Exactly.... This is the way they get a buzz going and the interest piqued.

Thanks to the forum members ....

ORIGINAL: kaylen

I'm thinking the confusion was intentional, There has been enough time to clarify.

I am sure you are right. I doubt that the intent is to charge for bug fixes (hope not!). I must admit I find it annoying that Cakewalk have not clarified this point, and because I hate marketing departments toying with us.

This looks like it might be a fresh quote:

http://www.kvraudio.com/news/11920.html

"Retailers have reported to us that software sales over the Summer tend to slow down as customers anticipate big updates in the Fall," commented Anthony Conte, Cakewalk's vice president of sales. "Cakewalk is offering this free promotion to address the concerns of customers who want to buy the latest version of SONAR, but are concerned that they might be left behind if the next update is around the corner. Now you can start making music today with SONAR 8, and then enjoy a host of new features for free when the next update is released."

ORIGINAL: stickman393

This looks like it might be a fresh quote:

http://www.kvraudio.com/news/11920.html

"Retailers have reported to us that software sales over the Summer tend to slow down as customers anticipate big updates in the Fall," commented Anthony Conte, Cakewalk's vice president of sales. "Cakewalk is offering this free promotion to address the concerns of customers who want to buy the latest version of SONAR, but are concerned that they might be left behind if the next update is around the corner. Now you can start making music today with SONAR 8, and then enjoy a host of new features for free when the next update is released."

Looks like the same ad blurb as before to me.

Still doesn't answer the simple question I posed a few pages back. If I upgrade to Sonar PE 8 now for $179 will I get Sonar 9 PE free?

Define "Feature Rich Update".

Dear Cakewalk Customers,

I’d like to apologize for the confusion that we caused with the upgrade offer that we sent last week before the long holiday weekend. While it’s upsetting to me to see the confusion we caused with our wording, it is nice to know that you do in fact actually read the emails that we send out :). I’d like to clear some of this up.

The next update to SONAR is an upgrade and its coming later this year. This will be a major update to the application with significant new features added to it. This will be a paid upgrade for existing customers. If you already have SONAR 8 or 8.3 Producer, rather than the usual $179 that you are accustomed to paying, the cost for these new features will be $99.

As a convenience to existing 8.0 or 8.3 customers we will be making this upgrade available as a download. That way you will not have to wait for your order to ship and you will be able to start using these new features almost immediately. This is a convenience that has been requested by our customers and we have upgraded our systems to accommodate the high volumes of large downloads that will result when we issue this upgrade to SONAR. If you prefer to get your upgrade on DVD, it will be made available for you at an additional cost.

The current promotions that we are running are as follows:

• If you upgrade to SONAR 8 starting July 1st you will get a download of this next paid upgrade to SONAR for free.
  
  
• If you are a new customer who buys SONAR 8 at retail starting July 1st, you are entitled to a $100 rebate, plus you will get a download of this next paid upgrade to SONAR for free. [EDIT: the $100 rebate is US retail stores only, there are many offers on SONAR 8 going on outside the US but you will need to check with your retailers for specific details. The free upgrade however, is being honored worldwide.]
  
  
• In addition, anyone who has purchased the complete SONAR V-Studio 700, starting with the product’s release in January, will be eligible for the free download.
  
  
• All of these customers can also get the upgrade on DVD for an additional charge.
  

As far as what the upgrade will be called, exactly when it will be available, and what features it will include, the only thing I can definitively tell you today is that full version of Rapture will not be included as part of this upgrade. For the rest, you can speculate all you want, but you’ll need to wait for our official announcement to get the full scoop.

Hope this clears some of the confusion up.

Best regards,

Carl Jacobson
Vice President of Marketing

Crystal(ish) clear.


Now why didn't Carl post the original announcement

Ahhh that's better. I guess it clears things up for me. So if I upgrade to Sonar 8 PE today I get the next paid version whatever it's called for free which will have new features but we don't know which ones...........................But I have until March of next year to take advantage of the deal.

I should have jumped on the $129 upgrade deal when it was in effect. Wouldn't have got me the next version free but from what I just read that will only be $99 so in effect I would pay 129+ 99 instead of 179 but would have the option not to upgrade if the new undisclosed features aren't something I want or need........................


Hmmmm I would go for that deal now. 129 with no free upgrade so you could look at it this way, you will either pay 49 more to upgrade to the new features if you want them or save 50 by not being forced to upgrade for features you don't want or need. Sort of a roll the dice type of deal.

