Clyde Sendke, managing director of Steinberg talks about Steinberg's position in the market, thoughts on the way AI is muscling into the world of music production tech and if it’s a threat, how the company stays innovative and what sets the brand’s technology apart from the competition.
You have been working at Steinberg for over two decades across various departments; what are some of the most significant changes you have experienced within the company and the wider music production industry during that time?
There are two things that are significant for the company: Steinberg was acquired in 2003 by Pinnacle Systems, a US-based company for video editing software. Then Steinberg was acquired in 2005 by the Yamaha Corporation, and we have been working closely with our Japanese colleagues on several projects.
Regarding the music production industry, I would say the increase of computation and performance over the years have given producers and engineers the freedom to work with audio and music in many new ways, such as audio processing, track count, and so on.
Very significantly, the internet has provided many new means to collaborate with musicians and other producers, be it simply communicating, exchanging audio files, or even recording in real-time. In general, new technologies have delivered new ways to play and produce music, including spatial audio like Dolby Atmos.
What motivated you to first join Steinberg? Have you always had an interest in the world of music production and technology?
One reason I joined Steinberg is due to my love for music. My dad was regularly recording cassettes in the ‘70s for me, and my father bought himself the first version of Cubase for his Atari ST in 1989 or 1990, so my interest in music production and music tech played a big part [in me joining Steinberg]. I joined Steinberg as a freelancer in 1996 and at Musikmesse in 2000 they asked me to join Steinberg as a permanent member. It was a perfect match for me.
What is your leadership philosophy and how do you apply it in your role as managing director?
I believe that the different teams working at Steinberg know what's best in their areas of expertise. So each team member is passionate about what she or he is doing. Each one knows how to advise and to make decisions that are beneficial to the company. So it is then my responsibility to enable and empower the people, or in other words, to provide the necessary resources to overcome any obstacles and to strengthen their performance.
What are your main objectives since taking on the MD role and what is your vision for the future of Steinberg?
To strengthen and increase brand awareness, open up our product range to new customers, and we will have to adapt to changing requirements of content creators. There will be future objectives planned together with Yamaha. I would like to maintain transparency and openness.
For instance, when I was appointed MD, in the first month I arranged Talk To Me sessions, and over 50 of our team members made use of that. We talked about everything they thought was important and although I have been with the company for 23 years, this has given me a new insight into the company. Talking to each other on a daily basis is really key.