and I'm kind of chuckling at the idea of bug fixes being yanked out of someone's copy because they let their membership lapse. Sorry but just find that prospect a little humorous.
 

Karyn
I don't believe they'll be increasing the cost if you drop a single or a few months every now and then,  I'm talking about people taking long breaks.
 
If the renewal fee is not increased (after a long break) then you could halve your overall cost simply by doing an annual renewal every other year and skipping the one in-between.  You still get to keep the software (you did a full year renewal) and when you renew 24 months later you get the very latest version again (as if you'd been paying all along) and you get to keep it. This cuts your renewal fee in half.
 
If that is the case, all those who pay every year are going to be paying for those who pay every two years...
 

There may be other content (think "content club" in X2, not bug fixes or software features, but maybe things like Craig's Awesome Bass Loops -TM) that might not be available if it is released when your membership is lapsed.
 
Cakewalk will be motivated to keep customers' memberships current - so I expect to see more of this type of stuff in the future.  The question will be if it is of value to people.

It is a question that (I think) Andrew touched on briefly when asked about costs in the future.  I've been looking for his post for an hour but can't find it,  but it was along the lines of.. "like the version updates/upgrades in the past", in other words, skip an update and you pay extra (or get less discount) for the next one.

Karyn

ChazEd

Karyn
 
If you have a break in your membership and wish to re-start it, you should expect to pay more (at least initially) for your renewal to cover the cost of all the updates you will get that were published while you were not a member.  
 
 

 
Why should I pay for something I didn´t use?

Because when you start paying again you still get it.  So you could cut the cost in half by doing an annual payment every 2 years and still be up to date for 1 of each 2 years.
 
If everyone does that Cakewalk's revenue would be halved.
 
Edit:  There has to be a cutoff point where a "long" break in membership results in an increased renewal fee for the first renewal period.  Just as skipping a version update in the past resulted in a higher upgrade cost.

I understand that if I renewal my membership, I´ll get everything, but the point is I didn´t benefit for a entire year, so it´s a bit unfair to charge full (example: $200 + $200 = $400) for something that you didn´t used.
 
There's must be something in the middle ground for people who, for reasons unknown, can´t keep up the membership.

The thing is you are always going to have folks who will stay current and those who lag behind and now there is a third potential stream of purchases that may not have existed with the month to month folks. IDK... if Cake simply stays on top of things, which they really have been for the past year, I'd say they'll be fine even if the subscription model can be gamed a little. Remember even though those late adopters would technically get more they MAY miss out on one off freebies or plugs that get removed AND they have to wait longer. Those who pay the premium to stay full up to date do not run those risks. Seems to me like there are tradeoffs and benefits to both approaches.
 
I still think they should introduce a pay model where you can buy a block of program time with a countdown so if you only want to buy 10 hours of Sonar use you can. That is something I could make use of. I'm not in front of my DAW consistently enough to make a monthly subscription worth it (even though $14.99 is really cheap I may not even look at my DAW in that month).
 
 Edit: Cripes... can't speel werth carp twoday.

Anderton

yevster

Anderton

yevster
And speaking of competition, with Cubase 8 pro selling in GuitarCenter and Musician's Friend for $400 with an included MIDI controller, perhaps the $499 intro price tag is counterproductive.

Well...not quite. They're selling off old stock of Cubase 7.5 for $399, with an upgrade to 8 when it comes out in February. But if someone buys SONAR in February for $499, they not only get the software that's current in February, they get updates and content for the next year culminating in the next "version" of SONAR. A more comparable analogy would be if you could buy Cubase 8 in February, and when you purchased it, get an update to Cubase 9 locked in at the same time for an extra $99, with the Cubase 9 features being downloadable as soon as they're ready.

Nope. Cubase 8 Pro has been out for a month and has already been updated to 8.05.

I know it's been out for a month; I approved their implementation of my Quadrafuzz design and received an advance copy. But what you said was "with Cubase 8 pro selling in GuitarCenter and Musician's Friend for $400" which at least according to the Guitar Center and MF sites is not true. If you enter Cubase 8 as a keyword in either site, you will not get a return. If you check for Cubase on MF, this is what you'll find, which if you click on the product says you'll get an update when it becomes available from them on February 11. The GC ad doesn't mention the update.
 
If you can produce a link to anything from MF or GC that shows they're selling Cubase 8 NOW for $400 I'll stand corrected, but I found nothing to corroborate what you said. If you want to buy Cubase 8 Pro now, the price I'm seeing is $550 from Amazon and Sweetwater. I think you may be confusing selling 7.5 for $399 with selling 8 for $400.
 
 

Here it is:
https://www.steinberg.net...grace_period_info.html
When a copy of Cubase 7.5 is activated, one automatically gets a license for 8 and a downloadable update. My original Cubase purchase was through a grace period and that's exactly how it went. MF seems to be without a clue :)

Karyn
Bug fixing takes time.  The amount of time depends on the bug.

 
 
 (sorry, I just LOL'd.....please carry on...)

ChazEd

Karyn

ChazEd

Karyn
 
If you have a break in your membership and wish to re-start it, you should expect to pay more (at least initially) for your renewal to cover the cost of all the updates you will get that were published while you were not a member.  
 
 

 
Why should I pay for something I didn´t use?

Because when you start paying again you still get it.  So you could cut the cost in half by doing an annual payment every 2 years and still be up to date for 1 of each 2 years.
 
If everyone does that Cakewalk's revenue would be halved.
 
Edit:  There has to be a cutoff point where a "long" break in membership results in an increased renewal fee for the first renewal period.  Just as skipping a version update in the past resulted in a higher upgrade cost.

I understand that if I renewal my membership, I´ll get everything, but the point is I didn´t benefit for a entire year, so it´s a bit unfair to charge full (example: $200 + $200 = $400) for something that you didn´t used.
 
There's must be something in the middle ground for people who, for reasons unknown, can´t keep up the membership.

Yes, I agree totally.  I have deliberately stayed away from quoting any actual figures because none have been published other than the initial costs.
 
In the past with version updates there was a sliding scale whereby the more versions you missed, the less discount you got when you upgraded.
I'd expect a similar mechanic going forward.

Karyn
If that is the case, all those who pay every year are going to be paying for those who pay every two years...

This has always been the case.  You could always upgrade for half price or less if you were patient.
 

Maybe what should happen is Cake offers a one week upgrade period after a lapse where you can upgrade for $150. If you miss it then you pay the usual upgrade price. Then you have 1 year to take advantage of that price tier before you become considered to be using an "older version" and so on...
 
Yeah, that seems fair. Loyal customers have an incentive to stay current and they don't have to fiddle with the current pricing scheme as laid out.