Topic by weightedKeys

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  • weightedKeys
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Topic: what does "authorised by Steinway/Bechstein/Grotrian..." mean?

Hey,
just out of curiosity:

What does 'authorised by company xyz' actually mean?

Does it mean they tested the sound quality of their instruments in Pianoteq and agreed to allow the use of the brand name?
Or is it simply a financial matter of paying for a licence to use that name?
Or a mix of both?

Or does it mean that the instrument models are the result of a collaboration between the manufacturer and Modartt?
(for example where the company provides access to their real instruments to allow Modartt to study their characteristics intensively)

Would be cool to hear more about the process of acquiring such a licence.

(Also, in the same context, why does Yamaha not provide their licence? Is the software instrument to far off from the original sound? Or are their other reasons?)

cheers.

Reply by dv

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  • dv
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Re: what does "authorised by Steinway/Bechstein/Grotrian..." mean?

weightedKeys wrote:

Hey,
just out of curiosity:

What does 'authorised by company xyz' actually mean?

Does it mean they tested the sound quality of their instruments in Pianoteq and agreed to allow the use of the brand name?
Or is it simply a financial matter of paying for a licence to use that name?
Or a mix of both?

Or does it mean that the instrument models are the result of a collaboration between the manufacturer and Modartt?
(for example where the company provides access to their real instruments to allow Modartt to study their characteristics intensively)

Would be cool to hear more about the process of acquiring such a licence.

(Also, in the same context, why does Yamaha not provide their licence? Is the software instrument to far off from the original sound? Or are their other reasons?)

cheers.

I know only part of the answer.
Yamaha and Kawai make their own piano engines and so it would be odd if they supported Modartt, a competitor in that regard.
Steinway, Petrof, Steingraeber don't -- in fact the last two have their own piano engine but AFAIK they run Pianoteq inside.

I agree with you that for us consumers it would be interesting to know the rest of the story, but sometimes commercial agreements are NDA for business reasons (i.e. not disclose the information for competitors who would gain an advantage by knowing)

Where do I find a list of all posts I upvoted? :(

Reply by Professor Leandro Duarte

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  • Professor Leandro Duarte
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Re: what does "authorised by Steinway/Bechstein/Grotrian..." mean?

weightedKeys wrote:

Hey,
just out of curiosity:

What does 'authorised by company xyz' actually mean?

Does it mean they tested the sound quality of their instruments in Pianoteq and agreed to allow the use of the brand name?
Or is it simply a financial matter of paying for a licence to use that name?
Or a mix of both?

Or does it mean that the instrument models are the result of a collaboration between the manufacturer and Modartt?
(for example where the company provides access to their real instruments to allow Modartt to study their characteristics intensively)

Would be cool to hear more about the process of acquiring such a licence.

(Also, in the same context, why does Yamaha not provide their licence? Is the software instrument to far off from the original sound? Or are their other reasons?)

cheers.


Indeed, your observation is very good. Your curiosity is very relevant.
I don't think companies charge fees for using their names/brands and logos. This is because it is a form of disclosure in which the brand is benefited. Also, the K2 instrument, which does not have a real model, costs the same price as a piano that has a renowned brand as a reference; if the values were more expensive, it would certainly be incorporated into the final price. Furthermore, the Pianoteq is not exactly a "competitor" to the acoustic piano factories, but an alternative. Proof of this is that many Pianoteq users have real acoustic pianos at home and still use Pianoteq.

The question you asked is really interesting.

Respeito, Esforço e Sabedoria

Reply by Philippe Guillaume

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  • Philippe Guillaume
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Re: what does "authorised by Steinway/Bechstein/Grotrian..." mean?

Hi weightedKeys,
'authorised by company xyz' means that company xyz has tested the sound reproduction in Pianoteq of their instrument, has validated that sound and granted Modartt permission to use their brand name and mention this authorization.

Philippe Guillaume's Website