Microsoft makes sense as they don't have a "Garage Band" baked into Windows. 

If Cakewalk was making money I would assume Gibson would hold on to it.. Now, my next question is, with a DAW like Sonar with ALL THOSE FEATURES, IP and bundled add-ons... why the heck is it NOT making money? You can only blame marketing for that. I only know three Sonar users in my city - of 3 million people...

Jarsve

elsongs
If Gibson would be willing to sell off Cakewalk's technology (programming code, development research) to another company that would be ideal. If they sold it to PreSonus, I'd be really happy. Studio One is my 2nd (by a long-shot) DAW, and it can do things SONAR can't, and likewise SONAR can do many things Studio One can't (Instrument Definitions/integration with hardware). If they were to merge Cakewalk technology into Studio One, I can be focused on one truly awesome DAW.
 
Or how about Microsoft buying Cakewalk? There is precedent for this, of course, when Apple bought Emagic and brought Logic under its wing. Since MS wants to push the Surface Pro line as being a product for creatives, why not? Cakewalk products have always been the most compatible software with regard to the Windows spec from Day One.
 
And speaking of Gibson, I will NEVER buy a Gibson guitar, ever.

Microsoft is really high on killing of good aps these days. I dont trust them anymore.

Apple is really good at buying out cross platform apps hoping you will switch to a Mac. See Logic and Alchemy.

LJB
If Cakewalk was making money I would assume Gibson would hold on to it.. Now, my next question is, with a DAW like Sonar with ALL THOSE FEATURES, IP and bundled add-ons... why the heck is it NOT making money? You can only blame marketing for that. I only know three Sonar users in my city - of 3 million people...

 Gibson is in major debt and eventually they have to pay the bills. Jim Roseberry made a great post in KVR about this.

well I'm selling my gibsons and never buying another one again after this..........there are plenty of small time guitar makers I will support......unfortunately, it takes a lot of work to develop an awesome software package like sonar.......****.......this is like finding out Chris cornell is dead all over again 

Magic Russ
People have been making rumors about Cakewalk buying Native Instruments forever.  It'd be ironic if it worked out the other way around.

It would have been more than ironic for Cakewalk to have bought NI... I'm pretty sure NI has been a bigger operation than CW for quite a while now. They've just had a pretty big influx of cash, too, or so I've heard...
http://www.synthtopia.com...ure-of-music-creation/
  
I'd be surprised if another music tech company were interested - the way the industry is going - with a few exceptions most companies are happy if they can keep their own lights on, let alone take on floundering competitors who have not been able to do so. Competing DAW makers will be happy if they can pick up some new customers from our ranks (and it appears that's already happening).
 
No, as someone mentioned above, there's a good chance Gibson has been peddling CW behind the scenes for a while now and the fact that we are here now is evidence that that didn't pan out. I agree that from a certain perspective, Microsoft would be a great fit and would stand to benefit the most, but it's anybody's guess whether it looks the same from where they're standing. I guess we'll find out!
 
It's hard to believe, and harder to accept, that shutting down and cutting losses is the best that Gibson can do, and that all of this is worth nothing in the end - the codebase, the user base, the value inherent in the brand and in this community. But it might well turn out to be so.
 
I will however continue hoping I'm wrong, for a little while longer at least... 

kitekrazy1
 
 Gibson is in major debt and eventually they have to pay the bills. Jim Roseberry made a great post in KVR about this.

Yes......and for this reason, I'd assume that if Gibson can find a buyer, they will.
 
I predict that someone will buy Cakewalk, and we'll see Sonar go back to the old business model.  Sonar 20 in a year or so, with a fair upgrade price for current Sonar Platinum users.
 
You heard it here first.

A few thoughts, although it's probably too soon to be making guesses. Cakewalk unprofitable? Well, if it is that's Gibson's fault - they've been running it. However, given all the development that's been going into Sonar in recent times, they must have thought it was profitable enough for that expense.
 
I can easily see how Cakewalk wouldn't have suited the Gibson brand. Presumably, Gibson had a plan that never came to fruition. Gibson is on its last legs with huge debts. They would either keep Cakewalk as an asset or sell it to recoup capital. The announcement makes it sound like they are ditching it. The only reason a company would ever do that is through pride - afraid another company would make a success where they failed; it wouldn't look good to the shareholders.
 
Gibson may have approached possible buyers silently in the run-up to all this, but now it's gone public and become public knowledge many other potential buyers could come forward.
 
The announcement states that further development has stopped, but the website etc. will remain. The wording of the announcement is interesting;
 
1) "I am saddened to announce that we ceased new product development".
2) "this decision was made in order to align with the company’s acquisition strategy, focused on growth in the global consumer electronics audio business."
3) "and reduced overall operations this past Friday". 
4) "A dedicated team has been established during this transition period".
5) "Monthly updates to SONAR from Cakewalk will however cease during this time".
6) "We will continue to post notifications to keep you informed with any relevant developments".
 
While part of the message seemed like an emotional goodbye, it didn't actually state that directly that Cakewalk is no more. Two other things could be read into the message. They are still waiting for a buyer to come forward. Or the Cakewalk development team are being reallocated to the consumer electronics audio department. It doesn't seem likely that Gibson would just chuck an asset in the trash at this time. More likely that it's holding out for a good offer or rebranding for a new market.

One word, Slingeland (there are other examples)
 

The company remained in the Slingerland family until 1970. After introducing the Magnum series in the late 1970s, Slingerland lost its footing, and the company folded. In the 1970s and 1980s, Slingerland changed ownership multiple times until it was acquired from Gretsch by the Gibsonmusical instruments company in 1994. The final nail in Slingerland's coffin, was demand by Gibson, that in order to become a Slingerland dealer, music stores also had to carry Gibson guitars. This was not feasible for the "Mom & Pop" music stores, who simply couldn't afford to carry both lines, given the stratospheric costs.
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingerland_Drum_Company
 
Do you think they sold it? No they didn't, just left to rot, even though they apparently had offers. It seems to be the Gibson way, they have a reputation for doing it. Have a read around the traps, you should notice a recurring theme.

Matron Landslide
 
Do you think they sold it? No they didn't, just left to rot, even though they apparently had offers. It seems to be the Gibson way, they have a reputation for doing it. Have a read around the traps, you should notice a recurring theme.

 
Yes, but the difference between now and the 1970s is that Gibson is a company in serious financial trouble.  They can't afford to just hold on to properties that they can sell.  If there's a good buyer out there for Cakewalk, it'll get sold.