Magix, Producer of Vegas Pro, Samplitude, Sequoia, SoundForge (and others) Files for Insolvency
March 5, 2024

German software producer Magix (...) based in Berlin but also operates subsidiaries in the USA and Canada, has filed for insolvency.
According to their press release, the company comprising 200 employees, intends to sustain their operations until a new investor is secured. They aim to finalize a deal within the next two to three months.
Magix, which is known mostly for their Magix Video deluxe and VEGAS Pro NLE applications (which it bought from Sony in 2016), as well as their Music Maker software, has reported that revenue fell dramatically from thirty-two million Euros in 2021 to twenty million Euros in 2023. A complex product portfolio in the last years has mostly been blamed – this has led to confusion amongst customers.
This complex portfolio not only confused customers but also led to problems in product development, harming core products and their features. The company also blamed the slow adaptation of cost structure and a failure to use modern e-commerce methods for their problems. It has announced restructuring measures – which usually means layoff of personnel – in the near future.

https://www.zri-online.de/aktuell/z...strukturierung-der-magix-software-gmbh-77646/
https://www.cined.com/magix-producer-of-vegas-pro-files-for-insolvency/
https://www.videoaktiv.de/magazin/m...waltung-fur-berliner-software-hersteller.html

(ps: mods - not sure which forum thread this belongs to, it's most relevant for Samplitude users I guess though)

 

Last edited: Mar 27, 2024

Oooo fuck!

Sure, they acquired a lot of shit, most of which is not for me. But Jesus Harry fucking Christo if Sound Forge is left adrift!

That's one tool I really need, I use it for all of my sample and other audio editing, basic mastering (you know, previewing shit), trimming, doing fades, sequencing track orders and then final rendering to preferred formats.

I can't even remember when I ran into it, it was some "lite" version that came with something, back in the Windows 98 times. Then I upgraded to full and been on autopilot since.

I've tried others, like back in the day Cool Edit (now Adobe Audition), Wavelab, etc. etc. but while they're good (and in other ways, better), Forge is just built into my muscle memory. I'll use it till it dies (or I die) I suppose, but it would be sad as hell to see it atrophied to shit.

 

I've used SoundForge since 2005 perhaps, but then gradually moved to Reaper (which I started using back in the day I left Sonar primarily) and it turns out Reaper can fully replace all my SoundForge workflows while being even faster and also Mac compatible eventually (I can also easily swap audio files between Reaper and SoundForge while containing embedded markers and metadata), hotkeys for muscle memory included...

 

Sonic Foundry(Sound Forge, Vegas, Acid)

 

Sound Forge and Samplitude were the 2 first PC audio programs I really learned. This club promoter offered to pay me a brand new boxed copy of Samplitude and Soundforge 4 instead of cash for a 1 hour mix. So I took the software licenses instead. I used them both for many years, but when I switched back to Mac I could not find nice working copies of them. So I felt exactly like you do about it. I eventually found a good copy of Soundforge, but it wasn't really the same as on PC. I got forced to adapt and learn new software to do the same things. And I'm glad I did. Long story down memory lane, but my point is; you'll get over it a lot faster than you might think. I don't even use a wave editor for 99.9 percent of stuff.

 

I know, I know. I used a Mac for a couple of years and used (the creatively named) Wave Editor by Audiofile Engineering. But they were bought by Røde and I don't know what happened for them because don't use it anymore. They also had a good iOS version but that's long gone.

While Forge will work for a long time, something will happen (say, update to VST or ARA standard) and it will be left behind unless Sonic Foundry is actually making money or someone buys it from MAGIX... but they might move to another direction or something.

And of course linear DAWs (like Reaper, Cubase, Logic, Cakewak) are good for multitrack editing etc. but I like a dedicated editor to one task.

Oh well, here's to hoping nothing bad happens from this move.

 

I always wanted to buy Magix essentialFX but they never offered it for a reasonable price. It's a really good bundle of basic effect of above-average quality coded by DSP guru Sascha Eversmeier.

