MakeMusic, the developer of Finale, has partnered with Steinberg, the developer of Dorico, to promote cross-grading to Dorico. However, Dorico is not the only option for switching from Finale.
Another product with the same performance as Finale is Sibelius Ultimate*. (*hereinafter referred to as “Sibelius”)
Finale's unique feature is that it allows you to edit almost all elements of a score in some way, and therefore, at least in the music publishing industry in Japan, Finale has almost 100% monopolized the market.
Although Sibelius does not have the same advanced editing functions as Finale, it seems to be popular especially in recording and live performances, because it allows you to create high-quality scores relatively easily and has advanced integration with Pro Tools, one of the industry-standard DAWs.
In this article, we will look at the advantages of Sibelius over Dorico from the perspective of migrating from Finale.
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Sibelius requires less effort to modify the layout than Dorico
We have been testing files migrated from Finale mainly to Dorico and Sibelius, and we feel that Sibelius is superior to Dorico in that the layout is often migrated with usable accuracy (of course, there are always exceptions).
Below are screenshots showing the difference between Dorico and Sibelius when importing a MusicXML file from Finale, using a band score consisting of four instruments (Vo/Key/Ba/Ds) as an example.
This is the first half of the original Finale file (pp.1-2).
Sibelius imported the file with a layout that was pretty close to the original written in Finale, so almost no layout modifications were needed for this file.
In Dorico, all hidden elements such as the vocal part hidden in the first 16 silent bars and the chord symbols hidden in the full score are redisplayed, and the automatic collision avoidance function for symbols is applied to these, resulting in wider spacing between staves and systems, and the systems no longer fitting into three lines per page.
(It's a minor point, but the spacing between the staves at the top of the first page is wider because a special notation that places text with different font sizes in a single text box causes display problems.)
This is the second half of the original Finale file (pp.3-4).
In Sibelius, the second half was imported with almost the same layout as Finale, just like the first half.
In Dorico, the number of bars per line is reduced, the overall score is less dense, and the number of pages is doubled. Looking closely, you can see that all the Japanese-style TAB notation (showing stems, etc.) that I set for the bass TAB has been canceled.
There was no significant difference in quality between Sibelius and Dorico for the parts, and both required a few minutes of editing. This screenshot shows the first page of each part, but the overlapping lyrics seen in Sibelius are resolved by editing the bar distribution, so I don't think it's much of a problem.
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I guess there are many people who have experienced despair when they opened an important music file created in Finale in Dorico and found that the layout had collapsed so badly. (I am one of them. orz)
In Dorico, many of the layout settings are done automatically, so you don't have to worry about the layout when creating a new file.
However, the current problem is when importing a file created in Finale via MusicXML.
If the original layout settings made in Finale are not reproduced in Dorico, then correcting the layout collapse that occurs there requires advanced editing skills, which is a concern when moving from Finale to Dorico.
Particularly difficult is adjusting the spacing of systems. This is not a big problem in large-scale scores such as orchestral scores, where there is only one system per page, but in small ensembles such as the band scores we have taken up as an example, where several systems are arranged per page, problems such as not being able to pack the systems into the desired range can occur.
Compared to Dorico, Sibelius seems to be able to import Finale layouts in a state close to the original, so there is less worry about troubles related to layout correction than with Dorico, which I think will greatly reduce stress in the work.
Sibelius probably has a much larger number of users than Dorico.
A large number of users is a huge advantage for users. It is often possible to directly exchange files with other users, and it is easier to find information on how to use it on the Internet.
In terms of software development, more information on on-site usage from users will be collected, which will allow bugs to be discovered sooner, and as long as the developer has the resources, it is expected that this will lead to early product improvements.
Sibelius was released in 1993, making it the second longest-running product after Finale, which was released in 1988, and it already has a fair number of users. Although there is no statistical evidence, it is said that Sibelius and Finale have shared the music notation software market globally.
