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NI after NI: which brand is where, and who owns whom

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.

inMusic will acquire Native Instruments, as NI joins brands from Akai to Moog

inMusic Brands, the US-based owner of Akai, Moog, Denon, Numark, Rane, and M-Audio, announced today that it will acquire Native Instruments. That puts NI tools like Traktor and Kontakt under the inMusic umbrella along with Plugin Alliance, iZotope, and Brainworx.

Peter Kirn - May 8, 2026

Gaming Music tech Software Tech

Absynth 6.1: Audio modulator, LFO retrigger, sound content, more

If you need an excuse to suit up for an extravehicular activity in the cosmos of sound, Absynth is back again. Native Instruments quietly dropped Absynth 6.1, with oft-requested LFO retrigger and undo/redo, plus a surprise: a new audio modulator.