Jon Sasor (QA) and I have also recorded/mixed/produced multiple albums, singles, and worked on many projects in SONAR over the last 8+ years. My first CW product was PA7. Jon risked the D.C. Sniper to grab a box of Guitar Tracks Pro.  
 
You could say we're dedicated ;)

Keith and Seth: Thanks for weighing in. I have a pretty big (for me) financial investment in SONAR as well as an emotional one, so tremors in the corporate structure resonate and not always in a good way. It's good to hear from you guys every so often.

Just to clarify - I don't have to develop SONAR so I get to use it exclusively in real-world projects, with the clock running, almost every day including weekends. I don't see any way that developers could just take time off from developing and do nothing but projects that used the software. Think about it...if they did, there would be no monthly updates  
 
Also, in another one of these threads in the software section, it was stated that my primary function at Gibson was Cakewalk. That is not at all true. I fulfilled many tasks at Gibson: 
 

• Lots of videos for KRK, including the marquee one on the V-Series speakers.
• Ad copy for KRK and Cerwin-Vega, as well as Cerwin-Vega videos for the P-series speakers.
• Representing Gibson on various industry executive boards.
• Was heavily involved in four mergers and acquisitions, including Cakewalk.
• The sample library that's being shipped with 2017.10...I put together that deal.
• Assisted Henry in some negotiations with the Chinese government re manufacturing facilities.
• Helped bring Harmony Central back from the dead after GC almost killed it. It's grown 29% over last year, the newsletter has gone from 24,000 to 91,000 opt-in subscribers, and the site manages over $40K of digital advertising.
• I developed the transient suppressor circuit for the Les Paul Standard, and the switchable wiring in the control cavity was my idea.
• I assigned two patents to Gibson, one with telecommunications applications.
• Wrote press releases, and a lot of content about the guitars.
• Did owner's manuals for the automatic tuning.
• Provided the sales people with key selling points for various products.
• Put together the slide shows that looped in the background at trade shows.

 
That's the tip of the iceberg, but you get the idea. I also worked on licensing and ran Entertainment Relations for six months. 
 
So basically you can think of what I did as being the corporate equivalent of a utility infielder. I was stretched pretty thin. Gibson wants to get a full-time infield, and I can't blame them. which would make me more or less superfluous.
 
There are no hard feelings, I'm on the top of the list of people they'd like to re-hire someday in a different capacity, and there's already talk of my doing some consulting.

Craig. You should not have to explain a damned thing at all.
 
Those of us who have learned from you appreciate everything you've done and the time, effort and sheer love for our shared craft you've invested around here (and in general throughout your life)... and I seriously don't think you are gonna actually "leave" us.
 
You may just end up coming and hanging out with us CH guys/gals (do we still have gals up in here?) whilst you refocus/rekerjigger that wonderfully overflowing brain of yours.
 
It gets a little weird at times but that's generally because we just be goofin' off betwixt actually making musical type things happen.
 
Yanno... smokin' with the boys in the backroom (or however the fart that Steely Dan toon goes).
 
tl;dr
 
Create and be moar craig than you evar dun craig'd in yer craigy life.
 
When you need to larff or fart or kersnortlefart...
 
Pop in and say hi.
 
Also... where the heck has Karl been?

Oh... and I'm nutz deep in my own production quagmires at the moe and I'm not sure how I could be of any use to you BUT... if I can be you know how to use the PM button.
 
Ya?
 
Okay.
 
Now if you'll excuse me I need to go be stoopid somewhere else.
 
;-)
 

Seth Kellogg [Cakewalk]
Jon Sasor (QA) and I have also recorded/mixed/produced multiple albums, singles, and worked on many projects in SONAR over the last 8+ years. My first CW product was PA7. Jon risked the D.C. Sniper to grab a box of Guitar Tracks Pro.  
 
You could say we're dedicated ;)

I just checked. As of today 90% of the cakewalk staff are musicians and many are active gigging musicians as well just like you all. While you don't have to be a musician to do this (I know plenty of devs in music companies who aren't musicians themselves) its generally the case, since you have to be crazy enough to want to do this in the first place :)

There are lots of musicians in music industry companies, but few have the degree of proficiency that Noel has on jazz guitar. 

I always wished I had been able to develop fun stuff like music software or games when I was younger...  I started at a Defense Contractor when I was 19 (been programming since I was 7) and my first placement was working on the guidance system for the Tomahawk cruise missile, but I was pulled over pretty quick to help out on a huge project creating a financial system for the Navy.  Once I had that experience it seemed I was always having to write invoicing systems!  BLEH.  I'm positive my guitar playing would have been MUCH better if I had ended up coding music software.  (However, I was very much involved with getting the first generation of internet onto Verizon Wireless cell phones, 1xRTT, and wrote the fuzzy logic code to handle matching call records from cell tower to cell tower.  *Sigh...*)
 
Ironically, the closest I ever got was helping Greg debug a problem over the phone somewhere around Cakewalk v1.0!  C++ had only been around for about four years back then, don't remember if that was the original language or not.

Anderton
Just to clarify - I don't have to develop SONAR so I get to use it exclusively in real-world projects, with the clock running, almost every day including weekends. I don't see any way that developers could just take time off from developing and do nothing but projects that used the software. Think about it...if they did, there would be no monthly updates  
 
Also, in another one of these threads in the software section, it was stated that my primary function at Gibson was Cakewalk. That is not at all true. I fulfilled many tasks at Gibson: 
 

• Lots of videos for KRK, including the marquee one on the V-Series speakers.
• Ad copy for KRK and Cerwin-Vega, as well as Cerwin-Vega videos for the P-series speakers.
• Representing Gibson on various industry executive boards.
• Was heavily involved in four mergers and acquisitions, including Cakewalk.
• The sample library that's being shipped with 2017.10...I put together that deal.
• Assisted Henry in some negotiations with the Chinese government re manufacturing facilities.
• Helped bring Harmony Central back from the dead after GC almost killed it. It's grown 29% over last year, the newsletter has gone from 24,000 to 91,000 opt-in subscribers, and the site manages over $40K of digital advertising.
• I developed the transient suppressor circuit for the Les Paul Standard, and the switchable wiring in the control cavity was my idea.
• I assigned two patents to Gibson, one with telecommunications applications.
• Wrote press releases, and a lot of content about the guitars.
• Did owner's manuals for the automatic tuning.
• Provided the sales people with key selling points for various products.
• Put together the slide shows that looped in the background at trade shows.

 
That's the tip of the iceberg, but you get the idea. I also worked on licensing and ran Entertainment Relations for six months. 

So basically you can think of what I did as being the corporate equivalent of a utility infielder. I was stretched pretty thin. Gibson wants to get a full-time infield, and I can't blame them. which would make me more or less superfluous.

There are no hard feelings, I'm on the top of the list of people they'd like to re-hire someday in a different capacity, and there's already talk of my doing some consulting.

What does a guy have to do to stay hired? If the above is not enough what is?

Now-a-days companies do not want long-term employees.  They do everything they can to avoid the possibility of pensions (heck, most newer employees have trouble working enough hours in a week to earn benefits!).  It's the sad state of things currently.
 
Then, of course, companies no longer realize the value of their employees.  Some asshat at the C-level assumes that anyone can be easily replaced without any loss in productivity.