Anderton
 
Cakewalk doesn't charge for demos, that's just how they roll. Karlssonhaus said he only needed it for a month, so that's what I addressed.
 
Perhaps Cakewalk could add a rental option in the future where you don't own the software, but that's another layer of complexity for something that, at least by survey and forum indications, doesn't appeal to most users.

Something I was thinking about last night was an hourly rental option. Now stick with me here because its not what you think...
 
This new monthly model is cool enough for those who will use Sonar regularly for that whole month but I'm kind of all over the place with my various endeavours and am not sitting in front of the DAW as frequently as I would like.
 
How it would work is you buy a subscription (that is locked to one computer) for say 24 hours for a set price (not sure what price would be fair but let's say $30 for 24 hours). Then every time you open the program a countdown begins. You do your work, save/export it and close the program thus stopping the countdown. It's a full functioning version for that whole time. Once the clock on the "rental" runs out it reverts back to the demo.
 
Personally as a Pay As You Go style of subscription that would make a HECK of a lot more sense for those of us who aren't always in front of their DAWs than a monthly deal. Obviously Cake would have to figure out a reasonable rate that won't undercut the monthly subscriptions but it might coax those who don't see a monthly subscription as useful because they are too busy to take advantage of it.
 
Just a thought... perhaps dumb... but I like it.

And that's right, that after a year of payments, you own the current version, correct? I think I still have some studying to do there. It's not entirely clear to me yet.

At first glance I am so F'ing confused .. Is this a new version what is it?  do I have to spend $50 a month to continue to use Sonar.. Theres like 10 versions now .. VERY CONFUSING !!!!! Is it called X4 ..
 
 Im so Lost right now , I dont even wanna deal with this nonsense ..

brconflict
And that's right, that after a year of payments, you own the current version, correct? I think I still have some studying to do there. It's not entirely clear to me yet.

Yes, on the monthly plan after 12 consecutive payments, you own a license to the current version.

brconflict
And that's right, that after a year of payments, you own the current version, correct? I think I still have some studying to do there. It's not entirely clear to me yet.

Yes... pay the monthly fee for a consecutive 12 months and you get to keep it all, fully licensed, just like buying a full version. If you cancel the subscription AFTER the 12 months you still own everything from that 12 months. If you cancel it BEFORE the 12 months you lose it all and have to start over again.
 
It is more expensive in the long run that way than paying up from though but it's kind of like a lease to own situation.

Yeah, if you read the article with FAQ: https://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Membership
 
It does make a lot more sense. I just more firmly believe the Membership pricing is a bit steep, even for me.

djjhart@aol.com
At first glance I am so F'ing confused .. Is this a new version what is it?  do I have to spend $50 a month to continue to use Sonar.. Theres like 10 versions now .. VERY CONFUSING !!!!! Is it called X4 ..
 
 Im so Lost right now , I dont even wanna deal with this nonsense ..

There are three versions just like the previous X series. The versions are renamed Artist, Professional and Platinum. Upgrading from Producer to Platinum will have a promo price of $149 (one time payment) or $14.99/mo for 12 months. Once the promo is over (end date has not been set but it has been suggested some time in February), the upgrade price will be $199 (one time payment) or $19.99/mo for 12 months.

I will not be upgrading Sonar any longer - that is my intention at this point based on this subscription model.
 
I will not pay a company for bug fixes and empty speculative promises that may or may not be resolved at a later time.
 
this subscription model is great for Cakewalk funding and stability as a profitable company - but not so for me as a user.

scook

karlssonhaus@googlemail.com
Well, so I have to upgrade today (and year after), because in 2017 (or 2020) my Producer X3 will cost nothing in terms of upgrade discount. Looks like the same model that we had before "subscription" deal.

Historically, Cakewalk have always provided a discount to registered users of their products. I believe it is shown in the current subscription prices.

 
As I see, probably, payment model will be:
if your last payment was year ago (upfront) - cheapest price ($19.99/m)
if your last payment was year ago (unfinished 12 months) - price like if you just "any other SONAR" owner ($39.99/m)
hmm... I have to think about all that stuff...
 

slartabartfast
For people who paid a lot less than you to get into a version late, they got a lot less time to use the version than you did, and were able to stay in the Cakewalk upgrade loop for an affordable price. That option is gone, and so I expect are many of those customers.

I can say with some certainty that I am among those customers.  I've been able to hang on the my Producer status because of the end of version sale and had planned on continuing with that strategy.  It looks like X3 has become a "learn to live with it the way it is" program for me, like most of my other programs (eg Ms Office).  I can probably live with that.  I used Kinetic 1 for ten years and X3 is quite a bit more than that.
 
However, if there are any "jump back on the bandwagon" sales in the future, I will certainly be interested.
Or is this the death of sales ?