I hope you'll think through the analytics data you get. Other vendors have done the same thing, and the general conclusion (from my experience), that Analytics is excellent to understand usage, but is useless to determine features.
 
I few specifics: I wish notation worked well. I gave up on Sonar's notation a while ago and have switched to the PRV. Analytics would indicate that I don't use Notation and that it should not be enhanced. This is exactly the wrong conclusion.
 
I've seen other vendors switch to a voting system where user-proposals for enhancements are documented and voted on. I think I saw a note about something like that in an eZine a few months back.
 
I would suggest you focus on what your customers would like instead of what they do currently.

AllanH
I would suggest you focus on what your customers would like instead of what they do currently.

 
CW has started that analytics are there to supplement the existing methods of gathering information. There is also mention of a feedback portal being introduced. I've gone over the sales stats in this forum for programs with and without staff views, and usage of same. I'm quite sure CW also takes that kind of information into account.
 

And finally...re the EDM controversy...some might enjoy this article. 
 
Meanwhile, I'm off to work on presets for a new expansion pack. I think it's going to be called "Syntronic." I wonder what analytics would make of my use of SONAR in that context...

Hello Folks,

I don't feel the need to post very often, but I visit nearly everyday and I appriciate the tips, the personalities and the social drama this little corner on the web provides. I don't expect that will change with my decision to NOT install any update which includes this new analytics component. That's just my choice. Think of me however you may.

My user profile includes many of the traits that Noel has outlined earlier in this thread. I'm a gigging musician who has logged many hours as a recording engineer in a major music school while pursuing my music degree, recorded and produced three full length "albums" in the 90's in "pro" studios, and now spend most of my free time learning how to produce music ITB, which includes recording my own and my current band's music.

My other "pays the mortgage" job as a web developer and designer requires a familiarity and comfort with using and understanding analytics. It's part of my world and has been for many years, but this announcement has got to be one of the dumbest things I've heard in a long time. It's so stupid I can only chuckle and shrug my shoulders... "Oh well! Fool me once (Rapture Pro) but not again with this latest joke of an idea. I get it now."

Why does this bother me so much that I'm willing to say this on a public forum? Because I've been a customer since HS 6 and followed the upgrade path up to SPlat 2016 and I feel compelled to speak up as a person and and artist.

For example, imagine you are a person who paints and the person who provides you with art supplies, let's say your canvas', just informed you that these canvas' you enjoy so much now come with a camera that sits on your shoulder and watches you while you paint. Oh sure you can turn it off, but it's on when you sit down to paint, or it isn't if you turned it off. Wait, is it on or off? Did this latest update turn it back on? Cripes, where is that setting again?

My creativity is my private realm until I decide otherwise. There is no way I can support Cakewalk's development if this latest unnecessary feature is implemented.
 
(edited because the text didn't format correctly)

Oops, accidentally clicked helpful there. Which is not to say it's not a valid perspective.

I do think that thing about the camera is a dubious analogy though. I mean, it's not like the analytics are listening to your music.

jpetersen
@sharke: And yet I get young bands playing self-written material on analog guitars, drums and - OK, digital keys. That's why I have been getting away with using Sonar as just a digital tape recorder for far too long.

That's true, there will always be bands knocking out great tunes on traditional gear. But music production is far more varied these days. You have artists who mix up blues, R&B, hip hop and EDM in a single track. You have metal bands who incorporate dubstep elements. You have electronica/EDM producers who incorporate jazz fusion (like Floating Points) or distorted rock guitars. Any DAW with an eye on the future will be looking to accommodate the full range of production techniques.

irvin

sharke
I think there are a lot of misconceptions and assumptions being bandied about with regards to "amateurs versus pros" on this thread and on others in this forum. A lot of the older members like to make references to the "push button crowd" and I think there is this perception of young kids making EDM by dragging a couple of loops around and calling it a day. Really, this could not be further from the truth. There are young bedroom producers out there who would run rings around many of the old timers among us in terms of audio production, sound design, MIDI programming, use of controllers and automation etc. If you actually follow the scene there are some incredibly intricate productions out there which have utilized very advanced techniques and sound absolutely stunning, even if you don't like the genre. It must be hard, if you're a pro who's spent 30 years tuning his ears in the fields of EQ and compression, to hear 20 year old kids come along and create smooth sounding productions with perfect instrument separation after just 2 or 3 years at it. Part of the reason for this is that with the advent of plugins and DAW's, you have kids who have been able to put in 1000's of hours practice in their bedroom with unlimited "gear" at their disposal as opposed to the older engineers who were limited to whatever time they could get in their studio and whatever limited range of gear they could practice on. 
 
