iZotope, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance are now part of Native Instruments, meaning that Soundwide is no more
Native Instruments has announced that it is dumping the Soundwide brand, announced in April of 2022 as the parent company for NI, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, Brainworx and Sound Stacks.
As of today, though, that’s all changed, as it’s just been confirmed that iZotope, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance are now part of Native Instruments. The company says that the move will help create a seamless and consistent experience for customers that use Native Instruments, iZotope, and Brainworx products.
If you’re a little confused, we are sure you’re not the only one. The bosses of the company formerly known as Soundwide are now saying that they’re moving forward with the NI name on the masthead because it’s “more familiar to our community,” which is certainly true.
Native says that they’re making the change because:
“What about Soundwide?
Some of you might remember back in 2022 when iZotope, Native Instruments, Plugin Alliance, and Brainworx came together as a group called Soundwide. While the spirit of Soundwide lives on—our brands coming together to empower creativity—the Soundwide name wasn’t as familiar to our community.
With that in mind, we made the choice to move forward with a brand that more people know and love: Native Instruments.”
This is more than just a rebranding exercise. In the future, you can expect to be able to use one login across all the brands, while NI’s Native Access will become the preferred destination for installing and authenticating a broader range of products, negating the need for multiple similar tools. There will be one customer care centre, and we’re promised a “one-stop shop” that will enable you to explore all products, loyalty offers and upgrades. Expect a more “tightly-connected” experience across all products, too.
No timeframe has been announced for all of this to be implemented, but you can expect to see some changes this year. These include more iZotope products in Native Access (with more Brainworx titles to follow next year) and more cross-brand content on the Native Instruments blog and social media channels. There could also be cross-pollination of features and new bundle offers.
Because it’s a vendor for third-party plugins, Plugin Alliance will remain distinct from the rest of the brands, but sales and special pricing offers will be coordinated across the year. Evidence of this can be seen in the current Summer of Sound campaign, which features savings of up to 50% on iZotope, Native Instruments, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx products.
The company says that they are working to make it possible to:
- Use one unified login for your accounts across the brands, so you don’t have to remember multiple sets of login details;
- Utilize Native Access as the preferred destination for installing and authenticating a broader range of products, reducing the need for multiple product installation tools;
- Get access to one Customer Care center to get the support you need, across all product lines;
- Visit a one-stop Shop and discover products across all their brands, including loyalty offers and upgrades; and
- Explore more tightly connected experiences and technologies across NI products.
