35mm
Of course, if this multiplies the user base by a magnitude which it is likely to do, ...

This will be surely positive in any case!
 

35mm
... development will scale up too which means that it will improve at a faster rate than before. This all seems very advantageous.

I hope it will not scale up too much, because most of the time it leads to negative effects in software development according to my experiences.
 
Marc

Leee
I paid for a lifetime subscription and in return got months and months of updates and new features for my money.
If Sonar remained as abandonware, I still would be using it and still getting my initial money's worth.
But now Bandlab is starting from scratch.  They have picked up the ball dropped by Gibson and are now running with it.  I suspect they will start adding even more updates and features (ones I haven't yet paid for), and I will happily continue to use what I already paid for, and have the choice to use new features that will be offered.

If you want to get caught up in semantics, then yes, you'll soon be paying for new features that "you should have" been getting for free with your old "Lifetime updates".  But through no fault of their own, Bandlab has saved Sonar from oblivion, while at the same time attempting to honor the folks who paid for a lifetime subscription.  Meaning that we won't get double charged for features we already paid for!   In a perfect world Gibson/Cakewalk would have survived and we'd be getting lifetime updates for free until we croak.   But sh*t happens and we're faced with a new reality.  I'm satisfied with all the updates and features I already got with my "lifetime" subscription, and I'm greatly relieved that Cakewalk won't stop working now if MS releases a Windows update that might've screwed Sonar up.

I choose to see it as a good thing and I don't feel like I've been screwed or taken advantage of.  But obviously others will try and make the WORST out of this situation.  And quite honestly, this kind of petty bickering and open hostility makes it seem more like people fighting about politics than a simple change in ownership of DAW software.
Make music and let it go, you'll be much happier and live longer!

I think you have covered both the situation and my sentiments t the situation quite well there Leee.

And the bible bashers, like always, miss the point. Which is you got what you were promised. The vineyard owner offered you a fair deal. You accepted. Later, he offered the same deal to someone else. He accepted.

Some of you people remind me of the guy at work who cries and stamps his feet because "so-and-so got a raise and I didn't."

Did you ask for one?

"No."

Well then....

Meanwhile, there's a homeless guy somewhere complaining that his free meal at the shelter isn't served on bone china with real silver.

bdickens
And the bible bashers, like always, miss the point.

 
'Bible Basher' I believe refers to you, as you posted the quote from the bible.

bdickens
And the bible bashers, like always, miss the point ...

You're doing a great job of showing why religion is supposed to be kept out of these discussions. Please give it a rest.

The DAW has been given a lifeline by a new owner. Previously it was dead! Any frustrations about what was paid for in the past need to be taken up with Gibson. Bandlab are giving anyone that wants it, an option to continue using the DAW in a model they see as the best way forward. They have also been considerate enough to communicate with the existing user base and offer support and future development. Every user has the option to stick with the DAW they purchased from Gibson. Take it up with them if you feel you have been hard done by. While you wait.. enjoy the resurrection of Cakewalk. Download it and use it free. Look forward to whatever Bandlab does in the future to help us all create and enjoy music.      

I too have the "Lifetime Subscription", and I don't have a problem with it being free for all.
 
Because it's free to anyone it may well become the most popular DAW... but even Avid now offer ProTools First for free.
Maybe this is the way the market is heading.
Perhaps it was all those 3rd Party Plugins that made it cost so much.

robbie111222
Paid for Lifetime Updates and I think this move was brilliant.   Cakewalk will become the most used DAW worldwide very soon.   I can't see Avid or Steinberg matching this offer or business model. 
 
The next step should be education.  Teaching all the new users how to use Cakewalk.  If really good tutorial videos make their way onto Youtube, Cakewalk will be adopted by the masses.  Think about it if you were a band starting out, this is clearly the best option financially for you to start.   Way more professional and powerful than GarageBand.  This is going to be a game changer.  In the next update if they can figure out a way to integrate Project 5 easily into Cakewalk it could become a Fruity Loops killer too.

Disagree,they should grab Reaper,a much more stable program,lighter on resources and about 10 times more powerful.
They could use it without limitation while saving up for a license and wouldn’t have unnecessary stress over the really poor audio engine in Sonar/Cakewalk
I’ve been using Reaper since the old Sonar ceased and it’s a much much much more stable program,don’t need to deal with stupid crashes and can just make music.

Jimbo 88

BMOG

fresh101
This is another example of the "How come they?" mentality many Americans suffer from. The original poster probably would not have had a problem receiving the product for free as a loyal paying costumer....but as far as everyone else?..."How come they get it for free too?" is what's really being asked here.

I am American and proud of it, if that means I want my hard earned dollars to count for something then I am guilty as charged. I have paid for every version since cakewalk, which paid the developers that created the latest version of Splat. So yes I fee others should not get for free what my invested dollars have paid for, give them a baseline version but not the latest and greatest

 

Listen I have been on this side of having to pay when others don't soooo many times in my life and I use to react like you did here, but just be thankful you could do it.   You got to use the technology way, way before others and technology becomes cheaper and cheaper over time.  That is what you gained here. 
 
How do you think I felt when I had to pay for my children's college because I worked hard, prepared and saved my money...and so many others get a free ride only because they did not do what I did.  I never take vacations and many years worked the equivalent of 3 jobs.  And trust me my children's grades and ability put them at the very top...both are World class musicians you see and hear every day.
 
Be thankful there will be more musicians to share Cakewalk with and that will make Cakewalk better. And as a side note what will make you better is if you help those just coming into the fold along. Be thankful you have been able to pay your own way.  The other side of that sucks way worse.
 

Great post 👍🏾