People who think Lifetime Updates mean the company will die a horrible death forget that a) this applies only to Platinum, and b) Cakewalk derives income from new users, not just renewals.

They mean exactly what they said:

If we change the name of SONAR Platinum, you will get lifetime updates to the newly named version. I t ' s   a s   s i m p l e   a s   t h a t .

I really want to jump in here with some super squirrel secret fine print gotchas, but ... I got nothin'
 
These guys aren't the first to do it.  It's a great opportunity.  Do it.  You know you want to.  ALL of the older kids are doing it.

Hey, it wouldn't be the Cakewalk forums we all know & love if there wasn't at least once active thread about membership or lifetime update conspiracies...  

Wow!  It just occurred to me that I won't need to buy any new software until 2037, or my expiration date, whichever comes 1st ...
 
Got Sonar Platinum with lifetime updates.
 
Got Windows 10 with lifetime updates.
 
But I just need ONE more softsynth!

Anderton
People who think Lifetime Updates mean the company will die a horrible death forget that a) this applies only to Platinum, and b) Cakewalk derives income from new users, not just renewals.

 
and c) the offer ends in a few days.

rivers88
Hey, it wouldn't be the Cakewalk forums we all know & love if there wasn't at least once active thread about membership or lifetime update conspiracies...  

Conspiracy? You think it's a conspiracy? Then the mainstream media has you exactly where they want you.
 
Apple knows your life will cease to exist on January 1, 2038, at exactly 8 PM GMT - and I can prove it to you. 
 
1. Grab an iPhone.
2. Choose Settings > General > Date and Time.
3. Turn off Set Automatically. 
4. Advance the spinner to set the time and date.
5. You cannot set it past January 1, 2038, at 8:00 PM GMT.
 
You've been warned.
 

Whoa - 
That's some deep stuff, Mr Anderton!
 
Dang, I need to figure out what I'm going to do when I grow up - 
Evidently I only have around 22 years left!!  
 
Sure hope I'm a hip 77-year old when I croak ... 

Anderton
Apple knows your life will cease to exist on January 1, 2038, at exactly 8 PM GMT - and I can prove it to you. 
 
1. Grab an iPhone.
2. Choose Settings > General > Date and Time.
3. Turn off Set Automatically. 
4. Advance the spinner to set the time and date.
5. You cannot set it past January 1, 2038, at 8:00 PM GMT.
 
You've been warned.

 
... that's simply the end of the iphone. If you cannot live without it then, yes, it will be your end too.

I like to think that it is a conspiracy to nullify late adopters and make them all early adopters. Some may need to think about that in order to understand it.