I have a different question! The promotion says that this is through selected retailers. I haven't found any in the UK at all. Does this promotion apply to ANYONE registering after July 1? Or are we very unlucky in the UK? Or have I missed some?!

Fabulous - thanks Marketing!

ORIGINAL: Marketing [Cakewalk]

Dear Cakewalk Customers,

I’d like to apologize for the confusion that we caused with the upgrade offer that we sent last week before the long holiday weekend. While it’s upsetting to me to see the confusion we caused with our wording, it is nice to know that you do in fact actually read the emails that we send out :). I’d like to clear some of this up.

The next update to SONAR is an upgrade and its coming later this year. This will be a major update to the application with significant new features added to it. This will be a paid upgrade for existing customers. If you already have SONAR 8 or 8.3 Producer, rather than the usual $179 that you are accustomed to paying, the cost for these new features will be $99.

Waaaayyyy COOL... IMHO. and thanks for the easy to understand explanation !

I think SONAR will supplant ProTools in the next 18 months as the industry standard in production of all varieties

<ducks out back door>

Coming in at the tail end of this furor... I ordered on the 29th. I was all set to cancel my order, and emailed Cakewalk promptly as soon as I got the new promotion email on the first of July. Never received a response. The web store offers you no mechanism to cancel an order. I tried calling and waited on hold nearly infinitely before giving up. Then came the three-day weekend.

Tuesday morning my order arrived, and to add insult to injury, the June promotion of the free DVD was not included. Looking back at my original order confirmation email, I noticed that it said "Promotional Codes: None" though I quite clearly entered it into the eStore order form before submitting the order.

Finally got through to Customer Support today and was basically told "our promotion dates are a hard and fast rule because [all of the usual reasons]..."

Bottom line, OK, sure, I understand that they have to draw the upgrade offer line somewhere, but I'm pretty irritated, balancing my $99 dollars for a promotion I didn't even receive and having to pay another $99 for whatever the next upgrade is versus where I'd have been had I waited a few days.

I have been a customer of Cakewalk's since about 1993, and I feel like I was treated a bit shabbily.

Coming in at the tail end of this furor... I ordered on the 29th.... Tuesday morning my order arrived

Hmmm - well, I ordered S8 studio on the 28th (which of course should just be a couple of discs, fairly easy to ship). As of this writing (7/8/9) I have yet to receive it - and neither UPS or USPS acknowledges the tracking number attached to the order. So you're a leg up on me.

I've just sent an email to Cust. Service - we'll see what they say.

As to the whole "update/upgrade" bruhaha (ha ha ha...) doesn't bother me either way - took 5 versions for me to see something worth upgrading for (very minor enhancements in the UI that I've been waiting to see...) so I'm not even sure I'll care when the next one comes along...

Edit - Ok, just minutes ago S8 Studio arrived at my door (via Fedex, d'oh!! Slapping of forehead...) so we're good there. But..... no bonus DVD, and my order page DOES show the promo code. Not a big issue for me, it really had nothing to do with my ordering, but still...... A deal's a deal, right?

Got rehearsal tonite - but looking forward to getting comfortable with the new package.

ORIGINAL: strikinglyhandsome1

New customers get pampered and old customers get strapped to a metaphoric medieval rack and thrashed within an inch of their lives. This may appeal to Max Mosley but not to your average hardcore user.

Pssst.... SH1, you're in the wrong forum .....

ORIGINAL: AlChuck


Finally got through to Customer Support today and was basically told "our promotion dates are a hard and fast rule because [all of the usual reasons]..."

To me that doesn't seem very smart on CWs end....I think if I would have done what Al did I would never upgrade again unless it was in response to a special...and it seems that could hurt CWs bottom line. It seems there would be at least a 5 day grace period.

ORIGINAL: Dr. Mac

True, but as you can see from the forum, most people can't wait for the latest and greatest version of Sonar. Some people stalk this forum and lose sleep until the next one is released. Seriously! I have never seen anything like it!

Therefore, I think this offer is a good idea that may help Cake with their mid-quarter earnings. If it hurts another quarter, well, that's another quarter :)

Hey Doc, I think you misread there amigo. I was only saying that if someone upgrades a day or two before some email with a special price is announced ....ahhh never mind