Anderton

BMOG
There should be some kind of way to pick and choose what you want to purchase just my two cents

There is, as long as you buy plug-ins from someone else. You can buy a linear phase multiband compressor from Waves for $149. Don't know what version of SONAR you have, but given that you can upgrade to SONAR Platinum from X3 Producer for $149 and that gets you the LP MB, LP EQ, and a years' worth of update, it seems like a better deal than going a la carte with a different manufacturer.
 

surely this is a way for cake to make more money - selling the plugs individually? the current business strategy seems dangerously like "all eggs in one basket" at the mo...

I think we keep forgetting that CW needs to be supported. As users we think only about the best deal or the cheapest way to get what we want. However if we really appreciate what a company is doing and we wish for them to stay in business we also need to think about our responsibility too. Yes we should be wise in our purchase decisions but we also need to support the company that provides these tools.
 
Right now they have a business model that requires us to make a choice buy up front with the full amount or pay monthly for the 12 months. Figuring out ways to pay the least might be good for one's wallet but may not be best for ensuring a healthy company.      

John
I think we keep forgetting that CW needs to be supported. As users we think only about the best deal or the cheapest way to get what we want. However if we really appreciate what a company is doing and we wish for them to stay in business we also need to think about our responsibility too. Yes we should be wise in our purchase decisions but we also need to support the company that provides these tools.
 
Right now they have a business model that requires us to make a choice buy up front with the full amount or pay monthly for the 12 months. Figuring out ways to pay the least might be good for one's wallet but may not be best for ensuring a healthy company.      

This is an interesting perspective but who asked the company to go to this model? As a customer I was not consulted on if this business model is best for customers and the company. Things to me were fine the way it was before so what is happening now is the result of a company trying to fix something that was not broke in my opinion.

John
I think we keep forgetting that CW needs to be supported. As users we think only about the best deal or the cheapest way to get what we want. However if we really appreciate what a company is doing and we wish for them to stay in business we also need to think about our responsibility too. Yes we should be wise in our purchase decisions but we also need to support the company that provides these tools.
 
Right now they have a business model that requires us to make a choice buy up front with the full amount or pay monthly for the 12 months. Figuring out ways to pay the least might be good for one's wallet but may not be best for ensuring a healthy company.      

It is up to Cakewalk to figure out what ensures a healthy company.
I support Cakewalk by buying their products. Are you really suggesting that I pay more to support the company because of some perceived philosophical resonance? What about an outright donation ?  A prominently placed tattoo to help advertising?
Not only do I buy their products I subsidize them through the tax system.
 

John
Yes we should be wise in our purchase decisions but we also need to support the company that provides these tools.

Given the value we have received over the past 12 months  these two outcomes could not be further from being mutually exclusive:) 

microapp

John
I think we keep forgetting that CW needs to be supported. As users we think only about the best deal or the cheapest way to get what we want. However if we really appreciate what a company is doing and we wish for them to stay in business we also need to think about our responsibility too. Yes we should be wise in our purchase decisions but we also need to support the company that provides these tools.
 
Right now they have a business model that requires us to make a choice buy up front with the full amount or pay monthly for the 12 months. Figuring out ways to pay the least might be good for one's wallet but may not be best for ensuring a healthy company.      

It is up to Cakewalk to figure out what ensures a healthy company.
I support Cakewalk by buying their products. Are you really suggesting that I pay more to support the company because of some perceived philosophical resonance? What about an outright donation ?  A prominently placed tattoo to help advertising?
Not only do I buy their products I subsidize them through the tax system.
 

+1

BMOG

John
I think we keep forgetting that CW needs to be supported. As users we think only about the best deal or the cheapest way to get what we want. However if we really appreciate what a company is doing and we wish for them to stay in business we also need to think about our responsibility too. Yes we should be wise in our purchase decisions but we also need to support the company that provides these tools.
 
Right now they have a business model that requires us to make a choice buy up front with the full amount or pay monthly for the 12 months. Figuring out ways to pay the least might be good for one's wallet but may not be best for ensuring a healthy company.      

This is an interesting perspective but who asked the company to go to this model? As a customer I was not consulted on if this business model is best for customers and the company. Things to me were fine the way it was before so what is happening now is the result of a company trying to fix something that was not broke in my opinion.

I'm not aware of any company that consults their customers prior to deciding on pricing strategies.

I spent more on lunch today than I spend on Sonar in a month, and it was a cheap lunch too. What do people want? A vial of fresh developers' blood every month, hand-delivered?

Can someone please tell me what a VCA does?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I'll get me coat.

microapp

John
I think we keep forgetting that CW needs to be supported. As users we think only about the best deal or the cheapest way to get what we want. However if we really appreciate what a company is doing and we wish for them to stay in business we also need to think about our responsibility too. Yes we should be wise in our purchase decisions but we also need to support the company that provides these tools.
 
Right now they have a business model that requires us to make a choice buy up front with the full amount or pay monthly for the 12 months. Figuring out ways to pay the least might be good for one's wallet but may not be best for ensuring a healthy company.      

It is up to Cakewalk to figure out what ensures a healthy company.
I support Cakewalk by buying their products. Are you really suggesting that I pay more to support the company because of some perceived philosophical resonance? What about an outright donation ?  A prominently placed tattoo to help advertising?
Not only do I buy their products I subsidize them through the tax system.
 

Its also up to us to support our favorite company. Figuring out ways to screw them out of the cash flow they depend on or even encouraging friends to pirate the software is counter productive for all of us. I know none of the membership would ever consider stealing the software. Still by not paying what is our fair share we are doing a disservice to us all. Also CW has to make it up somewhere that means higher prices for those of us that do pay.   
 
These are just my personal thoughts on the subject. I do the same for plugin developers that charge a fair price and offer good value. I have been known to buy a plugin from time to time knowing I will never use it but wanting to support the person doing the work. No one is asking any of you to do that with CW. But when it comes time to upgrade think about if they went out of business would that be a good thing for you? 
 
Also as to the model being so different. It isn't different from a practical perspective. In Jan I paid for the the full year. I have not used the monthly payment method. As far as I can see it is no different from the past upgrade cycle. It came around once a year just as it does now. The only difference is more people can afford to buy Sonar using the low monthly payments.
 
I do know that a few are hard pressed to afford even the monthly payments. For them I have sympathy. The rest of us are a very different thing.