 

I am late to the party, but I just learned about it.
Does this mean that MAGIX DAWs will no longer be manufactured?

 

I don't think I'll notice it's already been an awfully long time since they added a feature I care about so I haven't even upgraded in many many versions. The nice thing about windows is old software stays working (mostly)

 

Last edited: Mar 22, 2025

I asked ChatGPT:
In January 2025, the restructuring was successfully completed: Erento GmbH, a company of Russmedia Equity Partners (RMEP), acquired the shares of Magix Software GmbH. Since then, Magix has been under new leadership and continues its business operations.

Currently, Magix is not insolvent. Following the successful restructuring and acquisition by RMEP in January 2025, the company remains active in the market.

 

I vividly remember installing Sound Forge after Magix acquired them. Got their CD player, CD Maker, CD Notepad, CD frapee maker and smoothy maker, Shortcut to this, Shortcut to that, Updater one, Updater two, AD assistant, CD ripper, CD shitter... 3 new icons in the system tray... They f*king took a huge sh*t on Sonic Foundry's reputation. I'm glad they're going down.

As is the whole system right now, apparently.

Again so glad I'm off the grid and using Linux. All this corporate shite is not going to end up well. Greed is infinite. There are not many firms left. Everyone is under some corp. Think about it. Merging should be criminalised. But of course it isn't. Money makes the world go down and 1% of pockets lined up nicely and they provide us with great anal probing annually, stealing our data and using it against us,

There's a great way to use all the old and great Windows software these days - Linux and Wine. Your software will never grow old with Wine. Wine can run anything from XP to W11 very efficiently. All the plugins, all the software. No need to have 3 separate Windows installed. Linux has become better Windows than even "lite" Windows these days. I don't miss a thing... la-di-da no ms crap, just programs and plugins running. la-di-da. Take a big black one up your behind MS! :P

God I hate monopoly and proprietorship.

 

Last edited: Mar 22, 2025

yeah, you are right
I'm a Soundforge user since before 2003, before Sony bought it.
I sticky with SF 6, and I still use it nowadays, altough I have the SF15, from Magix, installed for some tasks
Magix, after 2016, made everything heavy and bulky

 

MMM claiming emulating windows 11 under Linux for real time music , that means including windows audio and likely drivers, sounds a bit of a too much. Long time I didn't use wine still.

Used to like samplitude, it aged very badly, tons checkbox/menu old style gui, crashes apritbly as core dump like software in 2000's. Unacceptable for nowadays standards. A few are fading like that, but other have been knocked on greatly ( reaper, Ableton, bitwig....)
I'm old guy , I know compagnies raise and die. Especially with software, hard to revamp or you need to have big $$$ and some monopolistics ...
Loved how it loaded fastly, their 'object' workflow. Weird that those object have been implemented in other daws.

 

• VEGASDerek wrote on 3/16/2024, 2:22 AM:
  
  I will not go into details on what is going on with MAGIX in general, but, to confirm what fr0sty is saying, the VEGAS team is indeed working without hinderance right now and I believe the upcoming update should put to rest any fears about the future of VEGAS. It is possibly a bigger step in development than users saw moving from VP 20 to the initial release of VP 21. It is easily the biggest mid-release cycle update that we have ever released.
  
  And development has already begun on VEGAS Pro 22 as well.
  
  
• And also:
  I think everyone is overreacting here. Unfortunately, I have no extra information to provide and the company is not likely to post any official message while negotiations are ongoing for a new investor. I can say that if I felt the situation was as bleak as some here have stated, I would not have stuck around and many of the other engineers would have bolted as well. As I have stated on the VEGAS forum, our team is working without any restrictions right now and we will be releasing a huge update in a few weeks. We have already begun working on the next major version of VEGAS Pro as well. I think the same is true for several other products at Magix.
  
  Quite frankly, I am anxious to see what happens and actually hopeful for the future. Let's all relax and let the process run its course.
  
