Re: Emagic purchase
Re: Emagic purchase
- Subject: Re: Emagic purchase
- From: Gabriel Lawrence <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 01:48:01 -0700
Ben,
I have to say that I think that you're way off the mark on this one. Why
would Apple owning Emagic as a wholly owned subsidiary kill off audio
application development for OS X? Why should it cause you to alter your
startup company development plans? Do you think it's possible that you
might be overreacting?
Emagic has been developing audio hardware and software products for years
(focused primarily on mid to high-end users). On the software side Logic
competes mostly with Digital Performer and Cubase. On the hardware side
they've recently introduced some neat new USB audio I/O interfaces and
control surfaces which I hope will give Tascam and MOTU a run for the money.
As far as I know, Apple has no plans to give any of these products away or
bundle them with their system hardware or software. I'm guessing that they
will continue to sell Emagic products at roughly the same competitive price
points at which they're currently available. So why should you care if the
Emagic corporate profits ultimately go to current Emagic stockholders or
Apple stockholders? Neither scenario changes the competitive landscape.
FileMaker certainly didn't put any of the Apple database vendors out of
business. AppleWorks hasn't put integrated office software developers out
of business. I don't expect an Apple-branded Logic to kill off an important
market niche either.
Perhaps you should check your paranoia at the door and just let the Apple
employees on this message list continue to do a great job supporting audio
developers. If you need to vent, please find a suitably appropriate place
to do so. Using this message list as your personal political sounding board
is in poor taste.
=Gabe
--------------
>
I had actually planned on asking about if there was any unofficial line
>
Apple would not step over, as they're already making a soft synth (okay so
>
I haven't tried it), effects, an AudioUnit hosting app (which looks
>
like a primordial version of Spark) and have a sequencer API. I didn't
>
think it would do much good to ask, though, and I also didn't think Apple
>
was going to buy a company like Emagic. I thought maybe they'd buy Bias,
>
or just Peak, because it would give them a nice basis for both a consumer
>
recording app and a professional editing app. It also wouldn't step on
>
many toes - mainly just felttip software, whereas in buying Emagic they're
>
going to anger many audio software and hardware makers (Avid's twice
>
burned now). Even audio software manufacturers making different types of
>
products should become nervous as Apple is showing that they're willing to
>
pursue and overtake any product in the multimedia field. My guess is
>
they'll be offering pro synthesis software sometime in the future, given
>
the already-released audiounits and their hiring of James McCartney.
>
They'll also probably be building up a large arsenal of free AudioUnits,
>
taking away a lot of the consumer (and possibly pro) level plug-in market
>
on the Mac platform. In one act Apple has managed to make audio
>
development for OS X seem like a much less friendly market to companies
>
outside of Apple.
>
>
I've spent almost literally every spare moment in the last year and
>
a half working on Cocoa audio applications. Just this past weekend I got
>
multi-track multi-device multi-file (per device) playback and
>
visualization working. I'm probably one of the ones getting burned the
>
worst on this, having just formed an LLC around my software and planning
>
to quit my day job within the year to work full time on it. I will
>
continue following my current software and business plans for now, due to
>
the time invested but I will now be considering switching to Linux and
>
possibly Windows in the future. The CoreAudio APIs and OS X are great but
>
no matter how much I modify my software - whether moving to a synthesis
>
application, advanced audio modelling, professional plug-ins, or something
>
completely original - I'll always be waiting to hear another announcement
>
about new Apple audio software, waiting for whatever direction I pursue to
>
be killed by a new Apple product. I'm wondering what other audio software
>
and hardware makers' reactions are going to be, especially
>
Avid/Digidesign's. I can't imagine this makes any of them feel good for
>
their future on the Mac and I wonder whether this will lead some to kill
>
development for OS X.
>
>
This isn't necessarily an approved topic for the list but on the other
>
hand you have to give me some credit for being fairly inoffensive
>
considering how much this will screw me over and how it portends an Apple
>
controlled audio software and hardware market for the Mac. I apologize for
>
mailing this (it's reactionary, assuming and speculative) but I simply
>
must to let off steam in a place where Apple employees frequent. I'd
>
appreciate it if someone could give me some evidence contradictory to my
>
fears.
>
Thanks,
>
>
>
Ben
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