Why is it always $50 per month?

Oh, forgive me, $49.99.  You'd think we'd get a gold-dipped ribbon mic or at least a tin plectrum for our trouble.  Or at least usable emoticons on this forum using standardized character sequences.  :( There, I did it just to be a grouchy rebel; sue me.
 
So am I reading this right...to go from X3 Producer to Platinum, I would pay an upgrade fee of $149 one-time, get 12 months of so-called "maintenance", then pay $500 per year ($600 if I can't afford it all at once) starting in month 13?

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So am I reading this right...to go from X3 Producer to Platinum, I would pay an upgrade fee of $149 one-time, get 12 months of so-called "maintenance", then pay $500 per year ($600 if I can't afford it all at once) starting in month 13?

No. The upgrade is a one time fee of $149 or 12 consecutive monthly payments of $14.99. This also includes a 12 month membership. You can read about the membership here http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Membership. At the end of your membership, if you wish to renew your membership the currently publish renewal price is $199 a year or $19.99 a month . The price matrix is here http://www.cakewalk.com/P...SONAR/Versions#pricing

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get 12 months of so-called "maintenance"

It's not called "maintenance," it's called fixes, features, enhancements, and content.
 
Scroll to the end of this page to see what was added to Platinum's initial release in January.
 
Here are the eZines detailing what has been added in each of the past four releases.
 
Braintree 
Cambridge
Dorchester
Everett

Well, my answer is after the annual fee is paid, by either method, you own the software just as if you bought an upgrade. You do not have to pay any more to keep that "level", just as the old way.

charlygWell, my answer is after the annual fee is paid, by either method, you own the software just as if you bought an upgrade. You do not have to pay any more to keep that "level", just as the old way.

 
Yes, I understand that.  In fact, without that key point, I would avoid this the same as I avoid all paid Adobe software, and as I even strive to reduce my dependence on "free" Adobe software.  I won't even buy Lightroom for fear that I will become dependent on it and then it'll go subscription-only.  By making the only deal available that shuts off the customer if he/she can't pay and then not offering a non-subscription option, Adobe has damaged our relationship so badly that now I suspect them on everything.
 
Hopefully Cakewalk will understand the danger of damaging the customer relationship and therefore will never be tempted to go down that path.

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So am I reading this right...to go from X3 Producer to Platinum, I would pay an upgrade fee of $149 one-time, get 12 months of so-called "maintenance", then pay $500 per year ($600 if I can't afford it all at once) starting in month 13?

Where are you reading that? i would assume that if you pay for a Producer to Platinum upgrade for a year now, at the end of the year you would be paying for a Platinum to Platinum pricing to continue the next year. Typically the price to upgrade includes a premium for the added features, but Cakewalk has always offered lower prices for the next version to customers who already have the same model. I expect that 500/600 is the list price for a new user not a discounted price for current users. If Cakewalk charges 600.00 for current users of Platinum to continue next year they will lose a boatload of customers. That said there is no guarantee that Cakewalk will offer any product at any particular price in the future.

Yes, I don't have a problem with how they are doing it, I don't think. I just haven't found any concrete answers or even a very informative explanation of exactly how the pricing works other than the pricing list. I have a very old copy (CD) of producer from another machine that I scrapped years and years ago, would that copy qualify for a producer to platinum discount? (I still have serials etc). I'm not complaining just looking for answers. I see refrences being made to 'ezines' but I haven't found a way to subscribe or if I'm even allowed with only the professional product. Again, it is difficult to express a 'tone' in text, and I am indeed not complaining, just wanting to learn more, in order to move forward wisely.

I dunno, when I look at the pricing, I leave with no questions. Seems to cover everything, including the answer to your question. 

slartabartfast

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So am I reading this right...to go from X3 Producer to Platinum, I would pay an upgrade fee of $149 one-time, get 12 months of so-called "maintenance", then pay $500 per year ($600 if I can't afford it all at once) starting in month 13?

Where are you reading that? ...

The question was answered, thank you.

