both. Just an assumption on my part...[/quote'] I think that Vegas wa really the most saleable product that Sony had, though Magix has some video production software about which I know nothing. Craig used to be high on Acid (the Sony kind) but I think there are other programs now that do what most people were doing with Acid. Magix has Samplitude and Sequoia, though Sound Forge is bound to be of some use to them to fill in the low end of the audio editing line - more advanced than their Music Studio, and the cheap Sound Forge is a fine straightforward editing and "in home mastering" tool. Spectral Layers is too difficult for anyone but the most dedicated to use, which might fit with some Magix customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted June 28, 2016 Members Share Posted June 28, 2016 As far as going to a subscription based sales model' date=' Sonar did so a while back, as did Pro Tools - both with updated versions of the same software.[/quote'] Phil, SONAR's "membership" program is not at all like Avid's for Pro Tools...for starters, once you've paid for the software - either upfront, or by paying 12 consecutive months as part of what is basically a payment plan - the software doesn't expire. Renewing a membership is completely optional; SONAR will lose no capabilities over time, other than perhaps fall out of sync with computer operating systems. With "the Adobe model," you're basically renting the software and once you stop paying, there's nothing you can do with your projects. That's very different from SONAR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted June 28, 2016 Members Share Posted June 28, 2016 As to Sony, Acid was brilliant buy Sony basically ceded that territory to Ableton, FL Studio, and others (as well as SONAR, which is the only program other than Acid that can create and edit Acid format files). Sony also did really well with loop content for a while, but with Acid fading, the loops - while still compatible with many other programs - became less relevant. Sound Forge was big at one time but didn't keep up with Wavelab, and Audacity cut into the "I only need something simple" market; besides, sales of editing programs are minuscule compared to DAWs and virtual instruments. Vegas was their "big product." Although known mostly to people like us for Sequoia and Samplitude, Magix is big on consumer products, including loop libraries. Getting all the Sony libraries will help their cause, and I'm sure there are enough goodies in Vegas, Acid, and Sound Forge to juice up their existing CE product lines although it seems they also want to keep the titles alive on their own for the pro/semipro market. Ultimately, I think Sony just didn't know what to do with Sonic Foundry and software. They're not really in that business. Perhaps when they bought Sonic Foundry they thought it would be a turnkey entrance into that business, without realizing how competitive and fast-moving the field is. It's necessary to put a lot of effort into ongoing development, and furthermore, a software-only business model is always vulnerable to software theft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bookumdano4 Posted June 29, 2016 Members Share Posted June 29, 2016 Good, Sony realized software-only is a dead-end street. Time to bring back the JH24 configured for that fancy 185tb blank tape spool that Sony recently developed. For $399 of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted June 30, 2016 Members Share Posted June 30, 2016 Sounds like Sony wants to hang on to the high end broadcasting stuff and get out of the end user market. I'm sure they simply did what most major corporations do. They looked at their profit and loss statement, weighed what it would cost to make these smaller operations profitable, and speculated on future growth and did some trimming. It does make sense. The DAW audio/video market is saturated with relatively good software manufacturers, and given the fact, so many studios have lost business for any number of reasons, it likely made sense for Sony to sell off those assets while they are still generating a profit. It may be a sign the Company is predicting rough weather ahead or possibly something new on the horizon. I know Japans stock market is in really bad shape right now, especially with the Euro thing going on. I don't doubt that may be a reason for them to batten down the hatches and trim off all the assets that have weak profit predictions. Its also good for the company buying the software. They are a much smaller company which can maneuver themselves to short term market changes and keep the software relevant to buyers without having to deal with the bureaucracy, politics, and overhead a large company has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted June 30, 2016 CMS Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Hot off the press: Vegas Pro Version 13 is $199.95 (officially $599.95) through the end of July, with a free upgrade to Version 14 due in September. So, apparently Magix is agressively marketing Vegas as a flagship product. http://tinyurl.com/zlua78l Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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