As n early adopter, I upgraded to Plat for $126 (plus change).....so far, I'm very happy with the stability/updates/bug fixes and excellent content included. I'll most likely do the same upgrade next year.

Positively Charged

Zargg71
Hi. I believe that you will get what is released from the moment you subscribe again, and forwards. The content released between subscriptions, will only be for members at release time.

Whatever the policy is, I would like to see it specifically stated in writing.

I think this "new way" Cakewalk is taking is for the better. More and more fixes and addons have come from people here on this forum, which (in my mind) is a sign of Cakewalk listening to their users.

I doubt the current pace is indefinitely sustainable.  For now, I'll try to be "cautiously optimistic".

I try to look at the positive side of things. There are others with much more knowledge than me, who will likely answer you question, given time. And who knows what the future holds

Positively Charged
Okay, thank you for the clarification.  $200 every 12 months or $16.66 is double what I currently pay, which is about $149 every 18 months, or about $8.30-ish.

 
$199 is the "list price." There have been several upgrade offers at $149 (assuming you pay for the upgrade up front instead of over 12 months), and I suspect that there will continue to be specials in the years ahead.  
 
But also, your math is wrong because the 18-month figure is inaccurate. IIRC correctly SONAR was introduced in 2001, and 14 years later, there have been 13 major releases (if you include the 8.5 release). That's very close to a 12-month average. So given waiting on the upgrade for a special, and the frequency of updates, the price difference is nowhere near a 100% increase.
 

But the trend is not going in the most friendly direction for me the customer.

 
Well, think about it for a second. You're getting bug fixes on an accelerated basis, new features, new content, a monthly eZine instead of just release notes, and the learning curve for new features is spread over 12 months, making it much easier to assimilate new features. Also, instead of having all update bugs released at once upon a major release with fixes that occur over the next several months, looking back at the history of monthly releases so far, bugs introduced with a new feature are typically gone by the next release, or in some cases, even sooner. And, customers can now choose to pay over 12 months if they're tight for cash. All of this strikes me as a much friendlier direction for the consumer.
 

Yes, I am thinking of it as a subscription, because that's what it is to me.  X dollars monthly or X * 12 dollars minus some discount if paid annually.  When it comes to personal finance, how is that not a subscription?

 
Because the software industry uses the word "subscription" to apply to software rental, not ownership. For example, PC World defines subscription software as software that becomes invalid (e.g., expires) if you don't continue paying, like the Adobe and Avid models. With SONAR, you get to keep what you buy, and it doesn't expire. If you choose not to upgrade, SONAR continues to work exactly the same as it did before.
 
In that respect, SONAR's plan is like a print magazine subscription, where you get to keep back issues even if you don't renew your subscription.

Anderton
In that respect, SONAR's plan is like a print magazine subscription, where you get to keep back issues even if you don't renew your subscription.

 
Great analogy...
 

Agreed.

Positively Charged
I understand the dev process, and I have my doubts as to the indefinite sustainability of this pace.

Cakewalk has been doing monthly updates to SONAR since 2001. The only difference now is they don't wait a year to release them all. Given that they've been able to sustain that pace for 14 years, I don't see any reason for your doubts regarding the future.
 
When the program started, many people in these very forums said Cakewalk wouldn't be able to do monthly updates. So far they've been wrong. When Gibson bought Cakewalk in late 2013, quite a few people proclaimed Cakewalk wouldn't last a year. They were wrong. I wouldn't bet against Cakewalk...

Positively Charged
I've been to this rodeo before, with software, non-software products, and services.  In my experience, every time so far, the relationship has been better for the subscription provider than they have been for the customer. 

Which is why those sneaky Cakewalk people  figured they could get a competitive advantage over other companies by coming up with a plan that was customer-centric rather than company-centric. Their devilishly clever marketing scam is intended to create happy customers. Happy customers = renewals at the end of the year = attracting more new users (which is already happening) = forcing other companies to play catch-up and Cakewalk continuing to be a market leader.
 
Another prominent software company is about to ditch yearly updates and go to point releases every two months...don't know if they've announced yet. Stay tuned.
 
I totally understand that in today's selfie/greed-is-good/I'm-all-that-matters environment, it's easy to assume a company has some secret underhanded agenda. Well, I guess it is, if you consider trying to increase market share by creating more happy customers secret and underhanded...it's actually the way lots of companies used to be run, but somehow, that concept seems to have been forgotten over the years (although there are exceptions, like Sweetwater, and look where it's gotten them!).

Positively Charged
Hi Craig.  Yes, I am thinking of it as a subscription, because that's what it is to me.  

Well I think letter are numbers to me so I'l just say.
 
89738349037458720309283728754327864908240850963.9

Positively Charged

I think this "new way" Cakewalk is taking is for the better. More and more fixes and addons have come from people here on this forum, which (in my mind) is a sign of Cakewalk listening to their users.

I doubt the current pace is indefinitely sustainable.  For now, I'll try to be "cautiously optimistic".

If you get less optimistic - you can always stay away not renewing membership - this will tell Cakewalk somebody is not entirely happy here.
 
So you stay away until there is substantial news that is of value for you - and no penalty to re-enter.
And meanwhile you own your Sonar so far and can continue to use it.
 
There is a healthy dialog in this scheme.
- I like what you are doing, I'm renewing membership
- Not much happended last year, I stay away for a while waiting for something to happend...
 
Compare that to Avid ProTools support plan subscription which is - renew annualy or buy full new license if to come back to ProTools. Your old license is frozen indefinately.
 
Or rent ProTools monthly, which stops working as you stop paying.

Whoo hoooo!,  Well spoken Craig Anderton, Well Spoken!!!