Message from BandLab

Upstairs...thought I'd bring it to us "Cellar Dwellers"

Hi everyone!
 
Thank you all for the insights & feedback you’ve shared in the past month.  I know you’ve been waiting patiently for more news on TDFKAS and the rest of the Cakewalk products. We’re now very very close to announcing our product plans - we're ahead of schedule and you’ll hear it from me here first - so watch this space.
 
Before that happens though, as part of the preparation for product relaunch we’ll be sending everyone who previously registered a Cakewalk account a request to sign up for a BandLab account. It’s free, it’s secure and it doesn’t mean you are obliged to use BandLab's social music platform features (although there are plenty of good collaboration options and other features in there  - you can read more about them here).
 
Signing up for a new legacy Cakewalk account is no longer available and for those who have accounts, the reason for this is that we will be tagging your Cakewalk ID to your new BandLab account as we migrate databases and wind down the legacy server. Starting very soon, your BandLab account will be what you use to authenticate and activate TDFKAS and replaces the old Cakewalk account. As part of feature development, it will also bring more features and services to your Cakewalk experience in the future should you choose to use them. 

We decided to do it this way (opt-in) instead of auto-creating an account for everyone because we didn't want to force a new user account on anyone - we apologise that it's a little bit extra work but we hope that you understand! It's important to note that in order to ensure you get the right upgrade or crossgrades in future, you'll need to sign up for BandLab with the same email you used for your Cakewalk products.
 
For the thousands of you who have already signed up for BandLab with the same email address as your Cakewalk account - you won’t need to do anything! We’ve already automated the tagging of your Cakewalk ID to your new BandLab account.
 
Also, we had some questions in earlier forum threads about BandLab’s Terms of Use, particularly around ownership, licensing and copyright. 

For avoidance of doubt: Nothing you share on BandLab belongs to us - we take no ownership of your creation. Our T&Cs regarding BandLab getting a license to use content purely allow BandLab as a service to actually function - i.e. we need a license for BandLab as a service to play back your own song to you, or anyone else you share it with. Based on feedback in this forum we have clarified these points in layman's terms in our Terms of Use - so thanks to those who took the time to read our terms and give us feedback - we are always open to your comments and finding ways that we can do better...
 
I’m sorry that I can’t share any more information about what we're baking with TDFKAS just yet… we’re so close, and we can’t wait to reveal the full picture very soon! I have a sneaking suspicion you guys will be really pleased with the news.  Thank you again for all your support thus far - it really means the world to us and we hope we won't disappoint.
 
Best,
Meng

Does this mean I will need a BandLab account to authorize the DAW known as SONAR?

I hope that I get my Sonar Professional and other products back soon. I have lost everything and I have done everything to get them back, they are just gone. I have changed my account email address, logged out from command center etc. I have also tried to activate my products again but of course it's not possible.

Will this acquisition have an effect on the "Lifetime Updates" licenses some users may have purchased, or will such licenses continue be honored by BandLab?
 

Thanks for the info, signed up with Bandlab and ready for the future!

eravn
Will this acquisition have an effect on the "Lifetime Updates" licenses some users may have purchased, or will such licenses continue be honored by BandLab?
 

The Lifetime Updates was a Gibson/Cakewalk promise that BandLab doesn't have to honour. It would be great if they did, but that's not going to happen. However, Meng did promise:
 
"....our steadfast goal is that former SONAR owners (of all versions) will not need to spend any money to cross-over/cross-grade to the future flagship product."

I have no interest in BandLab, so if I don't sign up for BandLab I don't get any future updates to Cakewalk line of products?  If that's accurate then basically signing up with BandLab isn't really an "option" as described in this thread.
 
So is there an option to retain Cakewalk/Sonar updates for the various products without having a BandLab account?
 
EDIT: Sorry I have NO interest in Singapore based 28 year old kid with a rich Billionaire parents taking control of my musical adventures ... seen this before, watched it turn into a end user mess with zero innovation just re-badge existing technologies and concepts.
 
Cheers, Rob.

Thanks Meng and Larry. 
 
Got my email this morning and have signed up. Fingers crossed.

Rob Ainscough
I have no interest in BandLab, so if I don't sign up for BandLab I don't get any future updates to Cakewalk line of products?  If that's accurate then basically signing up with BandLab isn't really an "option" as described in this thread.
 
So is there an option to retain Cakewalk/Sonar updates for the various products without having a BandLab account?
 
EDIT: Sorry I have NO interest in Singapore based 28 year old kid with a rich Billionaire parents taking control of my musical adventures ... seen this before, watched it turn into a end user mess with zero innovation just re-badge existing technologies and concepts.
 
Cheers, Rob.

If I were Meng...You're the type of customer I wouldn't miss.

Grem

Sir William
 
what is TDFKAS?
 

TDFKAS = The Daw Formerly Known As Sonar
 
That's what Meng decided that we'd call it until the official "New" launch.

Thank you. I should've worked that out!