05 NOV 2026 · By RTS.FM Editorial Desk

Native Instruments Sold to inMusic: What Happens to Traktor

inMusic agreed to buy insolvent Native Instruments, Traktor included, on May 8, 2026. What is confirmed, what is only reported, and what DJs should do now.

A Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S4 MK2 DJ controller with lit performance pads, photographed in 2016 — A Traktor Kontrol S4 MK2 controller, photographed in 2016. Photo by Mriya127, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustration only: an older Native Instruments controller, not a product affected by the sale.

Native Instruments, the Berlin company behind the Traktor DJ software, is now owned by the US group inMusic, which signed a definitive agreement to acquire it on May 8, 2026. The deal came about three months after Native Instruments entered preliminary insolvency proceedings in Germany on January 27, 2026. It includes Traktor, the Kontakt sampler platform and the iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx audio tools, according to inMusic's own announcement. No price was disclosed.

For DJs the practical question is simple: will Traktor keep working, and will it keep getting better? As of November 5, 2026, the answer to the first part is yes, and the answer to the second is that nobody has said. This piece separates what the companies have confirmed from what has only been reported by trade outlets citing anonymous staff, and it explains why one DJ software sale matters in a market that regulators have already had to step into once.

What happened, in order

Native Instruments filed for preliminary insolvency at the Berlin-Charlottenburg local court on January 27, 2026. Mixmag reported the filing the same day, citing documents seen by Create Digital Music, which named lawyer Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini as preliminary administrator. Digital DJ Tips adds that management stayed in place but needed the administrator's approval for significant financial decisions, and that CEO Nick Williams told customers business continued as usual across Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx.

The company's ownership history explains some of the strain. According to Wikipedia's company history, the private equity firm Francisco Partners was reported to have taken a majority stake in January 2021, the group was briefly branded Soundwide from 2022, and Soundwide cut 8 percent of its workforce in January 2023 before the name was dropped that June. Digital DJ Tips also reports that a sale to Bridgepoint and Bain Capital received EU approval in December 2025 but appeared to have collapsed within weeks. DJ TechTools cites a We Rave You report putting the company's debt at about £250 million against roughly £25 million in annual revenue; we have not seen the underlying documents, so treat that figure as reported rather than confirmed.

On May 8, 2026, inMusic announced the agreement. DJ TechTools reports that it was signed at Superbooth in Berlin and announced the same morning by Williams. The companies said the transaction was expected to close within weeks, subject to customary conditions, and that products, services and customer support remained available. inMusic CEO Jack O'Donnell told creators that "The tools you rely on today will keep working," which is as specific as the company has been about Traktor.

Who is inMusic, and why does it want Traktor?

inMusic was founded in 1992 and already owns Akai Professional, Moog Music, Denon DJ, Numark, Rane and M-Audio, according to its press release. For DJs the relevant brands are Denon DJ and its Engine DJ software, and Numark and Rane. Digital DJ Tips reports that inMusic's Jack Hill told it a mature DJ software platform to pair with the group's controllers is an exciting prospect.

There is history here that cuts both ways. Native Instruments says it has a direct relationship with more than 25 million registered users, and the two companies had already worked together: in 2025 they added NKS support to Akai Pro and M-Audio keyboards and brought Native Instruments sounds to the Akai MPC standalone platform. On the other hand, Digital DJ Tips points out that inMusic has retired inherited products before, citing Torq, the DJ software from M-Audio. Which of those precedents applies to Traktor is the open question.

The Serato backdrop

The sale lands in a market that has already been reshaped by regulators. MusicTech reported that AlphaTheta, the parent of Pioneer DJ, tried to buy Serato from 2023, that the New Zealand Commerce Commission blocked it in July 2024 over the risk to competition in DJ software and hardware, and that inMusic had opposed the deal publicly. In April 2025 the Canadian investment firm Tiny paid $66 million for 66 percent of Serato instead.

So the DJ software landscape in late 2026 looks like this: rekordbox belongs to AlphaTheta, Serato is majority owned by Tiny, and Engine DJ and now Traktor sit with inMusic, while Algoriddim, a partner in OneLibrary, makes djay. A company that argued against Serato going to AlphaTheta now holds two of the main platforms itself. That is not a criticism, but it is the kind of consolidation a regulator might look at, and we found no reporting that any competition authority has examined this deal.

