COVID-19: Steinberg, Apple and Ableton offering free music software

The news comes as people are forced to stay at home due to coronavirus-imposed quarantines and restrictions on mass gatherings.

Steinberg, which has four products including Cubase Elements, Dorico Elements, WaveLab Elements and the Absolute Collection, has made the tools available to customers around the world for 60 days.

The campaign is titled hashtag #StayHomeElementsCollection, and users can benefit from the offer until 15 May. To get access to the Stay Home bundle, you need to create a Steinberg ID account here.

For the first time ever, Apple has opened up to the public Logic Pro X as a demo. The digital audio workstation (DAW), which normally costs $199 on the App Store, will now be available for 90 days. The tech giant has also extended the trial version of video editing software Final Cut Pro X from 30 up to 90 days.

Apple has not specified when these offers will end. However, both trials will revert to 30 days when the current offer ends. You can download the free trials on the Logic Pro X and Final Cut Pro X dedicated pages.

Meanwhile, Ableton also joined in to offer its latest DAW Live 10 suite for 90 days, up from the usual 30 days with all the features unlocked. The trial can be accessed here.

Other software developers that are offering free versions and temporary licences include Avid, Cockos and Moog, among others.

US-based Prince Pleasure Studios has also stepped up to make available 1GB of free analogue synth and drum samples for download during the COVID-19 lockdown.