Andrew, Cake, etc.
 
 It looks wonderful.  I just want to confirm that the upgrade from X3E to Platinum during the 'Intro' period is US $149.00 (call me anal..just wanting to confirm to cost-justify to the 'Misses')
 
2ndly - if I stay with Pro, will I lose some of the FX that I already have with Pro ? (BReverb, Tape Em, etc)
Thanks,
 
 Bill- 
edit- just noticed my sig file is woefully outdated !

BillWatkins
Andrew, Cake, etc.
 
 It looks wonderful.  I just want to confirm that the upgrade from X3E to Platinum during the 'Intro' period is US $149.00 (call me anal..just wanting to confirm to cost-justify to the 'Misses')
 
2ndly - if I stay with Pro, will I lose some of the FX that I already have with Pro ? (BReverb, Tape Em, etc)
Thanks,
 
 Bill- 

Correct, the price of X3 Producer to Platinum is $149. And you don't lose anything when you upgrade. The only way you'd lose that access to ProChannel modules if you downgraded to SONAR Artist.

Thanks Andrew - just saw the posts ahead of mine clarifying. 
 
 Best Regards,
 
 Bill - 

My concern with "membership" is this situation... say someone upgrades at the 6 month point (like July) with say 3 patches released... 1) I would presume that the patches are included in the upgrade for them? and 2) if they pay-by-month and only buy one month, they now have (for $50) what loyal customers just paid $100 (or $149 for the one-time upgrade) for. Since one "gets to keep" what they paid for, this new marketing strategy is confusing (to say the least).
 
I have never seen a company "retroactively" charge for patches... so the above situation is concerning to ponder.

mettelus
My concern with "membership" is this situation... say someone upgrades at the 6 month point (like July) with say 3 patches released... 1) I would presume that the patches are included in the upgrade for them? and 2) if they pay-by-month and only buy one month, they now have (for $50) what loyal customers just paid $100 (or $149 for the one-time upgrade) for. Since one "gets to keep" what they paid for, this new marketing strategy is confusing (to say the least).
 
I have never seen a company "retroactively" charge for patches... so the above situation is concerning to ponder.

They may be jumping into the product later and getting the same features, but that's no different than the current upgrade/ownership model.

Users that only buy one month won't be able to use SONAR after 30 days. They will need an active membership to continue access to the program and updates. After 12 months of non-interrupted membership, they get to keep their software.

So Andrew,

I upgrade my Sonar X3 Producer to Platinum via the $149 one off payment.
 
- I get 1 year membership for the following 12 months?
- Once this time is up I then pay $14.99 Per Month from then on?
- Or I pay another $149 every year going forward?
- If I stop membership after the 12 months can I still use my Sonar Platinum? I assume no updates after that?
 
Aidan

mettelus
My concern with "membership" is this situation... say someone upgrades at the 6 month point (like July) with say 3 patches released... 1) I would presume that the patches are included in the upgrade for them? and 2) if they pay-by-month and only buy one month, they now have (for $50) what loyal customers just paid $100 (or $149 for the one-time upgrade) for. Since one "gets to keep" what they paid for, this new marketing strategy is confusing (to say the least).
 
I have never seen a company "retroactively" charge for patches... so the above situation is concerning to ponder.

If you only buy for one month, and then cancel SONAR will de-authorize in you'll be back in demo mode. To keep it all you need to either:
 
a) Pay 12 months up front
b) Make 12 consecutive monthly payments.
 
This is all explained on our membership page here: http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Membership

mettelus
My concern with "membership" is this situation... say someone upgrades at the 6 month point (like July) with say 3 patches released... 1) I would presume that the patches are included in the upgrade for them? and 2) if they pay-by-month and only buy one month, they now have (for $50) what loyal customers just paid $100 (or $149 for the one-time upgrade) for. Since one "gets to keep" what they paid for, this new marketing strategy is confusing (to say the least).
 
I have never seen a company "retroactively" charge for patches... so the above situation is concerning to ponder.

If a customer pays for one month and then cancels or fails to pay, the program reverts to demo mode. If they complete 12 months, they no longer have to pay monthly and keep everything they received. They won't get any more updates though unless they opt back in and they'll have to complete another 12 months. 
 
Basically, our idea here is that if customers are getting value every month and real features and useful content, they will be happy. Happy customers is really what we want. 

aidanodr
So Andrew,

I upgrade my Sonar X3 Producer to Platinum via the $149 one off payment.
 
- I get 1 year membership for the following 12 months?
- Once this time is up I then pay $14.99 Per Month from then on?
- Or I pay another $149 every year going forward?
- If I stop membership after the 12 months can I still use my Sonar Platinum? I assume no updates after that?
 
Aidan

Yes, that sounds right. Except if you pay $149 up front, you will need to make a decision after 12 months of if you want to pay upfront or do it monthly. But you'll keep everything you received over that year. So basically you are getting X4 and X5 in one calendar year. 

So is there any word on a potential release date? I'd like to know a timeframe so I can set aside the cash. :)