Anderton

carlosigls250 $ for a year?

Actually, no. Aside from Cakewalk saying specials would be offered from time to time, if you skip a year (remember, the software keeps working, this isn't a subscription) your cost goes down to $125 a year. 
 
It's all about choice. If there's some spectacular feature you absolutely have to have right now, you'll pay the full price. If you wait for a special, you'll pay less. If you want for a year, you'll pay even less.

Except your explanation that SPlat was never primary money source, I must admit that for me that "prices simplification" is simplified the marketing down to the level I no longer understand how that can work at all
a) who was on-board and has payed every time, has Lifetime by now
b) harvesting by LE versions coming with some hardware (like me and I remember some other) is also out of equation (f.e. US-2x2 is still listen in retails with X3 LE, not eligible for reduced price,  unlike also included Live Lite...)
c) who was still waiting with X3 are out
d) continuous membership bring no benefits (no special upgrade price this year, even increased now, no "loyal" members bonus mentioned in the model). Even you a kind of recommend  "wait for some spectacular feature", which in turn means something worse $250 (the price comparable with cross-grading to new platform) or waiting for some "special action"
e) "coming soon" could help (d), so the price could be justified by something existing plus interesting coming features, but it is not there and what "soon" means in practice have proved to be undefined.
 
I am not criticizing nor begging for something. I am just curious 

azslow3a) who was on-board and has payed every time, has Lifetime by now

 
That is a certain percentage for sure, but new people buy Platinum, and Artist and Pro users still upgrade their programs or in some cases, upgrade to Platinum. It helps that Windows is having a resurgence, because it's creating more interest in Windows DAWs, and that benefits SONAR.
 

b) harvesting by LE versions coming with some hardware (like me and I remember some other) is also out of equation (f.e. US-2x2 is still listen in retails with X3 LE, not eligible for reduced price,  unlike also included Live Lite...)

 
SONAR has never had a strong presence in interface bundles because it's not cross-platform. The pairing of X3 LE and Live Lite for the TASCAM interfaces was a deal I helped facilitate because of my connections with Cakewalk, TASCAM, and Ableton but that kind of deal is an exception.
 

c) who was still waiting with X3 are out

 
I suspect that if they didn't get lifetime updates and they didn't update during the window when cheaper upgrade prices were still in effect, they're not going to upgrade.

d) continuous membership bring no benefits (no special upgrade price this year, even increased now, no "loyal" members bonus mentioned in the model).

 
I think there will be benefits, just like how someone who re-subscribes to a magazine gets a special deal if they continue their subscription. Granted that's just how I would do things, but it's a pretty universal concept so I suspect Cakewalk would be thinking along the same lines.
 

e) "coming soon" could help (d), so the price could be justified by something existing plus interesting coming features, but it is not there and what "soon" means in practice have proved to be undefined.

 
Well, it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, isn't it? Everyone has their "wish list" but they'd prefer not to have to pay to have those wishes implemented. If Cakewalk can fill more items on the wish list, and people aren't willing to pay for it, then that would be a problem. But if by paying $100 I could have ripple editing right now, I'd do it. Looking back, if ripple editing appears soon, I would personally consider $250 for plug-in load balancing, the PRV updates, transform tool, and ripple editing worth it.
 
Of course I understand not everyone has the same priorities, so those updates might not be worth $250 to them. I am speaking only for myself, and not as a hobbyist for whom $250 might seem excessive but as someone who depends on SONAR to make a living.
 
 
 
 

Anderton

carlosigls
 
250 $ for a year?

 
Actually, no. Aside from Cakewalk saying specials would be offered from time to time, if you skip a year (remember, the software keeps working, this isn't a subscription) your cost goes down to $125 a year. 
 
It's all about choice. If there's some spectacular feature you absolutely have to have right now, you'll pay the full price. If you wait for a special, you'll pay less. If you want for a year, you'll pay even less. 
 

What nonsense. Following this logic I a person could wait 5 years to renew and the annual cost would only be $50. What are they putting in your water cooler Craig? Why not wait 10 years and get it for $2.50/year?
 
LOOK UP. THERE'S A STUPID MATH ERROR.

ampfixer
 
 
What nonsense. Following this logic I a person could wait 5 years to renew and the annual cost would only be $50. What are they putting in your water cooler Craig? Why not wait 10 years and get it for $2.50/year?

because to get it for $2.50/year you would have to wait 100 years

ampfixer
What nonsense. Following this logic I a person could wait 5 years to renew and the annual cost would only be $50.

