I currently have Sonar Professional and received an offer to crossgrade to Platinum for a special price. If I crossgrade, does that mean I still pay a monthly subscription or does the crossgrade price cover me for the remainder of my first year or for another full year?

Don't know what offer you received. The best source for an answer would be Cakewalk Customer Service. Contact info is here http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/2090582

I would call it an upgrade. It would depend on whether you are on a monthly plan or not. I would simply pay the upgrade price out right. On the other hand if you find that too much at one time you can stay with a monthly plan. I don't know if you would pay more but you should have that information already. 

Thanks for the advice. I am currently on a monthly plan and have six months to go in my first year. The cost of the crossgrade (the email I received from the Bakers says crossgrade, not upgrade, even though it is definitely an upgrade) is around $20 more than the total cost of my monthly subscription for the next six months. 

I highly recommend contacting customer service, they'll make sure you get the best deal. The upgrade is definitely worth it...

Thanks for the advice, Craig. I have emailed Customer Service and will wait on their reply. It does seem like a really good deal, though.

It sounds like it. I hope it works out for you. Platinum is a great version. 

I think it's a little frustrating for Cakewalk that so many people are just fine with X3. Not to diss X3, it's a great program and a real turning point for Cakewalk...but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't want to go back to it. The current version just does so many things better.

Because the changes have been, mostly, incremental, it is sometimes hard to remember why X3 runs a distant second to what is now available. My boys are still using 8.5 in their recording setup. I encourage them to update but they say 8.5 does everything they need. Unfortunately, I am one of those people that needs to upgrade to the newest and shiniest version of anything, regardless of whether it would be of any advantage. Fortunately, Sonar upgrades are of great advantage. 

Ruckman65
 I am one of those people that needs to upgrade to the newest and shiniest version of anything, regardless of whether it would be of any advantage. 

Welcome to club.