Sibelius Software
Encyclopedia
Sibelius Software is a London
-based software business and a part of Avid Technology
that develops and sells music notation and music education software.
The company was named after the Finnish
composer Jean Sibelius
, and was founded in April 1993 by twins Ben and Jonathan Finn to sell the Sibelius notation program
. In addition to its head office in London, Sibelius Software opened offices in the US, Japan and Australia, with distributors and dealers in many other countries worldwide.
In August 2006 the company was acquired by Avid
, to become part of its Digidesign
division, which also manufactures the leading digital audio workstation
Pro Tools
.
The company has won numerous awards, including the Queen's Award
for Innovation in 2005.
Thereafter, the company has released new major Sibelius versions for Windows and Mac approximately every 2 years, with minor updates in between, the being Sibelius 6.2 in April 2010. It has also produced versions of Sibelius in various languages including English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
The Sibelius program enables electronic publishing of sheet music which can be viewed, played, transposed etc. via the Internet or iPad
using software called Scorch. This sheet music can be published on the user's own site, or on the official Sibelius self-publishing web site, ScoreExchange.com (previously SibeliusMusic.com).
The company has also released various other music programs, including special versions of Sibelius (e.g. for students and commercial electronic publishers), add-ons for Sibelius such as extra sound libraries, and a range of software for teaching music called Sibelius Educational Suite. Some of this software was developed by other companies, and then distributed or acquired by Sibelius Software.
All of the company's software is now available for both the Windows
and Macintosh platforms.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based software business and a part of Avid Technology
Avid Technology
Avid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...
that develops and sells music notation and music education software.
The company was named after the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
composer Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, and was founded in April 1993 by twins Ben and Jonathan Finn to sell the Sibelius notation program
Sibelius notation program
Sibelius is a scorewriter program, created by Sibelius Software for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and RISC OS. It is used by composers, arrangers, performers, music publishers, teachers and students, particularly for writing classical, jazz, band, vocal, film and television music...
. In addition to its head office in London, Sibelius Software opened offices in the US, Japan and Australia, with distributors and dealers in many other countries worldwide.
In August 2006 the company was acquired by Avid
AVID
AVID stands for:* Advancement Via Individual Determination, a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges in the U.S....
, to become part of its Digidesign
Digidesign
Avid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign...
division, which also manufactures the leading digital audio workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
.
The company has won numerous awards, including the Queen's Award
Queen's Award
Queen's Award can refer to:* The Queen's Awards for Enterprise, formerly The Queens Awards to Industry.* The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service* The Queen's Award for Forestry* The Queen's Award for Services in the Community...
for Innovation in 2005.
Products
The company's best-known product, Sibelius, was first released (under the name Sibelius 7) for Acorn computers in 1993. Sibelius Software also sold Acorn computers, printers, MIDI equipment, word processing & graphics software, etc. because at that time many of its customers did not already have a computer; but the company stopped selling these products (and developing Acorn software) when it released Sibelius for Windows in September 1998. This was followed by a Mac version in March 1999. From the Windows release, the unusual suffix '7' was dropped from the Sibelius product name, and the version number restarted at 1.0.Thereafter, the company has released new major Sibelius versions for Windows and Mac approximately every 2 years, with minor updates in between, the being Sibelius 6.2 in April 2010. It has also produced versions of Sibelius in various languages including English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
The Sibelius program enables electronic publishing of sheet music which can be viewed, played, transposed etc. via the Internet or iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
using software called Scorch. This sheet music can be published on the user's own site, or on the official Sibelius self-publishing web site, ScoreExchange.com (previously SibeliusMusic.com).
The company has also released various other music programs, including special versions of Sibelius (e.g. for students and commercial electronic publishers), add-ons for Sibelius such as extra sound libraries, and a range of software for teaching music called Sibelius Educational Suite. Some of this software was developed by other companies, and then distributed or acquired by Sibelius Software.
All of the company's software is now available for both the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Macintosh platforms.
List of software
- Professional/amateur
- SibeliusSibelius notation programSibelius is a scorewriter program, created by Sibelius Software for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and RISC OS. It is used by composers, arrangers, performers, music publishers, teachers and students, particularly for writing classical, jazz, band, vocal, film and television music...
, currently at version 7 - Sibelius First
- Sibelius Internet Edition (for online music publishing)
- Scorch (a web browser plug-in and iPad app for viewing, playing, printing and transposing Sibelius scores)
- Sibelius Sounds (range of sound libraries for Sibelius)
- PhotoScore Lite, Professional & Ultimate (for scanning printed scores into Sibelius)
- AudioScore Lite & Professional (for playing/singing audio into Sibelius)
- SequenceXtra
- G7G7 (guitar software)G7 is a computer program for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh for writing guitar music and songs, developed by UK software company Sibelius Software and based on the Sibelius notation program.The Sibelius site reads now:...
(no longer available)
- Sibelius
- Educational Suite
- Acorn software (obsolete)
- Sibelius 7 (for professionals & universities)
- Sibelius 7 Student (for advanced secondary school students)
- Sibelius 6 (for secondary schools & amateurs)
- Junior Sibelius (for primary schools)
- Optical Manuscript (for scanning printed scores into Sibelius 7)
Timeline
(This excludes releases of software version upgrades.)- 1986: Founders Jonathan & Ben Finn start designing Sibelius 7 program for Acorn computers
- 1993: Sibelius Software founded to sell Sibelius 7 and related computer hardware/software in the UK. Early customers include Europe’s largest publisher Music Sales, choral composer John Rutter, and the Royal Academy of Music. Sibelius 6 (educational version) launched
- 1994: Distribution in Europe, Australia & New Zealand commences. Sibelius 7 Student (educational version) launched
- 1995: German versions of Sibelius launched
- 1996: US office opened in California. Junior Sibelius (primary school program) launched
- 1998: Sibelius for Windows launched worldwide. Company ceases selling hardware to concentrate on core software business
- 1999: Sibelius for Mac, PhotoScore and Scorch launched. Sibelius forms US subsidiary, creating the Sibelius Group, which now has 25 employees. Quester VCT invests
- 2000: Sibelius Internet Edition launched, and is adopted for Internet publishing by leading European publishers Music Sales and Boosey & Hawkes. SibeliusMusic.com and Sibelius Notes (initially called Teaching Tools) launched
- 2001: World’s largest sheet music publisher Hal Leonard also adopts Sibelius Internet Edition. Sibelius Group reaches 50 employees
- 2002: Sibelius is first major music program for Mac OS X. Company acquires music software company MIDIworks
- 2003: Revenues beat competitor MakeMusic Inc by 20%, confirming Sibelius as world market leader. Starclass, Instruments, G7 and G7music.net launched. Sibelius Group commences distributing Musition and Auralia. Sibelius in Japanese launched, distributed by Yamaha
- 2004: Compass, Kontakt Gold, Sibelius Student Edition, Sibelius in French & Spanish launched. Company acquires SequenceXtra. Sibelius software used in more than 50% of UK secondary schools
- 2005: Australian subsidiary formed after acquiring Australian distributor. Company reaches 75 employees. Wins prestigious Queen’s Award for Innovation
- ?2006: Groovy Music, Rock & Pop Collection, and Coloured Keyboard launched. Commences distributing O-Generator.
- 2006: Sibelius Software is bought by Avid TechnologyAvid TechnologyAvid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...
- ?2007: Japanese office opened