No. but we don’t get to see the sales numbers and usually there is a strong correlation between search and sales. So a guestimate is that sales has dropping a lot. And this is
the reason yamaha/steinberg is dropping the dongle. If that is the solution it is about 10 years to late according to the google trend numbers.
It for sure could be, but without direct data, indirect is the best we can get.
And the data is relative so the use of search engines are likely to be similar for most DAWs.
It result also match what I see where people use Ableton today. There is also big decline of protools, and they have had some big layoffs and changed the license model.
Uhm, you can’t possibly know that there is a strong correlation unless you know what the sales numbers are - by definition!
Also, it doesn’t even follow logically that there would be a correlation. If the software was brand new and only 100 people were using it few people would search to find information about it. If 100,000 people are using it then people will talk about it more and more people will be searching for it. But I would also argue that if 10,000,000 people are using it it’s possible we now have so many users that typing “Cubase” into a search engine just isn’t what people do.
Instead, people are made aware of the software in one of the many forums that are around the net and rather than googling “Cubase” they just go to “Steinberg.com” instead. Or they get their information on Reddit or Gearspace or whatever.
So your argument doesn’t really convince me.
Clickbait title aside, if you actually care about this then look into the financials of both Steinberg and Yamaha and try to find the sales figures.
Yamaha does not provide this formation about Steinberg. And looking in to the official numbers from germany tax authorities. You can see that Steinberg has grown from 180 to 190 people since 1999 and sales from 25MDM to 30MEUR. About the same value with inflation. Steinberg now has a lot more products than in 1999. But this is the official numbers, it might well be man different constructions so that sales and profits are generated where there tax are lower or where it fits Yamaha as corporation. I think google trens have better odds to give a good view on it’s real health.
Not a hope , BUT do kids know what life was like before the internet ? before Facebook ? The same goes with the new breed of customers that will never know what Steinberg was like with a dongle . Just changing not dying
If google search is a useful indicator, than sequoia would be the market leader by far ( add it to your search comparison yourself ). But i’d think in users numbers it is very sure not the leader, but maybe a lot of professional studios, tv use it?
Is google how people find DAWs? I think not, they find out about them from users, video, bundled with hardware, retailers, magazines, schools and on industry websites/forums such as KVR which link to the DAWs or sell them.
Secondly, believe it or not, not everyone uses Google, and I’d imagine a nerdy user base like Cubase’s is probably using alternatives. I use DuckDuckGo, because I don’t want to be a narrow minded brainwashed sheepbot programmed by selective information curated by Google and political influence - this is a known proven fact, that Google hides information that doesn’t fit establishment narratives.
anti-google tangent aside… when companies are about to die, they usually start laying people off. The fact Steinberg has been able to retain long term talent who have been with the company since the beginning, as well as hire new talent like the ex-Sibelius team to make Dorico and Robin/Spectralayers… is not an indication of a dying company.