The End of Finale

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Reaction to Finale’s End-of-Life and Authorization Policy

  • Many see the initial plan to stop new authorizations after a year as “user‑hostile,” arguing it effectively revokes a perpetual license for locally installed software.
  • Others counter that shutting down a long‑running, legacy codebase is painful but sometimes unavoidable, and note Finale gave notice, refunds for recent buyers, and a discounted path to Dorico.
  • Strong disagreement over framing: some call it “stealing” or “sabotage”; others say the product is simply dying as a business and can’t be expected to run forever.

Clarifications and Walk‑backs

  • Later updates from MakeMusic (quoted in the thread) say:
    • Authorization “will remain available indefinitely,” though future OS changes may still break installations.
    • Finale installers remain downloadable, and they’re working on ensuring Dorico crossgraders can also get Finale v27 for MusicXML 4.0 export.
  • Several commenters note the initial communication created avoidable panic by implying a hard cutoff.

File Access, Archival, and Conversion

  • Major concern: large libraries of .mus/.musx files becoming inaccessible if installs can’t be re‑authorized or if OSes move on.
  • Finale already exports MusicXML and PDF, but converting thousands of files manually is seen as an unreasonable burden.
  • Suggestions:
    • Free, no‑DRM “viewer/converter” or batch MusicXML/PDF tool.
    • At minimum, keep activation working or patch out the check so old installs can be recreated indefinitely.

Ethics, Law, and DRM

  • Debate over whether remote activation for non‑cloud, perpetual software should be legal at all.
  • Some argue EULAs and “remote authorization” terms don’t morally justify turning off re‑installs; call for consumer‑protection rules similar to first‑sale doctrine.
  • Others emphasize that anyone buying remotely authorized software assumes the risk servers may be shut down.

Alternatives and Industry Impact

  • Dorico widely praised as modern and well‑designed but with a learning curve and higher cost; some suspect the Steinberg deal influenced Finale’s shutdown choices.
  • Sibelius, MuseScore, and LilyPond are discussed as alternatives, each with trade‑offs in usability, playback, and engraving.
  • Commenters highlight the small, specialized pool of developers who understand both advanced notation and C++, and view Finale’s demise as the loss of a historically important tool.