dubdisciple
Terrasin.
I'm all for lynda etc making more resources available. I did not mean to imply EVERYONE just needed free videos, blog, manual, etc. I just meant it is not reasonable to expect cakewalk to give that away. Groove3 makes good videos as well as own Karl. These cost but both are reasonable. Cakewalk has given out 30 day groove3 passes in the past and discounted training videos to almost nothing.
Yup there are a lot of free training videos with Sonar on youtube and a great manual.
Kroneborge
I actually totally disagree with this. I think anybody that is releasing software like this and trying to get market share should definitely put out extensive training video's to go with it. For example, I recently decided to try my hand at video game making with the new Unreal 4 engine. They have put out a ton of video's to help both newbie's and experienced hands get a handle on the software (up to 239 now).
IMHO, this should include basic tutorials on how to use the software, as well as walkthroughs on how to do a project. Yes this costs time and money, but it's both good customer service and good marketing.
This isn't to say that there still wouldn't be a market for 3rd party support, but a person shouldn't HAVE to purchase 3rd party video's to learn to use software. Especially for new people that might have just shelled out a couple hundred dollars when trying to get into music.
Very generous of Epic Games, a company that has a turn over of 50 to 100 million dollars per year.
I thought Cakewalk had already brought out a load of videos... anyway...
I agree though, why not include all these videos etc for free rather than pay for it separately.
Although when you see the price of the product to go up around 30% to 40% to accommodate for this maybe a rethink might be required. Then again you could always buy a bundle :).
I much prefer a modular approach myself when it comes to pricing. I'd rather not pay for stuff I don't need. And if third parties can do better jobs in certain areas leave it to them and get on with the core business.