Originally this was to be called “NI be for the UK” (a poor Sex Pistols reference if you weren’t sure). But regardless of the terrible play on words or radical misjudging of the target demographic, the message couldn’t be clearer. Just like Tokyo before it, Native Instruments are setting up a new office in London, and I for one couldn’t be happier.
Here’s the missive from Berlin:
Native Instruments announces plans for a dedicated UK office
New branch office in London to provide sales, marketing and R&D functions
Berlin, August 29, 2013 – International music technology manufacturer Native Instruments is pleased to announce plans to open a UK branch in January 2014, to establish dedicated sales, marketing and R&D capacities in one of its most important markets. To be located in the vibrant London area of Shoreditch, Native Instruments UK will firmly root the company in the birthplace of pop music and hotbed of continuous artistic innovation, and complement its existing offices in the music metropolises of Berlin, Los Angeles and Tokyo.
The NI UK sales team will be formed by the experienced staff of longstanding agent 2Twenty2, led by its owner and Managing Director Stephen Parker who has looked after NI’s UK distribution for over a decade. The London office will also fulfill general marketing, PR and artist relations functions, accommodating the specific audiences and scenes in the UK and Ireland.
Furthermore, Native Instruments UK will comprise a local product design and development team, which will extend the capabilities of the R&D staff in the Berlin and LA offices.
“With Native Instruments, I’ve been fortunate to represent one of the most dynamic MI brands in the UK since 2001”, says Stephen Parker, “and I am very excited to now grow the Komplete, Maschine and Traktor product lines even further from a dedicated NI branch.”
“The UK has always been a crucial sales region for us”, says Daniel Haver, “and the establishment of a full-featured office in London now represents the next step in our commitment to our British customers as well as our determination to involve local creative talent into our future product design and development process.”
Native Instruments will announce job opportunities for the London office soon via their dedicated online career center.
This is great news for us living in our little island off the coast of Europe. NI have essentially cut out the middle man… with the middle man, meaning that the layer of business between NI HQ and their customers has been assimilated into the fold, but still handled by the very same people who have done a sterling job over the years. It also means that talented people living in the UK won’t necessarily need to move to Germany to work for NI now.
Let’s be clear about the relevance of the UK in the whole global DJ sphere of things. We might be small, but still represent a high chunk of the overall percentage. The UK has always been the second biggest visitor demographic to this site over the last 10 years, and if my info is correct, we’re usually second or third in the overall sales figures for many manufacturers. Hopefully this move will stop me having to ask for UK prices for stuff. It should be on the bloody press releases in the first place.
If I recall, the new NI Tokyo office had a rather completely messy plush party to celebrate the opening of their new HQ. Over here, I suspect they’ll probably push out the boat by staying until 7pm one night and get some fish and chips in and a nice cup of tea. No need for such frippery – we’re British. A firm handshake is all that’s required.
So that’s Berlin, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and now London. An impressive list of locations for NI. The kettle is always on guys. And I have another reason to go to London now.