ACID ranking among music software packages... -ACID Product Family

Subject:ACID ranking among music software packages... Posted by: Patrick@Denman Date:8/1/2008 10:59:52 AM A new survey from Digital Music Doctor on the popularity of music software packages can be viewed here. Not looking too good for ACID...not even in the top 10 at number 12. Sound Forge is ranked number 9. ACID DID rank in the top ten (at 7th place) a year ago (see the equivalent numbers here. IMHO the slide is happening because of the slowness in getting a new release out and the furious activity of competitors. C'mon, Sony...ACID should at least be in the top 10, but that's sure as heck not going to happen before you guys get your finger out and release version 7. You can and should kick some serious butt in these rankings, if you'd just get a bit more aggressive with your development and marketing efforts. Message last edited on8/1/2008 11:11:59 AM byPatrick@Denman.
Subject:RE: ACID ranking among music software package Reply by: Chienworks Date:8/1/2008 1:41:38 PM Sound Forge is audio software, not music software. I don't understand why it would even be considered for such a list.
Subject:RE: ACID ranking among music software package Reply by: JohnnyRoy Date:8/1/2008 2:13:23 PM > A new survey from Digital Music Doctor on the popularity of music software Well... not for nuthin' but that is NOT a survey! Be sure of what you are pointing to: The ten most popular music software products on the Internet, based on recent search engine activity... This index is based on quarterly Internet search activity on Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN. This was not based on a poll or survey of any kind. Popularity by what measure? Clearly the software with the most complains or problems or the most difficult to use could win this contest hands down because they would have the most people searching for answers on the internet. So the report has no validity other than to say, this is what people are searching for. ~jr
Subject:RE: ACID ranking among music software package Reply by: Patrick@Denman Date:8/2/2008 4:01:40 PM Very good point, Johnny. Good catch there. You're absolutely right...this may not be any kind of reliable indication of popularity per se. Conversely, if we take your point about people searching for bugs, the assumption that DAWs like Pro Tools and Cubase could rank as number 1 and 2 because of bugs...somehow I find that just as questionable. At the very least, to me these numbers represent a kind of measure of the level of interest in the product, good or bad. In any case, ACID's ranking in this list is certainly consistent with a diminished interest and/or awareness of the product. Anecdotally speaking, very few people that I come across in the music world (and I actually do know quite a few people who are heavily involved in music and production) are even aware of ACID as a serious DAW package. I doubt that my experience is very unusual. This is a serious problem for a DAW software manufacturer to have; why is Sony Creative doing nothing about it? Don't misunderstand; I really love using ACID Pro. I'd love to see it evolve, grow, and demonstrate that it can stack up well against its competitors. But Sony Creative has shown a serious lack of...well...CREATIVITY in this regard. It just looks to me like they're letting the product die a slow, painful death. As a user of AP for several years now, it's frustrating to continually sit and wait for the next release. And even when/if AP7 IS ever released, Sony Creative's recent track record in releasing updates tends to suggest that Sony does not see it as an important, strategic product. It's all too obvious that there is a serious shortage of AP developer resources in their organization, otherwise AP7 would have been out for some time now. This is the kind of thing that invariably happens to a software package when its creator is swallowed by a large corporate giant. Focus is completely lost on the product, developers move on to other pursuits, and those who still believe in the product (if there are any left at Sony) have to compete with other products within their own company for development and marketing budgets. (I have direct experience of this in my own work in the software industry, having lived through similar mergers.) It looks to me that while Vegas is doing really well, ACID Pro is virtually sidelined.

Subject:ACID ranking among music software packages...

Date:8/1/2008 10:59:52 AM

A new survey from Digital Music Doctor on the popularity of music software packages can be viewed here. Not looking too good for ACID...not even in the top 10 at number 12. Sound Forge is ranked number 9.

ACID DID rank in the top ten (at 7th place) a year ago (see the equivalent numbers here. IMHO the slide is happening because of the slowness in getting a new release out and the furious activity of competitors.

C'mon, Sony...ACID should at least be in the top 10, but that's sure as heck not going to happen before you guys get your finger out and release version 7. You can and should kick some serious butt in these rankings, if you'd just get a bit more aggressive with your development and marketing efforts.

Message last edited on8/1/2008 11:11:59 AM byPatrick@Denman.

Subject:RE: ACID ranking among music software package

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:8/1/2008 1:41:38 PM

Sound Forge is audio software, not music software. I don't understand why it would even be considered for such a list.

Subject:RE: ACID ranking among music software package

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:8/1/2008 2:13:23 PM

> A new survey from Digital Music Doctor on the popularity of music software

Well... not for nuthin' but that is NOT a survey! Be sure of what you are pointing to:

The ten most popular music software products on the Internet, based on recent search engine activity... This index is based on quarterly Internet search activity on Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN.

This was not based on a poll or survey of any kind. Popularity by what measure? Clearly the software with the most complains or problems or the most difficult to use could win this contest hands down because they would have the most people searching for answers on the internet. So the report has no validity other than to say, this is what people are searching for.

~jr

Subject:RE: ACID ranking among music software package

Reply by: Patrick@Denman

Date:8/2/2008 4:01:40 PM

Very good point, Johnny. Good catch there. You're absolutely right...this may not be any kind of reliable indication of popularity per se.

Conversely, if we take your point about people searching for bugs, the assumption that DAWs like Pro Tools and Cubase could rank as number 1 and 2 because of bugs...somehow I find that just as questionable. At the very least, to me these numbers represent a kind of measure of the level of interest in the product, good or bad.

In any case, ACID's ranking in this list is certainly consistent with a diminished interest and/or awareness of the product. Anecdotally speaking, very few people that I come across in the music world (and I actually do know quite a few people who are heavily involved in music and production) are even aware of ACID as a serious DAW package. I doubt that my experience is very unusual. This is a serious problem for a DAW software manufacturer to have; why is Sony Creative doing nothing about it?

Don't misunderstand; I really love using ACID Pro. I'd love to see it evolve, grow, and demonstrate that it can stack up well against its competitors. But Sony Creative has shown a serious lack of...well...CREATIVITY in this regard. It just looks to me like they're letting the product die a slow, painful death.

As a user of AP for several years now, it's frustrating to continually sit and wait for the next release. And even when/if AP7 IS ever released, Sony Creative's recent track record in releasing updates tends to suggest that Sony does not see it as an important, strategic product. It's all too obvious that there is a serious shortage of AP developer resources in their organization, otherwise AP7 would have been out for some time now.

This is the kind of thing that invariably happens to a software package when its creator is swallowed by a large corporate giant. Focus is completely lost on the product, developers move on to other pursuits, and those who still believe in the product (if there are any left at Sony) have to compete with other products within their own company for development and marketing budgets. (I have direct experience of this in my own work in the software industry, having lived through similar mergers.) It looks to me that while Vegas is doing really well, ACID Pro is virtually sidelined.