PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Finale Is Dead

Looks like Finale is dead. They are offering a crossgrade price to Steinberg Dorico for any version of Finale or PrintMusic.

https://www.finalemusic.com/

Another one bites the dust

Did the company make any statement about the reason?

All I saw was trade comments that indicated they just couldn't keep up competitively.

I read the same.

The user base is very unhappy online.

Sure, as they say, it will keep working on your computer. What we don’t know is what will happen when you eventually want to upgrade your operating system. Will it still work?

They said their authorization system will go offline in a year; after that, you won't be able to authorize the software.

Yes. As I understand it, existing software just continues to work. But after a year from now, if your hard drive crashes or you get a new computer, you could install the software but since you cannot authorize it, you’re stuck.

MakeMusic has backtracked on that. This was released a few hours ago:

Or until MakeMusic closes their doors, now that their flagship product is gone. Haven't seen much in the way of anything new from the Garritan product line lately, either.

Yes, I started seeing posts about not being quite so stuck. If one already has Dorico, then what? The instructions say that users buying the cross grade Dorico offering get this last version of Finale.

Note that I tried Finale many years ago but do not use it, so I’m just thinking about others.

Uhhh… no. MakeMusic Cloud—was SmartMusic—is the flagship product and is very big in the education sector. . Peaksware LLC is the $45B holding company that owns them, Alfred Publishing and other corporations.

Garritan has not had any development since 2013 other than update the binaries to 64 bit.

At least MM has announced that Finale is dead. It’s good that they’ll leave the license servers on after 8/2025.

Notion 7 was "coming soon" in 2021 when the last update of 6 was released. It can’t handle 64bit only VIs. Fender has kept the iPadOS version and other PreSonus apps going while letting the desktop notation app wither away.

Don Williams told us that Overture 5 would receive a maintenance update "soon" November 2020. We’re still waiting. Overture/Encore 6 has been promised three years now. We talk now and then but it’s been awhile.

Oh yes, I see you there too, Mike.

I have used Notion desktop extensively now for over four years. I think the future may be just to update Studio One. They aren’t clearly saying. But at least it works fine and never loses work (like Encore), which will be delivered ‘Winter 2023’.

Did Gibson buy them?

Ouch. 😎

Double Ouch - LOL

When I started learning Piano a while ago, I decided I need to learn notation as well. I got MuseScore because it was open source and thus free. Didn't do much with it, because as a StudioOne user I found Notion worth paying for because of it's tight Integration with the Daw. So far, it is all I need and more. I guess I could live with it as it is for years to come - but still would like to see it evolve into Notion 7 in a not so far future.

Hang in for Notion 7. It may be awhile because the mobile version is being emphasized now, followed by the notation in Studio One. If you want to see where Notion 6 is headed, look at Studio One’s notation.

The great thing is Notion 6 and Notion Mobile can interchange a score. For example, I usually use 6 but I’ll open up a the score in Mobile to use the one-mouse-click Delete.

Many think this is being driven by MakeMusic going out of money. No... Peaksware LLC, the parent company, is worth an estimated $45B as in billions,

The cold, hard fact is that desktop notation apps are not a way for anyone to make big money anymore as Fender (Notion) and Sonic Scores (Overture, Encore) have learned — unless the business plan does not count on notation for the success of the company.

MakeMusic has tons of money but Finale is barely a decimal point on Peaksware’s bottom line. MakeMusic for Cloud (once SmartScore) and other products are paying the bills — and why they can afford to keep the Finale license server running "indefinitely" (their term, not mine)

Dorico is Yamaha but they’ve never committed the large amounts of money that some would like—no other explanation exists for version 1’s premature release other than it being a cash grab. It’s probable that Dorico is making some money but Steinberg certainly doesn’t act like it. MusicXML import is ok but export is not—they’ve had years to get it right. Steinberg’ a long awaited overhaul of their licensing scheme is 3–4 years late and has been pushed back to 2025 although incremental progress has been made. This deal that has been made with MM is brilliant — a whole lot of new Dorico customers. Some of them will stick around for upgrades and internal crossgrade to other Steinberg products.

Cyprus based Muse Group is flush with cash. Many of their apps are free but MuseScore, Audacity and others are the gateway drugs to Muse Group’s plan for total domination of the music world. The acquisition of Hal Leonard, largest music publisher in the world is the keystone to this plan. They’ve announced that MuseScore 5 is expected to be the de facto notation app for HL—for that, it will have to be good. We’ll see… MuseScore.com is a subscription site for people to upload their scores (created in MuseScore only) for people who pay $30 per year for unlimited download privileges. They understand that the notation app is not where the money is but they do let you buy sounds for it through MuseHub.

Sibelius is bigger than most people realize but part of its functionality relies on MusicXML from MM. The tools may be free to use but the engineering is not. Avid’s cash cow is ProTools and Sibelius fits into that business plan. Although permanent licenses are available, Avid does not offer a crossgrade discount. I expect them to roll with the market.

LilyPond is still out there for those who want "beautiful sheet music" that looks like it's from the 19th C. They just had an update to 64 bit binaries last week.
LilyPond News
Oh yea, give me that old time text based notation app. Yes, really. MusicXML … you're kidding, right?

My 2¢

Users who want to continue with Finale will be able to continue doing so for years. If you need to purchase newer hardware to ensure longevity, you have a long time to do and can transition until the day that the license servers no longer remain online. Those with 27 have another year of tech support.

MuseScore and Dorico have been loud about continued development and Dorico will gain more Finale-like features—Daniel has said so. One can assume that Sibelius will continue as well.

For decades, I used Encore for my church work and Finale for heavy lifting and publication. Encore’s ease of use outweighs its amateurish look when printed. It has also been dead over a decade but I can still use it to edit my old work if needed. it runs on any Mac first made 2018 or earlier but best on those from 2012–2018 that can boot in Mojave. I have all sorts of options regarding those files but the simplest one is to just do nothing. All were saved to pdf and xml seven years ago if I change my mind.

I don’t like MuseScore or Dorico but I’ve had both since 2018 use them as needed. This will likely change as both get better until that day when I create new work in one or the other — but I’m not in a hurry and there’s no need to rush things. I see no reason why the major works that I began in Finale won’t be completed in 27 assuming that I ever get them done.

I might as well cry over DMCS being incompatible with System 7.1 (I was able to hack the license to get it working in 7). Well, those files did open and Save in Opcode Overture and I was able to convert them in Overture 5. You figure it out and do what’s necessary.

I agree with Mick and Keith:

I still have a copy of Encore, which for my needs (head charts) is adequate.

I also have MuseScore, since it's open source, might be my go-to when Encore fails to work.