RIP Cakewalk

GIBSON BRANDS ANNOUCEMENT REGARDING CAKEWALK, INC.

Gibson Brands announced today that it is ceasing active development and production of Cakewalk branded products. The decision was made to better align with the company’s acquisition strategy that is heavily focused on growth in the global consumer electronics audio business under the Philips brand.
Cakewalk has been an industry leader in music software for over 25 years by fusing cutting-edge technology with creative approaches to tools that create, edit, mix, and publish music for professional and amateur musicians. Gibson Brands acquired Cakewalk in 2013.
Gibson Brands, a growing company in the music and sound industries, was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Gibson Brands is a global leader in musical instruments, consumer electronics, and professional audio, and is dedicated to bringing the finest experiences to consumers by offering exceptional products with world- recognized brands.

+1, this has been a cool place to hang out for the last 10 years or so.

I take it to mean 'we're not funding Cakewalk to develop anything new'.
 
 

Which likely means the end of the road. It would be an odd statement to issue if they were looking to sell Cakewalk.

jamesg1213
Which likely means the end of the road. It would be an odd statement to issue if they were looking to sell Cakewalk.

agreed.  cakewalk is VERY small potatoes in the company.  selling cake wouldn't make a dent in their debt.  it'd be easier for them to just shut it down.

bitflipper
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2017/11/21/gibson-ceases-development-of-cakewalk-products/
 
Quotes Noel as saying monthly updates will cease.
 
Here's Cakewalk's official statement, and here is Gibson's statement.

 
Yep, Noel's said it in the sticky upstairs.
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com...uncement-m3687511.aspx

Oh boy you have to be fast around here  both Bit and James beat me to it 
 
Kenny

jamesg1213

daryl1968
between us we have to save this forum

 
+1

*10

I value Cakewalk much more than Gibson.
If Gibson shuts down Cakewalk (instead of selling it), I'll boycott Gibson.
 
I understand there's a business decision in there that I don't have visibility into, but as a consumer the company has made a decision that negatively affects me.  In a big way, since this is the only DAW i've ever invested time or money into - the learning curve to go to a competitor will be a big PITA.
 
As such, Gibson - you suck.

drewfx1

Randy P
A couple of thoughts after reading the official statements.
 
The sentence regarding "a team during the transition". That's lawyer speak for "we are shutting this whole thing down in the near future". I take that to mean all online support for the product, including this forum will be cease to exist in the near future. It's just a fact of corporate business in today's climate. Right or wrong, they care not about this forum or this product any longer.
 
Best prepare yourself if you rely on the product for income. As for the forums, they will cease to exist unless a member or member group can negotiate with Cakewalk/Gibson to take it over and import it into a private server and then administrate it and handle the cost.
 
Now, having said this, it's remotely possible an entity could step forward a buy Cakewalk from Gibson. I would imagine that Gibson has put out feelers to likely interested parties and found no takers prior to today's announcement.
 
It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, but if were to bet on it, this will all be a fond memory sooner rather than later.
 

Unfortunately I think we think alike.
 
And I don't like to be a pessimist, but what's the upside for another buyer? If Sonar was raking in profits, then this wouldn't be happening. The only viable buyer would be a company that wanted to add a DAW to it's portfolio for some reason, but...
 
Honestly, having it go open source might be more viable, but Gibson would have to be the type to give away code for that to happen, so...
 
 

I believe they'd rather lock it up and shut it down than give the source out.  JMO

Slugbaby
As such, Gibson - you suck.

Yeah! I'm gonna trash my SG later!

I think the writing has been on the wall for years now. When Cakewalk was essentially a boutique shop being run by the guys who wrote the code and answered the forum questions and the phones, it was a barely profitable business, but the guys in the shop made a paycheck and loved what they did.
 
Times were a little different back then. Talent becomes harder to retain when economic realities set in. So, to their credit, the founders made a couple of deals to their benefit. It's just smart business. They have families and responsibilities. Once the company started down that path, the company relied on a market that would expand in users. That hasn't been the case in the music software/equipment/instrument etc segment for awhile and there is no sign of that changing. Just a reality folks.
 
I look at it like this. I own my own company and I have employees whose success I care about because it directly affects my success. However, if a larger company were to come to me and make me an offer to buy my company that would drastically improve my family's financial situation and reward me for the work I've put into the business,......well show me the money!
 
While I'd try and secure my current employees positions within the new company, I wouldn't kill a deal over it. And if after selling my business, I'd hope that it succeeded for the new owner. But if not, I got mine. That's just business folks. There isn't any room for sentimentality in a business the size of Gibson. They have shareholders who they have a responsibility to and that is always the overriding concern in every decision they make.
 
I don't blame Gibson. I don't blame the Bakers or Roland. The reality is the music business has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. The only people making money that aren't performers are streaming services.
 
You want to blame somebody? Try Apple inc., Napster., Pandora, Youtube, etc.