Sorry! I know, i know, but i'm not trying to be pedantic here, i just have two final questions regarding this new sales model.
 
 
It appears that people who go on the subscription model will effectively be paying $600 a year to use Sonar, am i correct? Whereas previously after initially buying Sonar outright, they were only paying $150 a year after that. Is Cakewalk saying that Sonar is now $450 more expensive to use per year when going with the subscription model?
 
So then, does that mean if i don't go the subscription route and opt to buy upfront/outright, will there be the usual special upgrade pricing when a new version is released, or is this not gonna happen anymore and we have to pay the full price all over again?
 
I need these two questions answered thoroughly and officially please.
 
If the usual annual special upgrade pricing is now at an end, and we have to pay all over again... I'M OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
 
And if in the subscription plan it is indeed gonna cost $600 a year to use Sonar, i only have one thing to say to that.... YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT?
 

If you buy a new copy of Sonar, not having owned it before, you pay the full price.
If you're upgrading from any previous version, you pay a reduced price.  The reduction depends on which version you're upgrading from.
 
Either way the renewal from year 2 onwards is the minimum amount for the Sonar level you bought. NOT the full price.
 
 
Example,  You currently own X3 Pro,  you want to move to Sonar Platinum.  Cost $149 (up front) for first year, then $199 there after.

Easy way to look at it is , it's a 12 month EZ payment plan with a slight price increase if you decide to pay monthly. It is confusing at first cakewalk uses words like membership which means nothing , if you continue to use sonar as you have before , it's the same method , you pay an upgrade fee and you get the new version , weather its monthly or a one time payment. What gets interesting is when the 12 months are up , and if you decide to go the monthly payment way be sure not to lapse on your payments as if you did ,you will have to complete 12 consecutive payments to own the software license. That's the catch ..

Better off buying from a company that does payments such as American musical if you need a payment plan at least that way you will own your copy of sonar . Even if your late on your payment . If you go through CW you could have to start overs with the payment plan from the beginning .. ( obviously there will be unhappy customers at some point when they fall into the payment plan and forget to make a payment) ..

All the confusion is caused by people referring to a subscription model. It is not a subscription model, just a purchase model with a pay in installments option.

Glyn Barnes
All the confusion is caused by people referring to a subscription model. It is not a subscription model, just a purchase model with a pay in installments option.

It's a subscription model for those who don't go the full 12 months.
 
Or you can think of Sonar as having an extended demo mode, one you can keep going by paying a monthly fee.
 

Paul P

Glyn Barnes
All the confusion is caused by people referring to a subscription model. It is not a subscription model, just a purchase model with a pay in installments option.

It's a subscription model for those who don't go the full 12 months.
 
Or you can think of Sonar as having an extended demo mode, one you can keep going by paying a monthly fee.
 

I also call it an installment plan.  If you don't pay every month Sonar stops working much like if you default on your car, mortgage, charge card etc., i.e. they will get repossessed.

Just for a bit of clarification, we are considering this to be a Membership model, rather than a subscription - a subscription implies that if you stop paying, you lose what you have paid for. Instead, having a SONAR Membership qualifies you for free technical support, automatic monthly upgrades, etc. Once you have paid 12 consecutive months, your product is completely unlocked - it will not go into demo mode if you stop paying after 12 months. The alternative is buying 12 months up front, which is quite similar to just purchasing the product outright as you would have with any product prior to the new SONAR; now your product is completely unlocked, you get the upgrades and tech support throughout the entire year, and at the end of the 12 months you can decide whether or not you would like to continue your Membership. There is an incentive to complete a full 12-month cycle, which is bolstered by the monthly updates, bug fixes, and new features.
 
Hopefully this helps!
 
Joe

MarioD

Paul P

Glyn Barnes
All the confusion is caused by people referring to a subscription model. It is not a subscription model, just a purchase model with a pay in installments option.

It's a subscription model for those who don't go the full 12 months.
 
Or you can think of Sonar as having an extended demo mode, one you can keep going by paying a monthly fee.
 

I also call it an installment plan.  If you don't pay every month Sonar stops working much like if you default on your car, mortgage, charge card etc., i.e. they will get repossessed.

Yes, you can think of it that way, but I don't think it's the intention.  I can't believe Cakewalk decided to get into the financing (loan sharking) business.
 
What they have done (and the more I think of it, the more brilliant I think it is ) is :
 
a) let you full-demo the product for as long as you like - and if you do it long enough, you get to keep it.
b) for a short project you can rent the product for a few months - for a lot cheaper than buying it
 
And, of course, you can always buy it outright like you always could.
 
I think this should have been broadcast loud and clear from the beginning.  It would have saved us a lot of confusion and a lot of bad press flying around the Internet right now.
 

Drone 7,
 
read before you type.  If you don't have any kind of SONAR and want to buy in, it is $500 to buy or you can pay out at the $600 per annum (Cakewalk charges more for interest - same as if you used a credit card).  If you have SONAR now and want to upgrade, you get the UPGRADE price - $150 or $200 paid out over the year.  Same as it ever was, except, again, Cakewalk charges a fee if you want to pay it out rather than up front.
 
I can understand confusion and not wanting to get caught in some kind of virtual Ponzi scheme.  But if you have a specific question ask it nicely to those of us who have at least tried to figure out Cake's new model.  And if you had read the threads you would have seen a lot of Bakers answering questions, even tho this is a user forum.
 
If you can't be bothered to read the Cake's stickys (which seem to answer most questions) please don't go dropping threats.  I can't think of any other user that cares if you are out of here or not.  It just comes off as lazy and rude.
 
@

This system my be vulnerable to abuse, think of this... What if I first buy outright/upfront, then 11 months into the second year just decide to opt-in for membership to get all the updates. If we try to take advantage like that, what is stopping people? Or, if someone done it that way and only paid for a month membership just to get all the updates after initially buying outright in the previous year, and then they discontinue payments after a single one month payment, does that mean the updates will all be suspended and they will only end-up with their previous full version?
 
This whole membership thing is seeming like a mindfield of confusion when trying to figure-out the best deal.
 
Let me make it easy with a few simple direct questions...
 
1: If initially i buy Sonar professional outright ($199), what will be the outright price of buying the next version? (of course you don't have to say the 'exact' amount, just approximately in terms of how much upgrading again will cost)
2: If initially i buy Sonar Platinum outright ($499), what will be the outright price of buying the next version? (of course you don't have to say the 'exact' amount, just approximately in terms of how much upgrading again will cost)
 
Concerning those who opt for the "Membership" route...
1: After the first twelve months of the membership route, what is the cost of another 12 months thereafter?
 
2: If someone were to buy outright first, can they revert to the membership route after the first 12 months are expired? And, if we can, and do, and subsequently fail to make further expected monthly payments, does that mean the program will revert back to the previous full version we had paid for, but without any of the subsequent upgrades, fixes etc that we got for initiating the membership. Phew!
 
Joe Connor, please chime-in again, and give us full and thorough answers to these four questions, i think that will solve the whole mystery and most of the potentially enigmatic associated variables. I do thankyou in advance. Cheers.