Europe - As part of a ‘group-wide restructuring of product development’, Yamaha and Steinberg have announced that Yamaha is taking over Steinberg’s hardware business, with Steinberg hardware products now rebranded as Yamaha.
This means that Steinberg will focus exclusively on software development and sales, with the aim of provide users with ‘a refined, integrated product experience’.
Steinberg joined the Yamaha Group in 2005, with the first hardware products jointly developed by the companies launched in 2008.
Since then, Steinberg has delivered reliable, hardware solutions for all types of user - from first-time creators through to professional studios - which have been embraced by users worldwide. These have included the UR, UR-C, UR-RT and ultra-portable IXO series audio interfaces.
Yamaha will now carry the development and sales of these hardware products forward, enabling both companies to concentrate on their respective strengths: Yamaha on the design, manufacture and global distribution of hardware, and Steinberg on the creation of music and audio software. This division of roles will ensure that each company can maximize its expertise and resources, while continuing to collaborate closely as part of the same group. For users, this translates into a more refined, seamlessly-integrated product experience, where hardware and software are developed in unison to deliver reliability, creativity and ease of use.
Following the reorganisation, the Steinberg-branded IXO12, IXO22, UR22C, and UR44C audio interfaces will be reintroduced under the Yamaha brand as the UR12MK3, UR22MK3, URX22C and URX44C respectively. Other Steinberg-branded audio interfaces will gradually be phased out.
To ensure a smooth transition and avoid inconveniencing customers, Yamaha and Steinberg will both continue to provide product support and drivers for the foreseeable future.
In parallel, Steinberg is introducing MixKey, a new software product for online creators, which will have its first public showcase at TwitchCon, taking place at the San Diego Convention Centre in the US from 17-19 October this year.
“Steinberg-branded hardware products have long been developed and manufactured by Yamaha. This brand transition marks a new stage in which both companies can focus on their strengths to deliver dependable, seamlessly connected solutions tailored to today’s creators,” says Takatsuna Maeda, senior general manager, Creator & Consumer Audio Division, Yamaha Corporation.