 
Correct. You would pay $250, yet get five years' worth of updates. That works out to $50 a year.
 
It's not nonsense. It's math.
 

I get what you're saying, and yes I look dumb with the math error. However, the annual renewal fee is what it is. Delaying the purchase does not change its price and it IS nonsense to think otherwise. When you buy something it has certain features. You pay to have those features. But if those features don't work, or get broken by subsequent updates, Then what? You have to keep buying in to protect your investment. 
 
The continuous update model has a lot going for it but there are some drawbacks. One thing I've noticed is that no 3rd parties seem to be putting out guides or instructional material for those that want it. No Garrigus books, nothing from Groove 3 or SWA since the X series. By the time they create something it's going to be out of date. Those materials took some of the load off Cakewalk and helped others make a living. Now Cakewalk is the only one that can do it. They dominate a market they can't service right now.

From their recent posts in the release thread. It's seems they are 'hoping' that we as users do this job for them. But it doesn't work for each latest release as they know what it can do and we don't have the insight.
 
I feel a total disconnect to the company, and have for a long time. If I hadn't of taken the lifetime membership, then what I would have received from Jan 2016-17 would have just felt OK. The biggest thing for me was Theme editor, and in the end that just felt dumped an stranded and with little to no response from Cakewalk. It still has work to be done, but it had nothing.
 
Meanwhile we have about three years of feature requests that are basically ignored adding to my disillusionment, and faith that the new features you expect from the 'membership' will ever pull from them. And so the term 'Mebership' adds to the insult, as I don't feel I am a member of anything, I just have paid for Sonar, I am no closer.
 
I'm glad I've got membership,because I don't want to give them anymore money and feel dejected about what I feel I should be getting as a "member'.
 
I think their marketing sucks and their excuse that 'we only have a small marketing team' sucks too.

£210 to renew Platinum? That's a 33% increase on what the price was up until recently. Yikes!
 
How is this justifiable?

ampfixer
I get what you're saying, and yes I look dumb with the math error. However, the annual renewal fee is what it is. Delaying the purchase does not change its price and it IS nonsense to think otherwise.

 
But that's the way it works for all software companies - except they charge more than Cakewalk. For example, if you go from DAW 7.0 to DAW 8.0, there will be an upgrade fee. If you go from DAW 7.0 to DAW 10.0, you'll probably pay a higher fee than going from DAW 7.0 to DAW 8.0. But with Cakewalk, if you go from DAW 7.0 to DAW 10.0, you don't pay any more than you would for the update from DAW 7.0 to DAW 8.0 - but I'd bet the user who paid to take another company's DAW from DAW 7.0 to DAW 8.0 to DAW 9.0 to DAW 10.0 ended up paying a LOT more than 50% of the original price. John I know you're a smart guy, but I don't see how it's possible to see this very obvious advantage to the consumer as "nonsense."
 

When you buy something it has certain features. You pay to have those features. But if those features don't work, or get broken by subsequent updates, Then what? You have to keep buying in to protect your investment.

 
That is also true of any software. If you buy DAW 7.0 as given above and it has problems, unless all issues are fixed in point updates (highly unlikely), you'll have to keep updating to "protect your investment." In fact the Adobe/Pro Tools subscription model mandates it.
 

The continuous update model has a lot going for it but there are some drawbacks. One thing I've noticed is that no 3rd parties seem to be putting out guides or instructional material for those that want it.

 
This is one reason why the eZine is being brought back. But about books in general...I used to make some nice $$ by writing third-party books. I stopped a long time ago because it's impossible to make money on these kind of books. Assume software that updates once every year, which is not that uncommon. Of those 12 months, you have a window of maybe 6 months for sales. The first 3 months of the 12 months is finishing up the book and getting it distributed. The last 3 months, no one wants to buy the book because there have been point upgrades and maybe even hints about the next version that's coming out.

Anderton
 
 But that's the way it works for all software companies - except they charge more than Cakewalk. For example, if you go from DAW 7.0 to DAW 8.0, there will be an upgrade fee.

not exactly true (maybe a small thing i know, but still) reaper for example, you buy in at the start of version 5 for $60, you will get all updates for version 5 and all updates for version 6, it is not an unheard of to get more than 2 years and even up to 3 from when you brought in before you need pay again. they are not exactly on a yearly cycle for versions, when it happens it happens