Below are ready-to-share quotes from interviews with Linux Audio developers and artists.
Post them, share them, and help amplify the Linux Audio movement! 👏
More quotes are on the way—make sure to check back from time to time.
Developer Quotes
Alexander Chalikiopoulos (Wasted Audio)
“Things are (and have been) really much more mature and usable than most people think. [on Linux being a mature audio platform] (…) I haven’t used Windows as a daily driver in nearly 18 years. [on Linux vs Windows] (…) Better support from the larger hardware and software vendors—it’s getting there, but we still have a good way to go. [on hardware support being the missing piece]”
Andrea Scuderi, Matt Thurtell, and Gabriele Leva (n-Track)
“We love the Linux development environment and were surprised by how well n-Track turned out to run on Linux. Low-latency audio works very well and the app looks and performs great, in some areas better than other platforms.”
“It was a moment when we realized that there are no real reasons not to do it! [on native Linux builds] (…) Our code is very clean and simple, with no platform-dependent bits at all, so we could do the builds very quickly. (…) We are also very happy when we can give our users more choice for where to run our plugins, and also collaborate with other musicians who might run a different OS than themselves.”
“Personally, I’m not much of a Linux user, but porting our plugins to Linux was a valuable process. It forced us to refactor a lot of our internal framework, which ended up helping performance across all platforms and made the iOS port smoother too. So while Linux support wasn’t initially a priority, it became a meaningful step for the overall quality and portability of our plugins.”
“Control, I guess. (…) When you go that deep, it becomes intimate, much less scary and alien. [on reasons why people switch to Linux] (…) I strongly felt that we had to offer an alternative for our existing customers to get rid of that dependency. [on dependency to Windows] (…) They need much less trivial support… we speak more or less the same language. [on Linux users and support efforts]”
“I felt like my operating system was hijacking my attention way too often. [on escaping distraction and cognitive overload] (…) It feels great to be living in an OS that is community-driven, based on people’s actual needs and not profit motives. [On Linux as a community-driven alternative] (…)
I absolutely have everything I need. [on Linux being fully sufficient for real work] (…) Ardour is super mature. [on Linux DAWs]”
“I’ve always loved the idea that everything—not just software—could and should be freely accessible and Open Source. [on Open Source for everything] (…) I was thrilled to feel so deeply connected and involved in the software I use every day. [on interacting with Open Source developers] (…) Linux as a basis for music production will become more popular, and more vendors will support Linux. [on Linux’s future in music production]”
“Moving to Linux has motivated me to focus on the hardware and software I already own, rather than always chasing the next thing. [on fewer options on Linux] (…) My choice of audio interface shouldn’t decide which mega-tech company I’m forced to share my data with. Supporting Linux could change that. [on the Apple–Microsoft duopoly]”
