Sibelius
Sibelius is a music notation software product owned by Avid Technology that enables composers, arrangers, and engravers to create, edit, and publish digital and printed musical scores as a standalone application.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1986
- HeadquartersEdwardstown, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Sibelius does
Sibelius is a music notation software product developed and distributed by Avid Technology, serving composers, arrangers, musicians, and music engravers who need to create, edit, and publish musical scores in both digital and printed form. Originally developed by Sibelius Software Ltd (founded 1986 in the United Kingdom), the product has been part of Avid's portfolio since the 2016 acquisition, and is now operated as a standalone application under the Avid brand rather than as a modular platform. As a single-product offering, Sibelius provides dedicated notation functionality — score input, editing, playback, and engraving — and is distributed alongside Avid's broader professional audio and media production ecosystem (which includes Pro Tools).
Sibelius firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sibelius
- Website
- https://sibelius.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1986
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Sibelius is a music notation software product owned by Avid Technology that enables composers, arrangers, and engravers to create, edit, and publish digital and printed musical scores as a standalone application.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sibelius industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Notation Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Music Notation & Scoring Software (MPAIAIAE)
Keywords
Where Sibelius is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Edwardstown
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Markets served
Sibelius business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Sibelius product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sibelius is a professional music notation software application that allows composers, arrangers, engravers, and musicians to create, edit, and publish musical scores in both digital and printed form. The product is sold as a standalone desktop application distributed by Avid and is positioned as a dedicated notation tool rather than a modular platform. It serves professional and educational users who need precise score layout, playback, and publishing capabilities.
Product overview
Sibelius is a single unified notation software product offered by Avid. It serves as a dedicated music composition and notation tool, providing musicians, composers, and engravers with the ability to create, edit, and publish musical scores. The product exists as a standalone application rather than a platform with modular components.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sibelius notation software
Companies that use Sibelius
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
Sibelius technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Sibelius partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves1 record
Sibelius competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cubase (Steinberg): Cubase is Steinberg's flagship DAW and includes a built-in score editor; while primarily a production tool rather than a dedicated notation product, it competes for the same composers' budgets and workflow share as Sibelius.
- Logic Pro (Apple): Logic Pro is Apple's professional DAW and includes score editing capabilities; it competes with Sibelius on macOS-based composer workflows and represents an incumbent alternative bundled with the Apple ecosystem.
- Avid Pro Tools: Pro Tools is Avid's flagship DAW and Sibelius's sister product under the same parent; it bundles light notation features and competes for the same film/TV composer budget share that Sibelius targets.
Direct peers
- MuseScore: MuseScore is a widely used open-source notation application that serves students, hobbyists, and even some professionals as a free alternative to Sibelius, putting price-led pressure on the lower end of Sibelius's market.
- Finale (MakeMusic / Momentus): Finale was Sibelius's historical arch-rival in professional notation; it remains the most direct category rival and overlaps almost entirely on feature set, target users, and use cases.
- Dorico: Dorico is Steinberg's professional music notation software, competing head-to-head with Sibelius among composers, arrangers, and engravers on engraving quality, playback, and workflow — the closest 1:1 product substitute.
Emerging players
- Noteflight: Noteflight is a web-based music notation and composition platform focused on education publishers, schools, and individual composers; it overlaps with Sibelius on notation editing and publishing use cases from a cloud-native angle.
- Flat: Flat.io is a browser-based collaborative notation platform targeting music education and ensemble use; it competes with Sibelius on accessibility and collaboration while leaning into the EdTech segment Sibelius also serves.
- LilyPond: LilyPond is an open-source text-based engraving system used by composers who want scriptable, high-quality output; it serves an overlapping user base with Sibelius, especially engravers and academic users.
Others
- music21 (MIT): music21 is a Python-based toolkit for computational music analysis and symbolic music processing; while not a notation editor, it is thematically adjacent and serves a subset of musicologists and developers who would otherwise work in Sibelius.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Sibelius social profiles
Digital presenceSibelius financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sibelius leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sibelius funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sibelius M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sibelius
What does Sibelius do?
Sibelius is a professional music notation software application that allows composers, arrangers, engravers, and musicians to create, edit, and publish musical scores in both digital and printed form. The product is sold as a standalone desktop application distributed by Avid and is positioned as a dedicated notation tool rather than a modular platform. It serves professional and educational users who need precise score layout, playback, and publishing capabilities.
Is Sibelius a public or private company?
Sibelius is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Sibelius founded?
Sibelius was founded in 1986. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Sibelius based?
Sibelius is headquartered in Edwardstown, Australia, in the Oceania region.
Who are Sibelius's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Cubase (Steinberg), Logic Pro (Apple) and Avid Pro Tools. Direct peers are MuseScore, Finale (MakeMusic / Momentus) and Dorico. Emerging players are Noteflight, Flat and LilyPond. music21 (MIT) is listed as an others.
Does Sibelius have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sibelius.
What industry is Sibelius in?
Sibelius's product category is Music Notation Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAIAE, Music Notation & Scoring Software. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 2741.