I know that many of us have asked this question, "How will Cakewalk survive without a steady revenue stream" by offering lifetime upgrades for as little as $99?   The simple answer is, "they can't" and I think we all suspect that answer.
 
However, perhaps in a new metaphor they still can.  Notice that the lifetime upgrade is for the CORE product. The audio engine, the midi editing, etc.  Will we be charged for the features that are added that aren't considered part of the core product.  Like the ability to change skins on the different views, perhaps that becomes an add on product and if we want that feature we pay extra?  Perhaps, all new development to SONAR will be for NON CORE functionality... if you come to think about it, what new stuff can be added to the core product (they have pretty much nailed the DAW environment and at this point not too much more work needs to be done).
 
I really do not know where the bakers are going with this but we all know that without new revenue, they can't stay in business and if they are not in business, we are not in business.  
 
But, I do have some blind faith and trust in the leaders of the CAKEWALK division in that these next chapters will be leading down some new paths which will create a new and different business model that will continue to generate revenue.  Perhaps they will become PLUG IN masters or sample library or preset creators that will extend the usefulness and features of SONAR.
 
Hopefully, the bakers will reveal where this is heading sooner than later.
 
Thanks,
Jim

jimkleban
I know that many of us have asked this question, "How will Cakewalk survive without a steady revenue stream" by offering lifetime upgrades for as little as $99?   The simple answer is, "they can't" and I think we all suspect that answer.

There are always new people coming into the field of recording who want to buy a DAW. Cakewalk is making a concerted effort along two parallel paths to a) keep existing customers happy, and b) attract as many new customers as possible. Growth doesn't come from existing SONAR customers upgrading, that's just maintenance...look at how many people are still stuck on X1 or even 8.5. Those people could have all received free updates for life and it wouldn't have made a penny's worth of difference to the bottom line.
 
But they didn't get free updates for life, because they didn't continue to support SONAR and Cakewalk. The people who renewed Platinum DID. They deserve a reward. I guess in this day and age it's a weird concept to think that a company really appreciates its users. Oh well.
 
The success of Artist shows there are plenty of people getting into this field. As to "revealing" things, the Bakers are not going to reveal their strategy for how they plan to draw more people into the Cakewalk fold, because then bigger companies with more resources could say "Hey, that's a great idea! Why didn't we think of that?" and get to work.
 
Cakewalk has been around for decades. They didn't wake up last week and say "Hey! Let's do something really stupid, and then we'll go out of business!" And there's still plenty of work to be done with SONAR, including tackling some of the more obstinate bugs.
 
This is only the first part of a very far-reaching plan to stay in business and grow, not go out of business. Their core belief is that the happier the customers are, the easier it will be to stay in business. I'm certainly not going to try and convince them otherwise. 
 
 
 
 

Agreed

However , I am a satisfied customer , and me personally , I would rather( HAPPILY) pay 99 each year and know I am helping the lifetime of cakewalk .

I AM NOT SUPPORTING THE LIFETIME UPDATE - IAM SUPPORTING THE LIFETIME OF PLATINUM

if Craig thinks it is OK and legit, then I will most likely do it.  Just sayin'...

By the way, I have been with Cakewalk for a very, very long time, going back to Home Studio and then getting the Pro Audio range, then the Sonar range, the X-Series range, and finally the Platinum series range.  I have been using Cakewal FOREVER!

jimkleban
. if you come to think about it, what new stuff can be added to the core product

· MIDI sends so you can send one MIDI track's MIDI events to multiple soft synths or MIDI in enabled Plugins
· a routing map - a great addition to see where tracks are routed to and what effects are used where... would be useful now we have AUX tracks
 · Controller panes that are not a pain to use (..see what I did there)....  ie, Currently, when you view a track in PRV that has many controllers, all of the controller panes open up in tiny lanes, making them a pain to edit. This could change.
.  Horizontally scalable automation envelopes - currently, if you Horizontally scalable a clip (CTRL drag edge of clip), any automation envelopes that are also selected with that clip do not follow the Horizontally scaling - use have to redraw the envelopes.

This is just to name a few.

I am sure the bakers are working on things we have not thought of that will be included in the core updates....

I think this is a positive direction for Cakewalk Sonar. There is probably plenty of revenue to be made from their other products and continued development without changing the core product. Look at all the added features we have received for the last 12 months or so for really little cost to us at the end of the day. Growth of a business doesn't come from current customers.
 
Also keep in mind Image Line have been doing the free lifetime upgrade dance for quite some time now and I think they are still doing OK as a business (they are still in business and they seem to have a fair amount of users around the place). I have never used it so I don't know if the ecosystem is terrible around it, but I certainly haven't read any horror stories.

Craig, I think you said the same thing I was poorly trying to say.  I was attempting to be positive but still wondering how this model is going to work? I have been using CAKEWALK at least as long as you have, and I have never wavered away from this platform.  
 
So, I was hoping someone was going to explain the CORE program language, it seemed quite legalize to me.  I am just curious on where this is going and not doubting the direction.  In my mind, new features may not be CORE program and we wind up paying for them if we want them.  And as long as the value is there, I don't see anything wrong with this.  But, hopefully you can see how this raises many questions for the "FOR LIFE" language.
 
Jim
 
 

I think it stands to reason that new customer sales create more revenue than existing customer upgrades but they BOTH create revenue. The OP's concern (as I understand it) is: Can Cakewalk continue to service their existing customer base at it's present level without the revenue generated from annual membership payments?
Personally, I'm more than happy to pay $199 Australian Dollars per annum for 12 months of updates, new content and bug fixes etc. Getting a lifetime of updates for as little as $150 Australian Dollars is clearly a no-brainer for the consumer, but when that consumer is both cynical (and a Scottish ex pat to boot) he can't help but harbour suspicions that Cakewalk might have some urgent cash flow leakages that need stemming mighty soonish.....I would love nothing more dearly than to be completely wrong about this.

The post by "exitthelemming" makes some really valid points (although I personally would put an appropriate figure at $100 pa for this software).  I am especially concerned about the Gibson VP's statement that "Growth doesn't come from existing SONAR customers upgrading, that's just maintenance".  This is probably true when there is a small or shrinking user base but if there are enough users and the ones leaving are being replaced by new users then upgrading should be able to pay for improvements.   It makes me worry about whether Sonar is foundering or Gibson is driving Sonar to get a higher return on investment.  Of course they would not articulate this and it may not be the case. 
 
In any case, it seems like Sonar will be going through some big changes over the next few months and I fear that the core functions, which I tend use most of the time, will not be improved, just maintained.