KiteKrazy 1

I never treat a business as a charity. They have many ways of making revenue. They get a cut of 3rd party stuff sold in the shop. I'm not sure but their beginner DAW use to be sold in stores. Then there are also sales from Steam. Not everyone on the planet owns a license of Z3ta yet. They also get revenue from the Reason rack extension that Reason users talk highly of.
FL users feel the same way because they think the free updates is going to be their downfall but the mods tell them it hasn't failed yet after 10 plus years.

Platinum to me is more than a business it's apart of who i am ,I will stick to supporting them in the best way for the long term ,I hope that everyone's concerns are CORRECT and there main revenues is secure , but for me it's $99 per year with a smile (: .

I'll wait for the announcement 1.6.2016. First I want to see what Cakewalk plans.
Then I can decide to 31.08.2016 for lifetime upgrade or not.
 
 

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.
 

This is true, they can't.
 
Anyone remember "lifetime" memberships to a gym? vacation clubs? magazines?
"Lifetime" memberships can not work for the user's lifetime. See the law of diminishing returns.
From a purely "business analysis", it is a last ditch effort to get an influx of cash. It has been obvious, the existing "membership" model did not generate the anticipated revenue. As the "introductory" pricing was never replaced with a higher "permanent"  price model. Now, after what, 15 or so months, a "new" pricing strategy. I'm not very positive on the long term survival of our beloved Sonar. I just hope the "maintenance" releases eventually get us a rock solid version before the money runs out.
 
[Okay fans, this is where you tear me a new one for being so negative]

There are several online games that went from monthly/yearly models to free, and they pulled in so much cash that they vastly expanded their business. People like to pay for microtransactions. They want a more modular buying experience where they purchase what they want. If the carrot on the stick is the free/discounted program, people are more likely to spend more on in-house developed and third party add-ons, even if that means spending more than what they would normally spend on the original program update/expansion because it's viewed as an extra value, which is true. I never have to pay for the core program again, and I see this as a Great Value. I've been using Cakewalk products since '95. The past year has been a banner year, and the company only getting better after the Roland Debacle. I'm excited for the future.

  

jimkleban
So, I was hoping someone was going to explain the CORE program language, it seemed quite legalize to me.

 
They already have many times over in the large sticky thread at the top of this forum. And in the thread in the deals forum.
 
To paraphrase Noel, in the last 18 months had a lifetime plan been available those lifetimers would probably have not gotten Drum Replacer (it would have been a paid option for them) but they would have gotten EVERYTHING else that the yearly members got (whilst the yearly members would hav gotten Drum Replacer at no cost).
 
Drum Replacer is a separate installer. It is not a "CORE" feature. Simples.

Soundwise

digimidi
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!

Good point! I wonder, what lifetime are we talking about? User's lifetme? Company's lifetime? PC Lifetime? Or product line lifetime?
If this update plan actually means flagship product of the company for user/company lifetime then it's quite an offer. If it's something else I'll probably stick with annual updates.

The lifetime updates are of course in reference to the lifetime of the product. We've been doing SONAR for about 16 years, no intention to stop. The future is bright. I see your price is $99 to get lifetime updates (because you already paid $99 earlier this year). If you opted to stick to annual, at the current price you would pay $149. Let's say you multiply this by 5 years. After 5 years, you'd pay $750 going annual. With lifetimes you have essentially paid $99 now (and $99 earlier this year) for a total of $200. Let's use the same logic for 10 years, after 10 years you'd pay $1500 vs. $200. 
 
Now, no one, not even us, can answer what the lifetime of SONAR is...is it 10 years, 100 years, 1000 years. What was the recording industry like 40 years ago? But we are more committed than ever and don't forget this our job as well. 
 
And finally, this is for the SONAR Platinum, our flagship. Clearly stated in the email.

Since we're doing fairly baseless speculating, here's my fairly baseless speculation:
 
I'd guess (only a guess) that Platinum isn't where the majority of revenue comes from anyway. I'd imagine that Platinum users are the smallest customer group, but also the most loyal customer group.
 
Now, if I've got that right, this move makes a lot of sense. Why not consolidate that loyalty further? It probably doesn't cost anything in the long run. You're talking about exactly the kind of users who will buy add ons and extensions and what have you.
 
 

jatoth

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.
 

This is true, they can't.
 
Anyone remember "lifetime" memberships to a gym? vacation clubs? magazines?
"Lifetime" memberships can not work for the user's lifetime. See the law of diminishing returns.

See post #2. You are missing the point, as well as the potential revenue sources.

John T
Since we're doing fairly baseless speculating, here's my fairly baseless speculation:
 
I'd guess (only a guess) that Platinum isn't where the majority of revenue comes from anyway. I'd imagine that Platinum users are the smallest customer group, but also the most loyal customer group.
 
Now, if I've got that right, this move makes a lot of sense. Why not consolidate that loyalty further? It probably doesn't cost anything in the long run. You're talking about exactly the kind of users who will buy add ons and extensions and what have you.

For self-avowed baseless speculation, that makes a bunch of sense to me. And I'm in... but waiting a bit for a moment of fiscal calm. Only so many musical purhases a month can be justified to significant others that have, in some cases, significantly other ideas about how money ought, or ought not, to be spent. But this, I think, is an easy one to defend...