What has been reported since the deal

This is where sourcing gets thinner, and where we want to be careful. The following is reported by trade press; inMusic and Native Instruments have confirmed only part of it.

Layoffs. On July 24, 2026, MusicTech reported that about 100 Native Instruments employees had allegedly been laid off, citing an anonymous Reddit post first covered by Synth Anatomy. MusicTech said it could not independently confirm the figures and that Native Instruments declined to comment. It was unclear whether the Traktor team was affected.
The UK office. On August 10, 2026, MusicTech reported that inMusic had allegedly closed the Native Instruments UK office. inMusic's statement to MusicTech said it was simplifying its organisational and legal structure, including Native Instruments UK, and that the brand remained strategically important to the group.
Leadership. The same MusicTech report says UK company filings from July show Williams and chief product and technology officer Simon Cross were removed, and that inMusic Europe chief Richard Seymour seemingly took over. The word "seemingly" is MusicTech's.
Splits. MusicTech, Gearnews and others reported that iZotope now belongs to Boris FX and that Plugin Alliance and Brainworx went back to their founder Dirk Ulrich. We found no statement from the companies explaining those moves, so the "buyback" framing used by some outlets is interpretation.
Support. The anonymous Reddit post claimed the whole customer support team was let go. MusicTech noted that inMusic runs one support department across all its brands, and the claim is unconfirmed.

If these reports are accurate, they sit awkwardly beside the May promise of continuity. They do not show that Traktor has been dropped. They do show that the company that now employs the people who maintain it looks very different from the one that filed in January.

What Traktor looks like in November 2026

The product itself has kept shipping. The Traktor Pro 4.5 release notes list plug-and-play support for entry-level Numark controllers, fixes for a startup crash and for decks freezing during fast scratching, and the removal of automatic Beatsource login ahead of that service's shutdown. A Native Instruments community thread also announces a 4.5.1 release. Those are maintenance updates, and nothing in them is a roadmap.

On hardware, Native Instruments launched the Traktor MX2, a two-channel controller with touch-sensitive jog wheels and a stems pad mode, in October 2025. MusicTech reported a UK price of £349 on October 8, 2025, with a copy of Traktor Pro 4 included. DJ TechTools notes that the flagship S4 MK3 dates from 2018 and that the Z2 has long been out of production, and argues the company has not delivered a true flagship refresh in seven years. That is the author's assessment, but the dates are checkable.

DJ TechTools also frames the central uncertainty fairly: either inMusic invests engineering time to make Traktor competitive again, or it keeps Traktor in maintenance mode while Engine DJ gets the attention. The evidence so far, a stream of Traktor bug fixes and no new announcements, does not settle it. We found no official Traktor roadmap and no new Traktor hardware announcement from inMusic as of this writing.

Meanwhile, inMusic's own DJ hardware has moved on. Denon DJ launched the Prime 4 G2 in early September 2026, with onboard stem separation and 8-inch jog wheels, so the group's own DJ hardware is still shipping new products. For a closer look at that machine, and at AlphaTheta's new players, see our guide to the best standalone DJ systems of 2026.

The library question: OneLibrary

One thread connects the rival camps. In October 2025, AlphaTheta, Algoriddim and Native Instruments announced OneLibrary, a shared library format that lets playlists, cue points and beatgrids move between rekordbox hardware and djay Pro or Traktor. At launch, Digital DJ Tips noted that djay Pro export worked but Traktor export was still to come. Whether a Native Instruments owned by AlphaTheta's main hardware rival keeps that cooperation going has not been addressed publicly.

What Traktor DJs should do now

Nothing about the reporting suggests Traktor is about to stop working, but the January advice from Digital DJ Tips still reads as sensible housekeeping: back up your collection, settings and any custom controller mappings, and make sure your installation is activated. That article notes that activated installations run offline, but that reinstalling after a hardware change needs Native Instruments' servers, and that the company has shut down activation servers for older products before.

