Akai and Moog parent company opens its products to community modding

inMusic, the parent company of Akai, Moog, Native Instruments and other brands, says it plans to work more closely with the modding community. CEO Jack O’Donnell told The Verge that the company intends to provide developers with a toolbox for experimenting with its products. Akai has already begun sending devices to developers ahead of the official release of the Sample Key.

The company is also emphasizing safeguards around those experiments. O’Donnell said Akai wants its official software to remain stable and dependable for artists performing on stage. He cited the risk of a musician such as Fred Again encountering bugs on an MPC during a show. At the same time, he said users should be able to modify and test the devices without fear of losing their work. Akai is therefore considering a reset function that would let people return from experiments while preserving their existing material. The approach combines broader access for community modifications with protection for professional use.