As a "lifetime subscriber", who is glad to be one - let me play Devil's Advocate:
 
Anderton: So if I take the flip side to that, what I read was "so Cakewalk HAD to raise prices so that they COULD bring back the eZine, give more themes, add in 24/7 support (or any phone support, right?) and all of that other stuff you said".  Is that correct?
 
Of course, I'm kidding.
 
But I think the issue that people are raising, right or wrong, is that for the past few years, Cakewalk has offered certain pricing, with the assumption that the features would continue to be released monthly - that was part of the "Deal" for signing up for a year.  Now, they have removed some things like phone support, the eZine, and others, AND raised the prices a pretty good bit.  If I were to raise my hourly rate in IT Consulting - just to bring it to industry average, I'd have to go up 30% and I'm quite sure that there would be customer loss in the process unless I was bringing something MORE to the table, not less.

Blades has a point.
 
I'm a lifetime subscriber as well, so I don't have to worry about the increased cost myself. However, if I was not and saw that even though several membership perks were being discontinued my bill was still going up, I'd be rather offended and heavily consider saying goodbye and finding a different home.
 
That said, as long as what Anderton is saying is true and the increased cost is going to support SONAR updates and not simply line the pockets of Gibson executives, I'd ultimately be fine with an increased cost - because I'd actually benefit from that increase.
 
So I guess we'll see.  It's just very bad timing I think, right after announcing the discontinuation of the eZine and other perks that they announce the price increase. 

Darangen
That said, as long as what Anderton is saying is true and the increased cost is going to support SONAR updates and not simply line the pockets of Gibson executives, I'd ultimately be fine with an increased cost - because I'd actually benefit from that increase.

 
Cakewalk has some pretty ambitious plans for SONAR that cost money. Cakewalk money does not line the pockets of Gibson executives, it goes back into paying for the growth of the business. Remember, Cakewalk is a really tiny part of Gibson's overall business.
 

It's just very bad timing I think, right after announcing the discontinuation of the eZine and other perks that they announce the price increase.

 
As has been mentioned, the eZine will be re-launched in May as more of a Cakewalk magazine than a SONAR update eZine. This was a trend that was already established in the previous eZine issues. There are already 30 pages laid out for May, along with some other goodies you'll find out about in due time.
 
There was a genuine belief that people wouldn't care that much if the eZine went away - why not put the resources into something else. Well, the community made it clear they cared very much, and Cakewalk did a course correction. However it doesn't produce itself, so it requires resources. What I'm hoping if that the new direction will give the community much more value, without requiring too much of an increase in resources.
 
Finally, I do wish people would realize that the prices quoted are like MSRP. If a professional is making money from SONAR and needs some update feature RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW, they'll be willing to pay the cost at that time. Those who are willing to wait will pay less. 
 
Think about magazines for a moment. A magazine might cost $7.95 at the newsstand, but if you're a subscriber, a couple months before your subscription is due for renewal you get a "Renew now and get the next 12 issues for $29.95" notice.
 
Cakewalk is not going to do anything they think will damage the business. Whether they're right or wrong about any given decision will reveal itself over time, but given that Cakewalk has been around for 30 years, they must be doing something right.
 

I didn't get lifetime because I noticed I update to latest version about every 5 years!  At that time, I'll wait for a discount deal and get latest version.  I also find myself using other software that does something better or easier, like scoring, or non-midi audio, etc.  I was also turned off by how colors can't be fully customized.  And I think CW has less incentive to create new features that lifetime users want (if they track who is requesting features).

mikeinFL
And I think CW has less incentive to create new features that lifetime users want (if they track who is requesting features).

Those with Lifetime Updates represent a fraction of the universe of SONAR users. In any event, updates are updates. There aren't "special" updates for Lifetime Update people.

This is not being discussed in a fair way, so I am out.

coolbass
Anyway.
 
New Sonar purchase: 100% price.
To stay current ,after the first year, for 12 months: 50% of original price.
Pretty hefty.

Please stop making statements that are not correct: 
 
"To stay current ,after the first year, for 12 months: 50% of original price."
 
Obviously it's not a lie because you are not intending to deceive, you simply haven't read the posts in this thread. It has already been made clear, more than once, that there will continue to be specials and discounts.
 
For corroboration, see posts #5, #10, #12, and #25 in this thread alone. Also look at the sticky announcing the new pricing structure.
 
To be clear - the ONLY discount that is going away is from older versions of SONAR to the latest version. But to be fair, you still have until the end of the month to upgrade from an older version at a discount.
 
Furthermore, you do not have to update every year. You can if you're a professional who would really benefit from the latest features, in which case it's likely deductible or amortizable anyway. But if someone is a hobbyist, they can wait out as many updates they want, wait for a discount, and update at their convenience.

 
Ya it's another mad Canuck!  We get that way when Wall Street messes with the exchange rates....
I just don't shop in the States until it comes back in line again. It's actually better for our economy because we shop at home and travel in our own country. 

The price increase is documented and has a set value. You get 1 year, and after that it's half of retail to get another year of fixes and upgrades. That is documented and can't be argued. Whether or not Cake does specials is still an unknown.
Coolbass is absolutely correct and not making any false statements. There's nothing to dispute, facts are facts. Once the discounts happen then we can talk about how great they are, not until.

ampfixer
The price increase is documented and has a set value. You get 1 year, and after that it's half of retail to get another year of fixes and upgrades. That is documented and can't be argued. Whether or not Cake does specials is still an unknown.

 
No, it's not. It has been stated by representatives of Cakewalk in the sticky announcing the changes that there will be occasional discounts and specials. 
 

Coolbass is absolutely correct and not making any false statements.

 
Yes he is, because he states that the price will be 50% of the retail price. It has been stated unequivocally by Cakewalk in the first post in the sticky announcing the change that "After your first 12 months of free updates on your new purchase of SONAR, you can buy another 12 months of updates for at least 50% off the regular price of SONAR." Subsequent posts mention the 50%+ discount rate. In case that wasn't clear enough, Alex Westner also stated in response to a query that "We still expect to run price promotions from time-to-time." Others like scook have stated it, and Alex Westner has confirmed.
 
The only way Coolbass's (and your) statement would be true is if Cakewalk is lying and has no intention to offer specials and discounts, and the use of "at least 50%" and "50%+" are intended to be deceptive. Throughout a 30-year history there have been specials and discounts. Cakewalk says that will continue. Anyone who claims that is not true better have something factual to back up that contention. I submit Coolbass has nothing factual to back up that contention. If he does, I want to know the source because it directly contradicts what Cakewalk has said in public and in private.