The Grim
the request for confidentiality was quite obvious
 
i haven't found it confusing or chaotic. it seemed quite strait forward and explained, not to mention a pretty awesome jesture and deal for the users.

 I also found it obvious from the email, what they were asking. The offer and announcement was for our eyes only. Cakewalk had their reasons for making this offer to a specific group of users.

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk]

subtlearts
... In any case, while this episode has been instructive on many levels, and maybe could/should have been predicted, and clearly created a lot of unexpected work and management (some might call it Damage Control), it has also resulted in a bunch of people who otherwise might not have gotten the message, sending you a bunch of money. So that part worked out at least! 

You'll be happy to know that this indeed did help us tighten the process and we fixed thousands of records. And I was just kidding, thus the :)

I am indeed happy to hear that, and I figured you were not chastising me or anything... Looking forward to the 1st!

Donald Duck Trump is an hologram?
 

SilverBlueMedallion

tenfoot
The level of absurd speculation following this announcement is breathtaking. A company with an extraordinary track record of customer commitment offers lifetime updates to one of the longest established DAW's on the market at a bargain price, and people still complain! Seriously folks - it's a no brainer, and you even have until August 31st to save your pennies.
 
Thanks Cakewalk - you really are the best:)

The reason for that is because people are not stupid.  When something sounds too good to be true - it usually is!

I am happy to give Cakewalk the benefit of the doubt.  I think they have earned that with how well they have managed the subscription process. The deal of paying 2 years to get service "forever" is probably a good deal.  But it also implies that there will be much less provided under this program in the future.  The direction has already been moving toward separately priced products.  This seems to be the business model that Gibson sees at this stage of the product life, and they are taking preemptive action to avoid the debate about the ongoing value of the subscription model.
 
This is really not too different from what Microsoft is doing with Win 10.  While making the OS "free for life" for long-term users who happen to have the right equipment, they are locking in an ecosystem where they can sell a lot of 3rd party apps, with Microsoft getting a cut off of each app sale.  Plus Microsoft still gets some revenue from OEM sales of devices that are delivered with Windows.
 
I am not saying this is malicious, devious, evil or anything else.  But it is not the same as the past and anybody who wants to argue that things will just roll merrily along with no change to the business model probably isn't thinking this through all the way.

I take the model as Fruity Loops - or how they used to operate.  Even if you opted for one of their $99 "for life" systems they were always offering better synths to go with their DAW and other do-dads (some were quite nice and desirable).  After a few years they changed the name to FL Studio and let you upgrade to that - Fruity Loops itself still worked fine but most people ended up upgrading.  So the $99 for life deal was true, but orphaned.  I'm not saying that is what Cake will do, and I had Fruity Loops for 5-6 years before the new upgrade was offered.  Still quite a deal per year for a DAW - $15-20 a year.  But yea, a lot of folks were pissed about that.  I image in 5 years some of the lifetime buyers are going to be mad they don't get the new Cake DAW ASDIC for free with its mind control user interface.
 
I would think about it that way - a long term investment which is a lot less when you amortize your purchase over a 5 year period or more.  Cake no doubt will use this one-time bump in capturing their current users to continue to tweak the main product - SONAR, but also use this money to work on/purchase other stuff - more synths (purchased separately), more effects, P5 plugin for SONAR (OK, that is my hope and I'd pay extra for a good Matrix feature) and maybe we'll finally see how much these notation wanters are willing to pay for their much beloved notation feature.  They won't plunk down Sibelius-type money but $100?  $50?
 
That model makes the most sense to me.  For Cake, I imagine they are hoping they can make it work like Imagine-Line is doing.  They don't have as big as a base as FL, but then many of those users were crackers.  A funny story is how (I don't think they admitted it) but years ago there was a "free update" that caught many moochers - it locked up your projects until you authorized (paid) for your version.  It was funny to watch the forums explode with users who couldn't understand their problem until ...  So the model can work, but you must continue to bring in new users and continue to sell extra features to them and established users.  It is simply incumbent upon Cake to make software people will pay extra for.  Their synths are great tools, and some of the PC tools are excellent - the SSL and optical comp are certainly worth paying more for.  One or two new great products like those (and a new Matrix!)marketed every year to a known audience should be enough to keep Cake solvent, esp. when they bring in more users to the DAW itself.
 
