Yorkshire Music: News and Updates

Avid Technology has purchased what has become the world's most popular music notation software, Sibelius. This is a programme that allows users to either point and click notes into a score on the screen or else attach a MIDI compatible device and play the parts in, outputting beautifully crafted sheets in any number of different styles, including standard 'printed' manuscripts and quasi-handwritten scores. The programme also syncs with an onboard soundcard to allow the user to listen to the work that (s)he has put together, giving the tool the functionality to become a composers right arm!

So, today the relatively small corporation that has owned and developed this programme since its conception has sold it, and it seems for something of a bargain price : the new owners only paid just over twelve million pounds (that's a year-and-a-half's turnover) for the rights to continue this work. My only hope is that they make the programme more affordable to the average man on the street - there is a limited student version available for about £90 but the full version is really too expensive for any novice musician to consider buying, which is a shame because it really is such a great piece of software!!


The source for this blog came from http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/03/avid_buys_sibelius/