As n early adopter, I upgraded to Plat for $126 (plus change).....so far, I'm very happy with the stability/updates/bug fixes and excellent content included. I'll most likely do the same upgrade next year.

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Okay, thank you for the clarification.  $200 every 12 months or $16.66 is double what I currently pay, which is about $149 every 18 months, or about $8.30-ish.

 
$199 is the "list price." There have been several upgrade offers at $149 (assuming you pay for the upgrade up front instead of over 12 months), and I suspect that there will continue to be specials in the years ahead.  
 
But also, your math is wrong because the 18-month figure is inaccurate. IIRC correctly SONAR was introduced in 2001, and 14 years later, there have been 13 major releases (if you include the 8.5 release). That's very close to a 12-month average. So given waiting on the upgrade for a special, and the frequency of updates, the price difference is nowhere near a 100% increase.
 

But the trend is not going in the most friendly direction for me the customer.

 
Well, think about it for a second. You're getting bug fixes on an accelerated basis, new features, new content, a monthly eZine instead of just release notes, and the learning curve for new features is spread over 12 months, making it much easier to assimilate new features. Also, instead of having all update bugs released at once upon a major release with fixes that occur over the next several months, looking back at the history of monthly releases so far, bugs introduced with a new feature are typically gone by the next release, or in some cases, even sooner. And, customers can now choose to pay over 12 months if they're tight for cash. All of this strikes me as a much friendlier direction for the consumer.
 

Yes, I am thinking of it as a subscription, because that's what it is to me.  X dollars monthly or X * 12 dollars minus some discount if paid annually.  When it comes to personal finance, how is that not a subscription?

 
Because the software industry uses the word "subscription" to apply to software rental, not ownership. For example, PC World defines subscription software as software that becomes invalid (e.g., expires) if you don't continue paying, like the Adobe and Avid models. With SONAR, you get to keep what you buy, and it doesn't expire. If you choose not to upgrade, SONAR continues to work exactly the same as it did before.
 
In that respect, SONAR's plan is like a print magazine subscription, where you get to keep back issues even if you don't renew your subscription.

Agreed.

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I've been to this rodeo before, with software, non-software products, and services.  In my experience, every time so far, the relationship has been better for the subscription provider than they have been for the customer. 

Which is why those sneaky Cakewalk people  figured they could get a competitive advantage over other companies by coming up with a plan that was customer-centric rather than company-centric. Their devilishly clever marketing scam is intended to create happy customers. Happy customers = renewals at the end of the year = attracting more new users (which is already happening) = forcing other companies to play catch-up and Cakewalk continuing to be a market leader.
 
Another prominent software company is about to ditch yearly updates and go to point releases every two months...don't know if they've announced yet. Stay tuned.
 
I totally understand that in today's selfie/greed-is-good/I'm-all-that-matters environment, it's easy to assume a company has some secret underhanded agenda. Well, I guess it is, if you consider trying to increase market share by creating more happy customers secret and underhanded...it's actually the way lots of companies used to be run, but somehow, that concept seems to have been forgotten over the years (although there are exceptions, like Sweetwater, and look where it's gotten them!).

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I think this "new way" Cakewalk is taking is for the better. More and more fixes and addons have come from people here on this forum, which (in my mind) is a sign of Cakewalk listening to their users.

I doubt the current pace is indefinitely sustainable.  For now, I'll try to be "cautiously optimistic".

If you get less optimistic - you can always stay away not renewing membership - this will tell Cakewalk somebody is not entirely happy here.
 
So you stay away until there is substantial news that is of value for you - and no penalty to re-enter.
And meanwhile you own your Sonar so far and can continue to use it.
 
There is a healthy dialog in this scheme.
- I like what you are doing, I'm renewing membership
- Not much happended last year, I stay away for a while waiting for something to happend...
 
Compare that to Avid ProTools support plan subscription which is - renew annualy or buy full new license if to come back to ProTools. Your old license is frozen indefinately.
 
Or rent ProTools monthly, which stops working as you stop paying.