Sibelius 7

[alan29]

Thanks Musicus. Now all I have to do is smuggle the spending past the current Mrs Alan29.

[Nick Baty]

I agree with the Bear about http://www.softplanetgroup.com – very helpful indeed.
And I should also mention http://www.studica.com – went to them for Quark 8.

[Southern Comfort]

I told her that most of the pros use Sibelius

Wrong. The real pros use Finale, which is the industry standard on both sides of the Atlantic. The only reason Sibelius survived is because John Rutter (and therefore Oxford University Press) used it.

Composers in the US are finding that if they submit their compositions in Sibelius publishers are simply not interested, since they all use Finale only and can't read Sibelius files.

SC, let's keep this thread non-partisan please. The whole point of this thread is that your final point is no longer true.

Sorry, Mr Bear. I was not being partisan, merely pointing out that composers submitting Sibelius files to publishers are likely to be shooting themselves in the foot. That is also true in the UK since, as far as I am aware, neither Decani nor McCrimmon use Sibelius. And my final point remains true, since Sibelius files continue to be unreadable by publishers using Finale. Composers using Sibelius need to submit in XML format, not Sibelius file format.

It is good to know that Sibelius 7 enables export in XML format. Now if only Sibelius would make their source code available to Coda/Make Music, as the latter did their source code to Sibelius many years ago, even XML could be avoided.

[musicus]

Last week, MakeMusic Inc, the makers of Finale, acquired Recordare LLC, owners of the MusicXML open notation format and of the Dolet software (which, significantly, will soon be provided free of charge). This latter is good news for, for example, users of Sibelius 6 and earlier versions. Let us hope that MakeMusic proves to be a good steward of the MusicXML format.

Here is the press release:

Minneapolis – November 2, 2011 – MakeMusic, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMUS) announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire selected assets of Recordare® LLC, the Internet music publishing and software company. Closing is expected to occur during the fourth quarter.

Under the terms of the agreement, MakeMusic is purchasing the MusicXML™ open format and Dolet® software technology, including copyrights, source code, and trademarks. MakeMusic also announced that the founder of Recordare and inventor of MusicXML, Michael Good, will be joining MakeMusic as the Director of Digital Sheet Music.

“This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to the ongoing development and support of an open notation format to the entire music community,” said Karen van Lith, MakeMusic CEO. “The synergy between MusicXML and Dolet software enhances MakeMusic’s renowned family of music products, further establishing us as the technology leader, and I am thrilled to have the creative talents of Michael Good to help us drive innovation in the music industry.”

"Today is a momentous day for Recordare and MusicXML,” said Michael Good, Recordare founder and CEO. “MakeMusic has been MusicXML's earliest and most significant supporter. It’s the world’s largest company devoted to music notation, practice, and digital sheet music technology. In considering the sale of Recordare’s intellectual property, I was looking for a company committed to creating new advances in the world of interactive digital music notation. MakeMusic was clearly the best fit.”

MusicXML has become the standard for musical notation interchange and is an Internet-friendly way to publish musical scores. The technology enables musicians to distribute interactive sheet music online and to use sheet music files with a wide variety of musical applications. MusicXML will continue to be available under the same open and royalty-free license as before and is supported by more than 150 applications.

Recordare’s Dolet software for Finale® and Sibelius® uses the MusicXML format to provide a universal translator. Just as word-processing and spreadsheet programs have been sharing formats for years, with MusicXML, musicians can write in one program and share their creations with people who prefer to use another program. Upon closing, MakeMusic will provide the Dolet software at no charge.

Dozens of companies and organizations support MusicXML, including Avid Technology Inc., Noteflight, LLC, Microsoft Research, Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, Cakewalk Inc., Notion Music Inc., Musitek Corporation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Music Program.

[musicus]

I have recently started a semiprivate blog (but readable by all) at http://www.musicus.co.uk/blog
The focus is on music, music technology, music software (e.g. Finale tips and Sibelius tips) and liturgy. Please feel free to take a look. You can contact me and request a login if you'd like to comment. Declaring an interest, I should say that there is a commercial side to the blog, but you can always ignore that.

[Peter Jones]

I have recently started a semiprivate blog (but readable by all) at http://www.musicus.co.uk/blog

PM me musicus for a completely private correction of an angelic nature.