BMOG

azslow3
1) why the thread mention "December"? If someone stop the membership in December, than it was real "subscription" since it is less then 12 month membership. And so he/she can no longer use Sonar 2015.
 
2) till that is really time for the new period (still 2 months!), I am sure we see "Whats next".
 
3) writing "$150 a year is a bargain" on International forum is incorrect. For someone $50k car is a bargain, for other $200 for an audio interface is too expensive.

I mentioned December because my subscription was purchase on Christmas Day

Are you sure it is counted from that day? If I remember correctly, there was no membership before new Sonar was released and that has happened a bit later...

azslow3

BMOG

azslow3
1) why the thread mention "December"? If someone stop the membership in December, than it was real "subscription" since it is less then 12 month membership. And so he/she can no longer use Sonar 2015.

2) till that is really time for the new period (still 2 months!), I am sure we see "Whats next".

3) writing "$150 a year is a bargain" on International forum is incorrect. For someone $50k car is a bargain, for other $200 for an audio interface is too expensive.

I mentioned December because my subscription was purchase on Christmas Day

Are you sure it is counted from that day? If I remember correctly, there was no membership before new Sonar was released and that has happened a bit later...

Ok I need to check that because I was under the impression it was a 12 month subscription. Where would I go exactly to verify that?

The SONAR about screen
 

BMOG

kevinwal

BMOG

Great points but X3 was solid and I had no complaints , by far my favorite features in platinum are quad curve with the frequency being visible, vocal sync and comping because I record drums live.  If they never made another enhancement what we have now is more than efficient in my opinion. I guess the real question how much better can it be?  Allowing a Mac version maybe?  If we had a version for Mac I think we can get in the conversation with ProTools because of the solid performance Mac machines provides

I'd rather seen Windows improve to the point where people are saying, "Mac? What's the point?" lol
 
I know MS is making some big investments in their audio stack in Windows 10, so maybe we'll see that reflected in Sonar pretty soon, yeah? MS is saying they're already getting pretty much ASIO performance out of WDM drivers now and are coming up and with other fixes and changes in the audio architecture so I am hopeful.
 
The point is, I'd rather Cakewalk focus its resources on music production functionality and not on getting everything to work on competing OS's.

Valid points again if MS could improve Windows to equal Mac performance that would be sweet.  I hope they are reading this thread for those enhancements

 I guess you guys don't pay much attention to the Mac world.  I got emails from developers saying "Do Not Upgrade to El Capitan or whatever it's called.   Now you will get a taste of the headaches Mac users go through with the evolving W10.  MS and Apple are really good at implementing each others' bad ideas.

Doktor Avalanche
I'll probably hold out until cake really drills down and focuses into finishing existing functionality.

I support this. The last two updates I've 'paid' for have introduced issues where I'm unable to use these updates. Whilst it's fortunate that I am able to roll back to a version which allows me to continue making music reliably, the bugs introduced are creating loss of production time in trying to solve issues and are not giving me the benefit of what I'm supposed to be paying for. I'm pretty happy with all the current features and really don't need additional bonuses. I just want a robust and reliable piece of music software and if updates enhance this further, then cool but not at the cost of more bugs.

So far, as part of the Sonar Platinum membership, the new features and content that I have received are:
 
Command Center
FX Stacking
Recycle/Pin Plugin Windows
Expandable Send
Pattern Tool
16 Virtual Custom Amps
Addictive Drums 2
"Stunning" New FX Chains
Mix Recall
The New Control Bar
REmatrix Solo
VocalSync
Craig Anderton VoxTools
Craig Anderton Acoustic Piezo CA-X Amp Sim
Hardgroove Steinberger Rapture Expansion Pack
Hardgroove’s Bass Loop Library
Craig Anderton Acoustic Guitar Presets
ProChannel module from Boz Digital Labs-Bark of Dog
ProChannel module from Boz Digital Labs-Panipulator
New Impulse Responses for REmatrix Solo
Anderton Collection “Phasor Constructor”
Les Paul Gold Top Expansion Pack-DimPro
Onscreen Virtual Controller
Pedalboard FX Chains
Kickmaster FX Chain
Synthetic IRs for REmatrix Solo
Kick Start Pack
SizzleBus
Drum Replacer
Strum Session 2
Deflate Gate
EDM Percussion Loops
Plug-In Upsampling
Relative Video Path
Windows 10 Compatibility
Interactive Project Tutorials
Showcase Templates
Mixing Templates
Mastering Templates
Start Screen
.PNG Support
Export Presets
Enhanced Clip Export
Synth Recording
Style Dials x3
Upsample on Playback
Aux Tracks
Patch Points
Rapture Session
Monitorizer FZ Chain.
 
I may have missed a few.
 
This does not include the hundreds of fixes and optimisations..
 
Do I think it is worth another year?  Err,  yes.
 
I have upgraded every time since the X series, and every few times since Sonar 6.
 
I seem to be getting more in a year, and a greater level of bug fixes than with the old model..
 
edited to add clarity

BMOG
 
$150 times forever adds up over time don't you think? 

Yes, no doubt it does add up. In fact 35 years from now, it will have added up to what I paid (adjusted for inflation) for a 4-track tape recorder in 1975 which had no mixer, no processors, no instruments, and a need to feed it $156 worth of tape every month. (No, that's not a typo...35 years.)

Anderton

BMOG
 
$150 times forever adds up over time don't you think? 

Yes, no doubt it does add up. In fact 35 years from now, it will have added up to what I paid (adjusted for inflation) for a 4-track tape recorder in 1975 which had no mixer, no processors, no instruments, and a need to feed it $156 worth of tape every month. (No, that's not a typo...35 years.)

  Happy days.
 
I miss splicing tape, creating crossfades was so much fun..
 
Maybe not.

BTW I also seem to recall quite a few people paying $99 for the upgrade. Cakewalk has always offered sales in the past. It wouldn't surprise me if there were some sales to encourage people to do another year's worth of updates. 
 
But one point that often seems to be missed is that Cakewalk anticipated that at some point, people might say "what I have is good enough" and not want/need any more features. This is why the software doesn't die if you don't renew. To me, that's treating paying customers with respect instead of forcing them to update just to open projects they created in the past with software for which they had paid.
 
There will be no perfect model for everyone who will ever use, or has ever used, SONAR. Like any other purchase or investment, you have to weigh the cost/benefit ratio for your own needs, and act accordingly...while understanding that others will see the cost/benefit ratio differently.

Just my 2 cents, but an optional $150 isn't bad at all to keep receiving updates. If everyone was content with what they currently have and don't renew there probably wouldn't be any need for the developers to keep the project going.