  

 

Magix's heyday is over. To save the company, many employees were laid off and product prices were lowered. The company is now smaller and will likely survive bankruptcy. However, innovations and new products are unlikely to materialize; the company's financial strength and workforce are insufficient.

The market is highly competitive, but some Magix products are quite good and work well. I personally have a few products, such as "Photos on DVD" and "Web Designer" (sadly discontinued). My personal website is hosted on a Magix server.

 

What's the deal with a Grammy like this? Is the DAW better than its reputation?

Spoiler: NEW GRAMMYS FOR SEQUOIA MASTER - February 28, 2025

NEW GRAMMYS FOR SEQUOIA MASTER - February 28, 2025

High-end DAW from MAGIX impresses again on international stages

With Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," mastering engineer and Sequoia ambassador Nicolas de Porcel once again mastered a Grammy winner using the high-definition DAW from MAGIX. At this year's awards in LA, the track won in two top categories, receiving the coveted music trophy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. However, Sequoia's New Year's agenda isn't just about glamorous events. The development team behind MAGIX's most powerful audio suite is working on the next major update with fundamental innovations. Back in January, the Berlin-based software company presented the latest milestones in the further development of the DAW at the NAMM Show in California.

They announced the imminent integration of Dolby Atmos® into Sequoia Pro and the development of a proprietary ADM solution for seamless immersive workflows. Immersive audio is one of the defining trends in the music industry and has now become firmly established in audio production. Whether in games, vehicles, headphones, or home theaters – customers want and expect an immersive sound experience. "I was sitting in the new Cadillac, which is equipped with surround speakers and Dolby Atmos... and I wanted it immediately," reports Markus Gunn, Vice President of Sales & Business Development, with a grin from America's largest music trade fair. "Immersive audio brings you so close to the sound source that you are fully immersed in the acoustic atmosphere, experiencing and feeling it," he describes his impressions at NAMM.

More information here. By expanding its range of functions in the areas of 3D audio and surround sound production, Sequoia is consistently pursuing its course towards pioneering audio design. The DAW is already the preferred tool of major media companies and renowned recording studios. They all cite Sequoia's outstanding sound quality, which results from the software's high-precision audio engine. Product Owner Ricardo Röpke highlights object-based editing as a unique selling point, which is particularly valued by sound designers and mastering engineers: "The object editor in Sequoia makes it possible to add specific effects, equalizers, and volume adjustments to individual audio clips, independent of the track settings.

This flexibility opens up sound editing possibilities that are not so easily implemented in other DAWs," explains Röpke.

About MAGIX:

MAGIX Software is a leading provider of multimedia software and digital content for private and professional users, as well as for businesses and educational institutions. For over 30 years, MAGIX has been developing and distributing innovative solutions for the creative editing of videos, photos, and music. The product range is characterized by powerful features, user-friendly interfaces, and high technological standards to meet the creative needs of a wide variety of user groups.

Quelle: https://www.magix.com/de/presse/detail/

 

"I didn't like having a correct answer so I asked the always-wrong-bot"

 

Didn't like what Magix did to SoundForge one of my first audio software too.
Obviously Sonic Foundry legacy went to the wrong hands.

What linux distribution are you using such smoothly?

 

I am also off grid as well, so to speak, but still with the win platform. Been so for almost going on 2 decades now. No production machines on internet. Only a scant one or two specialized machines touch the internet - fortified, firewalled and optimized to the max... I used to use SF as a go to for editing tasks. Never really liked their processing plugin's much though, and since SF was unable to use VST type plugins it became a wash for me... Sony kind of/sort of made SF VST capable, but the implementation was about as lame as it could be. Magix tried to carry on that tradition, but completely failed implementation wise, IMO... I still keep SF around for sentimental reasons. However there are many tools that have surpassed the entire line up of Sonic Foundry stuff that neither magix, or sony ever really did anything about. So they all pretty much stagnated.

Yep. I learned this early on and have opted OUT.

 

Last edited: Mar 23, 2025