Now granted some of these kids are clamoring for production tools which old farts scoff at. But isn't that just how it's always been? New technology, new production techniques, new genres, the older generation making fun of it. These kids are taking on board all of the audio engineering techniques that you've spent 30 years learning, plus innovating some of their own. Believe me, they want the "pro" features just as much as you....but they want new features as well. 

Those kids you reference, would never embrace the one-button approach you describe. The 1000's of hours practice you mention, along with the enormous skill and knowledge acquired as a result, is the very thing the "one-button" approach is trying to portray as useless. Those young people you mention are into "advanced techniques" as you rightfully note. They are the exact type of user the "one-button" approach will alienate.

I don't think that's true at all. Whilst there is some snobbery in the music production world (and always will be), there is also the attitude that "if it gets the job done then great" whether it be a synth preset that's ideal out of the box, or a compressor preset that works great on vocals without much tweaking. How is the reverb knob on a Fender amp any different than a Style Dial? People have been using "one-button" style effects for decades. I mean how much scope for tweaking is there on your average Cry Baby wah? Pedal goes up, pedal goes down. And be honest, how many times have you created your own reverb preset from scratch?

Anderton
I think the main problem for Cakewalk isn't gathering ideas on what to do with the program, but prioritizing what will benefit the greatest number of users, and they believe analytics will help with that prioritization - although it's not a complete solution, which is presumably why Cakewalk will continue to use other methods to gauge user sentiment.

 

FanCake
The profile of the user, amateur/professional/whatever, is irrelevant. Most people need to record/edit/mix, some will use midi and some will use just audio and most will use both.That's what a DAW does.  It really can't be any more obvious. So why is this monitoring a priority, when they must have pretty clear customer feedback here and in support about what to do. When I read the forums it seems pretty clear to me, maybe they should spend more time reading the forums? But I suspect they already do.

Let us agree to disagree. It seems obvious and common sense at my end what the priorities should be. I can't see how it's difficult to gauge priority at all with the product as it now stands, maybe in 3 or 5 years time perhaps it will become more difficult? And I'm not thinking about what I want, I am thinking critically away from this. I keep reading similar threads over and over again that make perfect sense where the vast majority are in agreement where there are big gaps in everyday essential functionality (bugs and features). They stand out like a sore thumb.Cakewalk as developers should also have their own critical thinking skills when reading feedback, and deciding how it should, or should not, effect the products design.I understand Cakewalk employees use the product for their own music projects as well. Therefore they will or should know the product better than anybody. It doesn't make any sense to me at all that Cakewalk does not know the products shortcomings. People who use the product more than anybody else are the people that should be listened to.  These people also want simplicity as well with every day features just like beginners as well. It is possible to design features that are simple to use everyday, which have hidden layers of complexity for others who need to tweak, and still have great workflow that suits everybody (simple but not dumbed down either!). It should not be about X customer profile vs Y customer profile think, that mindset worries me to be honest as it is straight out of a marketing handbook, marketing tends to show distorted realities.
 
Again still saying metrics has it's place, not against it, it is useful. I'm just surprised it became such a priority for a small development team. Bit of a waste of time post, thanks for listening anyway.

Most, if not all, the major software packages I have include a check box during the install. It says "would you like to help xxx improve the quality of the product". If you check it then it turns on analytics. I think Cakewalk would be better off if they did this rather than make a huge announcement to say it's coming. The same goes for the LANDR export. Had they just said "hey, now you can directly export to LANDR if you want to use their service", I believe it would have floated by as a non-issue.
 
They seem to delight in bringing the heat upon themselves by advertising new features that really should be non-issues. Analytics, a new export option, a new menu. These are relatively minor changes that Cakewalk turns into major issues. They must like getting kicked every morning.