Beyond that, the sensible approach is to avoid buying into Traktor hardware on a long-term assumption until inMusic publishes a plan. If you want a software-agnostic setup, controllers that work with rekordbox, Serato and djay do exist, and we cover the standalone options in our 2026 standalone DJ systems guide. If your interest in Traktor is mainly its stem separation, our explainer on AI stem separation in DJ tools compares the alternatives.

A rough year for independent gear

Native Instruments is not the only music technology story this autumn about who controls the tools. In October, Teenage Engineering's founder said the company plans to stop making synthesizers, and Ableton's chief executive told MusicTech he wants the company to own itself, which we covered in our piece on Ableton at 25. Ableton's Live 12.4, released on May 5, 2026, added Link Audio and faster stem separation, according to Ableton's own release post. Software built by people who play music themselves has long mattered to Berlin techno: Robert Henke of Monolake co-created Ableton Live, and Richie Hawtin went on to launch his own technology company, PLAYdifferently, in 2016. The Native Instruments sale is a reminder that these tools are businesses first, and that their owners' priorities shift.

quick wins

inMusic signed a definitive agreement to buy Native Instruments on May 8, 2026, about three months after the Berlin company entered preliminary insolvency on January 27, 2026. No price was disclosed.
The deal covers Traktor, Kontakt, iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx on paper; later reports say iZotope went to Boris FX and Plugin Alliance and Brainworx to founder Dirk Ulrich, which the companies have not explained.
MusicTech reported in July and August 2026 that about 100 staff were allegedly laid off and the UK office allegedly shut; inMusic confirmed only that it is simplifying its structure, including Native Instruments UK.
Traktor Pro 4.5 is out and the Traktor MX2 controller launched in October 2025 at £349, but we found no official Traktor roadmap from inMusic.
DJs using Traktor should back up their collection and mappings, as Digital DJ Tips advised during the insolvency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did inMusic buy Native Instruments and Traktor?

Yes. inMusic announced a definitive agreement to acquire Native Instruments on May 8, 2026, covering Traktor, Kontakt and the iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx tools. No price was published. Later reports say iZotope and the Plugin Alliance and Brainworx brands ended up elsewhere, but Traktor stayed with inMusic.

Is Traktor being discontinued?

There is no report of that. The tool is still being updated, with Traktor Pro 4.5 adding Numark controller support and bug fixes, and inMusic's CEO said the tools users rely on today will keep working. inMusic has published no Traktor roadmap, though, and some commentators worry it may be left in maintenance mode.

Will Traktor stop working if Native Instruments' servers go down?

Digital DJ Tips reported during the insolvency that activated Traktor installations run offline, but that reinstalling or moving to new hardware requires Native Instruments' activation servers. Nothing we have read says those servers are being shut down. Backing up your library, settings and a working installation is a sensible precaution.

Why did Native Instruments go insolvent?

No official cause has been published. The company filed for preliminary insolvency on January 27, 2026. Coverage points to a heavy debt load, a history of private equity ownership and a sale that reportedly fell through in late 2025, but those are interpretations from trade press rather than a statement from the company.

Were Native Instruments employees laid off after the sale?

MusicTech reported in July 2026 that about 100 employees had allegedly been laid off and in August that the UK office had allegedly been closed. The figures come from anonymous staff and company filings, and Native Instruments declined to comment on the numbers. inMusic said it is simplifying its structure, including Native Instruments UK.

What happens to Native Instruments hardware like the Traktor S4 and MX2?

Nothing has been announced. The MX2 launched in October 2025 and the S4 MK3 dates from 2018. DJ TechTools listed the MX2, the S3 and the S4 MK3 as the current range in May, and we found no hardware announcement for Traktor from inMusic since.

Is Serato now owned by inMusic too?

No. Serato's majority owner is the Canadian firm Tiny, which paid $66 million for 66 percent in April 2025 after New Zealand's Commerce Commission blocked AlphaTheta's bid in 2024. inMusic owns Engine DJ and now Traktor.

Which DJ software should I use now?

It depends on your hardware. rekordbox suits Pioneer and AlphaTheta club gear, Serato works with a wide range of controllers, Engine DJ is built into Denon DJ units, and djay is a strong independent. The ownership changes are a reason to keep your library portable, which is what OneLibrary tries to help with.