Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, and Brainworx being part of inMusic? That was early May; now only NI remains at inMusic. 2026′ mergers and acquisitions have come so fast, you practically need a reference to keep up. So… let’s do just that. It’s part of a larger pattern of ownership changes and layoffs across every part of the music instrument business.
First, let’s pretend that “Native Instruments” being the brand for the full stable of acquisitions (iZotope, Plugin Alliance, and Brainworx) never happened …which, given the outcome here, is about what it feels like anyway. So, here’s where we’re at:
Native Instruments – owned by inMusic
inMusic Brands, the US-based conglomerate that owns Numark, Alesis, M-Audio, Akai, Denon, Marantz, Rane, Stanton, BFD, and even Moog, now owns the bit of NI we all know as NI. So that’s Kontakt, Reaktor, Maschine, Traktor, and so on.
Dozens of NI staff, especially here in Berlin, have been shed since that acquisition, as expected, unfortunately.
inMusic bought the merged NI whole, as I covered in May … but didn’t retain those pieces. The acquisitions that produced what was originally dubbed Soundwide — iZotope and Plugin Alliance — go elsewhere:
iZotope – acquired by Boris FX
Miami-based independent Boris FX acquired all the iZotope products. (Yes, as someone commented on my socials, I’m sorry to anyone who spent time working on integrated installers.)
Boris FX isn’t a household name in music (yet), but they are well known in post production and VFX, as the owners of (deep breath) Continuum, CrumplePop, Mocha Pro, Optics, Chocoviz, Particle Illusion, Shadowcast, Sapphire, Silhouette, SynthEyes, Vegas Pro, and VidCrunch.
Okay. I actually made up three of those brands to see if you spotted them (*see answers at bottom). (Well, all the aforementioned VFX and post people did). Actually, I’d need to do a trademark search because probably there is something called that. Anywhoo…
Boris FX is looking like an audio powerhouse, too, with iZotope joining Sequoia, Samplitude, Music Studio, Sound Forge (really), and here’s one you haven’t thought about in a while — Acid Pro.
Plugin Alliance, Brainworx — revert to founder Dirk Ulrich
Yesterday, the original founder of Plugin Alliance and Brainworx annouced he had bought back his original companies from inMusic, which acquired them in the NI deal. Got it? And that puts these brands alongside some major hardware names:
Plugin Alliance and Brainworx are back under my personal leadership. I have just bought both companies back, effective July 15, 2026. PA/BX will join Apogee & Manley as part of my new RCKFRC audio group.
This is not the headline just because it was an expected outcome, and Dirk was not quiet about wanting this to happen since the insolvency announcement CDM broke at the start of the year.
A year of changes
Don’t forget the rest of the big M&A news this year.
- CVC private equity bought a majority stake in DistroKid (CVC, who also partnered with KKR in buying Superstruct, who are the target of a boycott over complicity with Israel, the arms industry, and construction of energy projects on indigenous lands).
- Elektron was acquired by Swedish private conglomerate Bonnier Group; Bonnier is known for its media empire.
- Francisco Partners left Muse Group (Audacity, Hal Leonard, MuseScore), making them independent again.
- and LANDR bought Reason Studios. That feels like it was last year, but only because this year has been so long. That was January. Sheesh.
Plus Warner bought Revelator (a B2B music platform, so see the parallels with Songtradr acquiring Bandcamp), and BMG and Concord merged, with the result becoming the fourth largest music conglomerate.
And then of course CDM was acquired by Axel Springer. Joke. I think my eyes would turn red and then I’d get abandoned by Ewan MacGregor in a volcano if I so much as went to some after-work drinks with them. Don’t worry.
This is how crazy this year is: there are even big movements in, like, the woodwind business. Eastman Music acquired Fossati L’Atelier de Hautbois, known for their oboes and English horns. I had to read that one twice, because it is technically accurate to say they’re a French English horn maker.
Meanwhile, in the USA, layoffs continue to mount. In one of the more visible cases, billionaire Trump backer John Paulson has put union brass and orchestra instrument makers out of work in Ohio, erasing generations of instrument crafting skills.
Trump donor who criticized offshoring to close Ohio plant and move work to China [The Guardian]
That’s an older article, but you can see public notice via the WARN act. It’s tragic. We’re talking about the plant that made instruments for Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, J.J. Johnson, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
So, to everyone out there still hanging on — to the businesses staying independent and working to keep the lights on and folks employed – we’re with you.
* Chocoviz, Shadowcast, VidCrunch. I could have made it harder, but I’m not a monster.