One last point - if I was one of those that "leaked" the special offer starting a 30 page thread, I'd be worried about getting anymore special offers.  Or maybe receiving a special "Image Line" upgrade sent to y'all only.  Or maybe, as other have intimated, it was all part of a "clever plan, my lord," to start a 30 page thread and get the old buying juices flowing.
 
@

Zargg71

SilkTone
 
I don't think we need to worry too much. I'm more interested to know what happens on June 1.
 

I think this one of the better advices

It would sure be nice to get the announcement early ... 

sausy1981
Hi, Still no e-mail here... Could I get the email?

Which mail ?

LJB
So... are you telling me to NOT buy a new studio computer before 1st of June? Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge, Mac Mac?..

 
Oooh I love that idea! ;)

BobF

Zargg71

SilkTone
 
I don't think we need to worry too much. I'm more interested to know what happens on June 1.
 

I think this one of the better advices

It would sure be nice to get the announcement early ... 

Some say that it came too early...

Hi everyone, if you still haven't received the email and you meet all the following conditions, please PM me (even if you've already posted here... it's just easier to keep track of and knock out all-at-once):

• You've purchased SONAR Platinum
• You have renewed your SONAR Platinum Rolling Updates at least once
• The "Newsletter" box on your My Account page is checked

If you meet all these conditions, you should have received the email, so again, if you did not receive it, let me know via a Private Message.
 
If your newsletter box is unchecked, check it first (and click save) and you should receive the next round of emails that go out.
 
Keep in mind that the message was intended for a very select audience. If you don't meet one of the other conditions, sit tight until June 1st. You'll get the full story, then, and I think you'll be excited about our announcements. 

Joey Adams [Cakewalk]

Morvejones
With monthly/annual everything would be included as it is now, people with lifetime updates would have to pay extra for things, such as Drum Replacer, Vocal sync and 3rd party plugs

This is incorrect. I don't mean to call you out, but we've stated this a few times in this elephantine thread (so I understand if it was missed a few times over). It's still SONAR Platinum, so we're not taking anything away. Effectively, you're stretching your Rolling Updates membership end date to the end of time, rather than 1 month/12 months into the future. The content you receive in the updates is going to be the same whether you're on monthly, annual, or lifetime updates. 

That's fantastic news. Thanks again for the most excellent customer service and treatment Cakewalk. 

I want my email Joey!

This is really not too different from what Microsoft is doing with Win 10.

I'm holding out for June 1 to hear how things go and whether I will cave and pay up :)  I haven't gotten a new version of Sonar since X3 where I am today.  I simply don't have the time to play like I used to, so beying a new versino hasn't been very compelling - looking for nuance when I can barely remember how to dock or undock a plugin! :)
 
That said, I don't agree with the Win 10 comparison at all.  Microsoft does NOT rely on retail sales for Operating Systems for their major revenue streams (I recently saw a chart of 2013 and 2014 with Consumer OS sales being about 1%).  The commercial (more like 50%), education, etc licensing along with the products like Office, big server systems like SQL and Exchange, Office 365 revenue, and other examples are the things that fuel the Microsoft fire.  The Windows 10 model is a line on some accountant's book somewhere.
 
Cakewalk, on the other hand, has a few products and I have to imagine that one of the profitable ones over time for them has been the Cakewalk/Sonar line of things, with plugins and other upgrades being the extras.  I see this as a way to get a large infusion of cash to do something big, like an aquisition that will pay over the longer term.
 
I can't wait to see what is coming.  If the life-time subscription is not the bulk of it, what else they are going to announce should be pretty big.  

SilkTone
I'm also holding out for June 1st. For those holding out, let's just hope that those that jumped in right from the start don't get an Extra Special Loyal SPlat Edition With Everything For Free That CakeWalk Will Ever Release Ever Again Edition. Because they were so loyal compared to the rest of the riffraff that they deserve extra special treatment. Forever.
 

Oh crap, I didn't think of that...