If you’re 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’s called FL Studio, 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 and its Gopher chatbot.
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’s humble roots.
What is your most indispensable tool (analog or digital, app or hardware)?
AirPods Pro. Calls, podcasts, walks, flights, and, controversially, even listening to music. 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.
What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?
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’m constantly afraid to press. Am I getting older, or is the iPhone slowly getting worse at being a phone?
What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?
Mostly internal dashboards, product docs, analytics, the FL Studio forums, and Reddit. Checking them every morning has become muscle memory.
How many tabs do you have open right now?
Thirty-four across two windows. They’re 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.
Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)?
Reddit is the only place I still happily scroll. 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. I also spend a lot of time on YouTube and Substack — best for learning and staying up to date.
LinkedIn comes with the CEO job. It’s 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.
What is your happy place online?
Long-form journalism. The New Yorker. FT Weekend. The Economist. Anything that still believes a complicated topic deserves more than a hot take and a thumbnail.
What is your favorite gadget you’ve ever owned?
Maybe not ever, but definitely right now: my Teenage Engineering OB-4 speaker. It’s classic industrial design inspired by Dieter Rams’ philosophy of “weniger, aber besser” (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.
Which tech trend do you wish would go away?
Just because something’s possible doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
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 — not replace the very act of creating.
Which creation are you the most proud of?
Creating environments where talented people can focus on building things that users genuinely want and love.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“Many things can be true at the same time.”
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.
What do you do when you’re feeling stuck?
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.
What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?
The Chronicles of Doom, the MF DOOM biography (I’m a fan). Somehow I’ve never managed to get into ebooks, so I keep buying paper ones.
What do you think is worth splurging on?
Sports equipment. In my case, a Standert Pfadfinder steel bike.
What would the tagline for your biopic be?
Failed DJ turns helping other people make music into a career.
What’s the last GIF or meme you used?
This pops up from time to time, and I just recently sent it to someone. It’s funny because it’s true. Music owes a lot to Didier “Gol” Dambrin for inventing FL Studio.