This is particularly common in the United States, and in fact, when I was studying at Berklee College of Music around 2005, many students switched from Finale, which was provided to them at low cost by the college, to Sibelius, and I remember that there were many Sibelius users among the college faculty as well.
Around 2016, when Finale v25 was released, I heard that there were more Finale users than Sibelius in Japan.
However, around 2018 when v26 was released and 2021 when v27 was released, I felt that the number of Sibelius users, especially in the pop genre such as jazz, suddenly increased, and I remember that around that time, the impression of “Finale for engraving and publishing, Sibelius for music production” seemed to have become established.
Dorico, a new product released in 2016, has a major advantage in its new design, but attracting more users will be a challenge in the future.
It is expected that the amount of information available on the Internet about how to use Dorico will increase rapidly in the future due to the Finale sunset issue, but it may take a little more time for it to reach the same level as Finale and Sibelius.
Sibelius has a file size that is about 1/15 of Dorico.
One of the advantages that Sibelius has had over Finale for a long time is its small file size. Finale file sizes are usually several hundred KB for orchestral or big band scores, while Sibelius file sizes are often less than half the size of the same Finale file.
In contrast, Dorico files are usually over 1MB in size, with a simple lead sheet being around 500KB (=0.5MB), and some demo files included with the product are over 6MB.
Comparing the file sizes of the four-instrument piece (Vo/Key/Ba/Ds) used in the above example, the Dorico file is 6 times larger than the Finale file and 16 times larger than the Sibelius file.
Finale file: 206KB
Sibelius file: 75KB
Dorico file: 1,222KB (1.2MB)
This ratio will vary from file to file, but it's reasonable to think of Dorico files as roughly 10 times the size of Finale files and roughly 15 times the size of Sibelius files.
In recent years, large capacity HDDs can be purchased cheaply, so I don't think this is a crucial issue.
However, considering that many users who use music notation software heavily have thousands of files, it may be a good idea to be somewhat concerned about this if you are considering long-term operation.
In particular, if you are sending multiple files to others by email, you will need to be somewhat careful.
Sibelius is available at a low price until the end of December 2024
The biggest drawback of Sibelius is its price. The permanent license version is quite expensive, at around 90,000 yen, making the subscription version seem cheaper, but Finale has only been offered in a permanent license version until now, so users are not used to subscriptions.
Therefore, it seemed unreasonable to switch from Finale in terms of price, but amid the sudden Finale sunset commotion, Sibelius has finally started a sale for a limited time.
(Scheduled to run from September 9, 2024 to December 31, 2024. Note that the prices shown below are those listed on the official websites as of September 26, 2024.)
[Avid] Sibelius Switching Edition Sale
Sibelius Ultimate Permanent License Edition - Switch to Finale: ¥25,630
(Includes 1 year of domestic distributor support)
Sibelius Ultimate Permanent License Edition - Switch to Finale (without support): ¥22,990
(No domestic distributor support, additional support ticket purchase required for support)
The cheapest lineup for permanent license versions is “without support”, but the version with 1 year of support is only 2,640 yen more expensive, so you should choose the version with support.
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By the way, the crossgrade version of Dorico is currently available for ¥20,900. Even if you buy both Dorico and Sibelius with support, it costs ¥46,530, which is much cheaper than the price of purchasing a new license of a professional music notation software.
(For new purchases, the regular price of Dorico is ¥69,300, and I remember that Finale was also in the early ¥60,000 range.)
The reason for the current price war between Dorico and Sibelius is likely due to the desire of both companies to capture Finale users, who accounted for half of the global market.
In that case, you may never again have the chance to purchase both Dorico and Sibelius perpetual licenses at such a low price.
In the future, Dorico and Sibelius may suffer the same fate as Finale. If you have been writing music scores quite frequently with Finale and are undecided about what to do with Finale's successor in the long term, it might be a good idea to take this opportunity to buy Sibelius along with Dorico as a purpose of insurance.