If you know anyone who writes music, today has probably been a very crappy day for them.
Finale, one of the most dominant programs for music notation for the past 35 years, is coming to an end. They’re no longer updating it or allowing people to purchase it, and it won’t be possible to authorize on new devices or if you upgrade your OS.
I’ve personally been using Finale to write music for about 20 years (since middle school!). It’s not something that I depend on for money, and my work should be compatible with other programs, so I’ll be fine, but this is very, very bad news for lots of people who depend on this software for their livelihood.
(cut added so info added to reblogs doesn't get buried!)
The shittiest thing is that this was preventable. From a comment on Finale’s post:
As a former Tech Lead on Finale (2019-2021) I can tell you this future was avoidable. Those millions of lines of code were old and crufty, and myself and others recognized something had to be done. So we created a plan to modernize the code base, focusing on making it easier to deliver the next few rounds of features. I encouraged product leadership to put together a feature roadmap so our team could identify where the modernization effort should be focused.
We had a high level architecture roadmap, and a low level strategy to modernize basic technologies to facilitate more precise unit testing. The plan was to create smart interfaces in the code to allow swapping out old UI architecture for a more modern, reliable, and better maintained toolset that would grow with us rather than against us.
But in the end it became clear support wasn’t coming from upper management for this effort.
I’m sad to see Finale end this way.
Finale also could allow people who own the software to move it to their new devices in the future, but Capitalism. It’s a pointless corporate IP decision that only hurts users.
There are three main options for those of us who are having to switch: Dorico, MuseScore, or Sibelius.
Sibelius has been Finale’s main competitor for as long as I can remember. It currently runs on a subscription model (ew). The programs are about equal in terms of their capabilities, though I’ve heard Finale has more options for experimental notation. (I’ve used both; Finale worked better for my workflow, but that’s probably just because I grew up using it.)
Dorico is the hip new kid and I’d personally been considering switching for quite a while, but it’s ungodly expensive (about twice what Finale cost at full price). Thankfully, they are allowing current Finale users to purchase at a price comparable (well, still 50% higher) to what Finale used to cost with the educator discount. It apparently has a very steep learning curve at first, though it is probably the best option for experimental notation.
MuseScore is open source, which is awesome! But it also has the most limitations for people who write using experimental notation.
I haven’t used MuseScore or Dorico and will probably end up switching to one of those, but it’s also not an urgent matter for me. Keep your musician friends in your thoughts; it’s going to be a rough road ahead if they used Finale.
The end of Finale 35 years ago, Coda Music Technologies, now MakeMusic, released the first version of Finale, a groundbreaking […]
The old and storied kingdom of Finale has fallen. The neighboring lordships (Sibelius and Dorico) each seek to claim the wealth and lands of the fallen realm. Among the peasantry, there are whispers of a revolution (working to update Musescore to professional quality) but is the citizenry ready to accept a fledgling democracy?
The druids of the forest (Lilypond users) have much knowledge. They can guide you to power if you seek it, but the price is high (you must learn to code).
Ah, j'ai réussi à oublier les dates de composition (quelque part en juin-juillet 2021). Sans importance. Reste dans l'esprit de la Petite Étude précédente, avec un peu plus de mordant. Bon, ça manque de sérieux, tout ça.
