FL Studio boss turns to Reddit for user feedback and fun
▼ Summary
– Constantin Koehncke, CEO of Image Line, oversees FL Studio and has introduced AI features like stem separation and a Gopher chatbot.
– He previously led Native Instruments, worked in marketing, and was a freelance music journalist before taking the CEO role in 2022.
– Constantin considers AirPods Pro his most indispensable tool, using them daily for calls, podcasts, and music.
– He values long-form journalism from sources like The New Yorker and The Economist, and uses Reddit, YouTube, and Substack for learning and updates.
– He believes technology should enhance human creativity, not replace it, and opposes the trend of replacing creativity with AI.
Constantin Koehncke knows a thing or two about the evolution of music production. As the CEO of Image Line, the company behind FL Studio, he now guides the digital audio workstation (DAW) that many producers first encountered as a pirated copy of Fruity Loops. Since taking the helm in 2022, Constantin has overseen the rollout of AI-powered features like stem separation and the Gopher chatbot, pushing the software forward while keeping one foot firmly planted in the community.
Before stepping into the CEO role, Constantin spent years at Native Instruments, leading the company’s shift toward digital services, working in marketing, and even freelancing as a music journalist for half a decade. Despite his corporate ascent, he stays grounded by lurking in FL Studio forums, reading Reddit daily, and never losing sight of the app’s scrappy origins.
When asked about his most indispensable tool, Constantin points to his AirPods Pro. “Calls, podcasts, walks, flights, and, controversially, even listening to music,” he says. “They’re the only piece of technology that’s with me pretty much all day. If I lose them, my productivity drops by about 40 percent.”
His phone, however, is a different story. Constantin laments the new iOS Contacts UI, calling it a “collection of mysterious UI elements” that replaced two simple taps. “Am I getting older, or is the iPhone slowly getting worse at being a phone?” he wonders.
His browser habits reveal a disciplined routine. Thirty-four tabs sit across two windows, one for work and one for everything else. “No day ends with open tabs. Tab Zero means I can finally go to sleep,” he explains.
Reddit remains his favorite social platform. “It’s imperfect, but it still feels like the old internet: people arguing about incredibly niche topics because they genuinely care, mixed with genuinely funny nonsense.” He also spends time on YouTube and Substack for learning. As for LinkedIn, he admits it comes with the job but warns against the “AI-generated thought leadership about what fatherhood taught someone about B2B enterprise sales.”
For his happy place online, Constantin turns to long-form journalism from The New Yorker, FT Weekend, and The Economist. “Anything that still believes a complicated topic deserves more than a hot take and a thumbnail,” he says.
His favorite gadget right now is the Teenage Engineering OB-4 speaker, inspired by Dieter Rams’ philosophy of “less, but better.” The built-in handle lets him carry it from room to room, making it the perfect soundtrack for getting his daughter to sleep.
On tech trends, Constantin is blunt: “Just because something’s possible doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.” He argues that replacing human creativity 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 , not replace the very act of creating.”
His proudest creation isn’t a product but an environment. “Creating environments where talented people can focus on building things that users genuinely want and love,” he says.
The best advice he ever received? “Many things can be true at the same time.” He explains that our economy optimizes for certainty and outrage, but reality is messier. “Acknowledging that is a much better starting point for solving problems than pretending everything has a simple answer.”
When stuck, Constantin goes for a walk, then writes down the problem on a blank sheet of paper. “Breaking it down to first principles works surprisingly often,” he notes. The rest resolves itself after coffee.
His last piece of physical media was The Chronicles of Doom, the MF DOOM biography. He admits he’s never gotten into ebooks, so paper books remain his choice.
For splurges, Constantin recommends sports equipment, specifically his Standert Pfadfinder steel bike.
And if his life were a biopic, the tagline would be: “Failed DJ turns helping other people make music into a career.”
Finally, when asked about the last GIF or meme he used, he recalls a recurring favorite that pays homage to Didier “Gol” Dambrin, the inventor of FL Studio. “Music owes a lot to him,” Constantin says.
(Source: The Verge)
