Industry giant Native Instruments has announced that it’s currently undergoing preliminary insolvency proceedings. The Berlin-based company, which was established in 1999 is one of the music industry’s biggest and most influential software and hardware brands, which developed the DJ software Traktor as well as music production software Maschine. Native Instruments is also the parent company of organisations such as iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx, however it’s not yet clear if any of these companies will be part of the insolvency process. Upon writing this article, Plugin Alliance confirmed that they’re not part of the proceedings.
In Germany, insolvency preliminary proceedings does not mean a company is bankrupt. It simply means that the company has filed for insolvency as they can not pay their debt, or there’s a lack of cash flow. The court then appoints the company a provisional insolvency administrator whose role involves securing assets and monitoring the business’s finances. During this process the company can still operate as it usually does, as this process shields it from lawsuits or seizures.
In the case of Native Instruments, the court has appointed Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini to oversee the insolvency proceedings. As one of the most renowned insolvency lawyers in Germany, Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini has over 20 years of experience, and has successfully worked on cases with European real estate conglomerate Signa Group, as well as German renewable energy corporation KTG Energie AG. His main role is to restructure the company in order to pay off debt to creditors, which means Native Instruments assets will be sold in some way or another. 
US organisation Francisco Partners has maintained the majority of ownership of Native Instruments since 2021. In 2022 Native Instruments partnered with Plugin Alliance, Brainworx and Izotope which formed the Soundwide Group, however in 2023 Soundwide retrenched 8% of its employees.
Right now, the future of Native Instruments is unclear. If the restructuring and selling of assets is successful under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini, Native Instruments could come back stronger than ever. If not, there will be a massive void in the music industry, leaving artists and music industry professionals in a massive predicament.
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