ricoskyl
I'm in a different boat from most other users.  I'm an amateur with very limited musical training, but I have passions for music and technology.  I'm a feature junkie.  I'm inspired by new techniques and new sounds, and I really like learning how to do things in SONAR.
 
That said, i was dumbfounded to find myself in the same boat as CA when it comes to one reason for really loving the monthly update model:

Anderton
I find it far less disruptive to learn a little bit every month than a whole lot every year.

This approach helps to focus my exploration.  It prompts me to learn aspects of the tools I might not have used much before.  It quells my tendency to spend money on new plug-ins and samples, and I'm less likely to haphazardly haunt the seedy halls of half-baked hard-drive clutter (freebies).
 
I give the new approach two big thumbs up....
 
 

Ditto, on all counts!! 
 

JohnoL
How will I be notified when my year is up?

click HELP
ABOUT SONAR
 
MEMBERSHIP will tell you valid through nn/nn/nnnn Status : owned

I think the subscription (more like a financed purchase) plan is a very fair value. The updates have been good. A good investment, in my opinion. I will definitely renew if things keep up.
 
Good work by the Cakewalk team.

But, since the model is one where I basically own the software after paying for a year, it's not really a problem. I'll probably just sit back and see what happens, and jump back in if I see a future upgrade worth paying for.

 
+1 
 
In my opinion, it's a flexible model and we're better off.

BobF
There is no Cakewalk subscription!...

 
That reminds me. I need to re-subscribe my Sound On Sound subscription or is re-member my Sound On Sound membership...
 
 
 

I don't regret buying my upgrade despite being a casual Sonar user.  What I like is that some of the Cakewalk staff is more involved in the forums. Service after the sale is what bring people back.

Although I am lukewarm on updating again I do want to express my appreciation of the developers presence on the forums. It is a class act.

I can't actually see any real downsides to anything myself.
 
I paid for a year up front, and I own it at the end, and along the line we got some great enhancements and fixes. Using the old model, sure - we get some bug fixes and sometimes extra features over the product's life cycle (what, 3 or 4 tops maybe?), so like them or not, we've been getting a LOT more stuff over this year, and the fixes have come far more regularly.
 
Sure, that also means that the chance of bugs sneaking in more regularly, but think about it for a minute - if you get an update in February and it's got some nasty bug, and you have to wait until April to get a fix, like could happen in the old model, how is that any better than getting a bug in February and getting it fixed in March, or even sooner (as happened with a bounce bug a while back - that was fixed in a matter of days and a patch posted online) like we have now?
 
Not all of the features appeal to me and there's still a few annoying quirks and things on my wishlist that I'd love to see implemented, but I think overall, this has been an outstanding success. Definitely renewing after my 12 months is up!

Actually I don't have any software that I don't pay for upfront, so that's s no difference compared to any software let alone other DAWs. And when you do pay for it you own it then not at the end of the year.

Cakewalk have provided a monthly payment plan. I don't know any other software company that does that. That's very different.

Cakewalk provide monthly releases comprising a mix of new features, improvements and bug fixes. That's different to any other software company except Reaper. That's different.

I can't see how any of this is a cash grab. If anything Cakewalk are putting more resources into Sonar than before for the same financial return. X units sold at price Y equals income like any other year. Respecting monthly payments which cost a little more over the year probably just covers the admin fees for a 3rd party company to administer that system.

Bottom line the repetitious whining is getting a little boring, all the more so considering that Cakewalk have done everything promised and then some since they changed the way they deliver software.

mudgel
Actually I don't have any software that I don't pay for upfront, so that's s no difference compared to any software let alone other DAWs. And when you do pay for it you own it then not at the end of the year.

Cakewalk have provided a monthly payment plan. I don't know any other software company that does that. That's very different.

Cakewalk provide monthly releases comprising a mix of new features, improvements and bug fixes. That's different to any other software company except Reaper. That's different.

I can't see how any of this is a cash grab. If anything Cakewalk are putting more resources into Sonar than before for the same financial return. X units sold at price Y equals income like any other year. Respecting monthly payments which cost a little more over the year probably just covers the admin fees for a 3rd party company to administer that system.

Bottom line the repetitious whining is getting a little boring, all the more so considering that Cakewalk have done everything promised and then some since they changed the way they deliver software.

Haven't seen anybody complain about the monthly cycle for a while. Think vast majority agree situation better than X3E. Havent seen anybody mention cash grab. There are probably some people who may think it but that must be few and far between, doesn't make much logical sense either.

From my perspective I'd ask people to refer to my original post rather than people paraphrasing it, putting words into my mouth, or bending it into something which it isn't (not referring to mudgel).