{"id":3606,"date":"2026-07-11T16:09:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=3606"},"modified":"2026-07-11T16:09:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:09:42","slug":"image-line-ceo-constantin-koehncke-fl-studio-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=3606","title":{"rendered":"Image Line CEO Constantin Koehncke hits the FL Studio forums and subreddit every day to keep in touch with his users."},"content":{"rendered":"


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If you\u2019re a music maker of a certain age, then you probably once dabbled with a pirated copy of a little app called Fruity Loops. These days it\u2019s called FL Studio<\/a>, and Constantin Koehncke, is the man responsible for shepherding the pioneering digital audio workstation (DAW) through the modern age. As CEO of Image Line, the company behind FL Studio, Constantin has overseen the introduction of a number of AI-powered features like stem separation<\/a> and its Gopher<\/a> chatbot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Before taking the reins of Image Line in 2022, Constantin was the head of Native Instruments, where he spearheaded the shift towards digital services, did a stint in marketing, and was a freelance music journalist for half a decade. Through it all, he tries to keep his ear to the ground, hanging out in FL Studio forums, reading Reddit every day, and regularly reminding himself of FL Studio\u2019s humble roots.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is your most indispensable tool (analog or digital, app or hardware)?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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AirPods Pro. Calls, podcasts, walks, flights, and, controversially, even listening to music. They\u2019re the only piece of technology that\u2019s with me pretty much all day. If I lose them, my productivity drops by about 40 percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The new iOS Contacts UI. Apple somehow took something that used to require two obvious taps and turned it into a collection of mysterious UI elements that I\u2019m constantly afraid to press. Am I getting older, or is the iPhone slowly getting worse at being a phone?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mostly internal dashboards, product docs, analytics, the FL Studio forums, and Reddit. Checking them every morning has become muscle memory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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How many tabs do you have open right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Thirty-four across two windows. They\u2019re organized, though, which is an important distinction. One browser window is work (lots of tabs), the other is everything else (also lots of tabs). No day ends with open tabs. Tab Zero means I can finally go to sleep.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reddit is the only place I still happily scroll. It\u2019s imperfect, but it still feels like the old internet: people arguing about incredibly niche topics because they genuinely care, mixed with genuinely funny nonsense. I also spend a lot of time on YouTube and Substack \u2014 best for learning and staying up to date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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LinkedIn comes with the CEO job. It\u2019s useful once you learn to mentally filter out the AI-generated thought leadership about what fatherhood taught someone about B2B enterprise sales. You know the kind: One sentence. Per paragraph.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is your happy place online?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Long-form journalism. The<\/em> New Yorker<\/em>. FT Weekend<\/em>. The Economist<\/em>. Anything that still believes a complicated topic deserves more than a hot take and a thumbnail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is your favorite gadget you\u2019ve ever owned?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maybe not ever, but definitely right now: my Teenage Engineering OB-4 speaker. It\u2019s classic industrial design inspired by Dieter Rams\u2019 philosophy of \u201cweniger, aber besser\u201d (less, but better). The built-in handle means I can carry it from room to room, which has recently made it the soundtrack device to getting my daughter to sleep.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which tech trend do you wish would go away?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Just because something\u2019s possible doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a good idea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The idea that replacing human creativity is somehow a noble pursuit misses the point entirely. Writing, painting, and making music are some of the most fundamentally human things we do. Technology should give people more ways to express themselves and unlock their creativity \u2014 not replace the very act of creating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which creation are you the most proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Creating environments where talented people can focus on building things that users genuinely want and love.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the best piece of advice you\u2019ve ever received?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMany things can be true at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We live in an economy optimized for certainty, outrage, and instant opinions. Reality is usually messier. Acknowledging that is a much better starting point for solving problems than pretending everything has a simple answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What do you do when you\u2019re feeling stuck?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Go for a walk, then sit down with a blank sheet of paper and write down the problem. Breaking it down to first principles works surprisingly often. The rest usually resolves itself after coffee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the last piece of physical media you bought?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Chronicles of Doom<\/em>, the MF DOOM biography (I\u2019m a fan). Somehow I\u2019ve never managed to get into ebooks, so I keep buying paper ones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What do you think is worth splurging on?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sports equipment. In my case, a Standert Pfadfinder steel bike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What would the tagline for your biopic be?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Failed DJ turns helping other people make music into a career.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the last GIF or meme you used?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This pops up from time to time, and I just recently sent it to someone. It\u2019s funny because it\u2019s true. Music owes a lot to Didier \u201cGol\u201d Dambrin for inventing FL Studio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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