guitars53
I agree with you. Sounds like a rip off. This may be the last straw. I've been a Cakewalk user for many, many years. But it may be time to make a change. Studio One maybe. Anyway, very frustrated after all the years of my loyalty.

Yeah, because the old $179 annual upgrade was WAAAAAAAY better than the $199 lifetime upgrade offer. 
 
Hey Mister One-Post-Wonder, if you're not already a Studio One user (and chronic CW basher at their forums), I'll eat my lucky hat.

John T

Tripecac
Continuous updates only work if there is a continuous income stream.  If all Sonar users converted to lifetime subscriptions (including the upcoming Mac users) and stopped buying other Cakewalk products, then the income stream would dry up.

Ah, but the lifetime offer is a/ only available til the end of August and b/ limited to people buying or renewing Platinum. So it's not even a majority of users, never mind "all".

Oh good grief!  Another negative thread?  Give me a break!  IMHO Cakewalk has been in business for years and is not going away any time soon.
 
I believe that John T has just nailed the main point here!!!
 
As far as their revenue stream goes, this "lifetime" deal as stated is only until the end of August.  And is limited to those buying or renewing Platinum. For the rest it is $300 - $500 to upgrade!
 
Consider for a minute that Cakewalk has many current customers that are not on Producer or Platinum yet and may wish to continue their current plan.  They have several levels of Sonar, and the "great deal" is targeted only to the loyal customers on Producer or Platinum today.  Once this deal ends, it's back to the same revenue model as last year, except for those of us who exercise this option soon.  They will continue to bring new users on-board through the entry level products and good word of mouth from the loyal users.
 
I have been on Producer since Sonar 3 came out, and I think that this may be the greatest deal ever! I am planning to upgrade from X3 Producer to Platinum Infinity!
 
The MacOSX plan also ensures that they will grow their market share.  Planting the seeds, anyway.  But it's all good!
 
If I was them, I would give the Mac version away for free to all schools and educators :-)
 
That would be the best way to create a new choice of DAW for teaching music tech on a Mac.  Eventually, when enough students have learned about DAWs, and Sonar in particular, they will hopefully choose to work with the best tools for their needs.  It would be great for SONAR to be among those options.  That will only make the future of Cakewalk that much stronger :-D
 
One final thought here, off-topic, but relating to how good I feel about Cakewalk's concern for it's customers.  It is in contrast to a different company, a different industry, and a different software subscription plan.
 
One word: Adobe ...
 
Words cannot express what I really think about their Monthly/Annual plan for the "Creative Cloud". It is an all you eat buffet of all their creative applications, from Photoshop and Illustrator, to their web & publishing tools. You can download and use them all, similar to CCC.  They are an "industry standard" for graphics professionals, so many depend on them for the tools of their trade.
 
Their monthly pricing for all that sounds great at first look.  But there's a catch. Stop paying and your software stops working. WTF?  You have created projects in formats that can only be edited and saved with said software.
 
Be happy that Cakewalk has chosen the path they are on :-)

joden
And going on some of the views expressed here, I rest my case that Gibson are relying on those gullible (no,) naive enough to believe that companies have the end-users, consumers best interests at heart! As I wrote earllier in this thread, I took up the offer as even if it only lasts two years, it is still cheaper than two years normal subs! If it goes longer then that's a bonus.
 
All I am saying is it is not the altruistic offer that Gibson would have you believe, or that it s some sort of "payback" for years of customer loyalty. It is a pure business strategy, as was my decision to buy into the lifetime upgrade. It made perfect business sense to me, end of!

Holy Moses!
 
If they were only about the money they'd be writing defense systems software or something like that, and Gibson would be making missiles. Instead, they compete in an incredibly small market for a narrow slice of a really very small pie. So I can only assume that they're in this market because they love what they do. 
 
Good customer service is a business decision too. Good service means return customers. Caring, talented people giving great value to the customer means value to the business as well. This isn't cynicism, this is a quality outfit finding a business model that benefits both them and the customer, and that's how you stay in business.
 
Since you are not required by law to purchase Sonar they have to continually find ways to make you happy. There's nothing cynical about it whatsoever. The only cynicism I see on display are the posts in this thread.
 

 
 

What an unbelievable thread.  Even if CW ended today, I would still have the best recording platform that I ever had in my 40 years of recording.  I don't remember my tape decks improving year after year.  I had to spend a lot of time and money to keep those puppies running  through maintenance and repair.  Some people need to put things in perspective and get on with using the software and quit worrying whether Platinum is going to be discontinued.

joden

John
All of you do know that a contract is involved here. A breach of the contract by claiming a name change is sufficient to void the contract may be actionable. I think you should read the contract before speculating. 

Incorrect I believe - a company has the right to "retire" software at any time it chooses. It can then choose to launch new products in its stead. There is no breach as the "lifetime" of said retired product has now ended. It is not "our personal" lifetimes here! And we only ever licence the software, so in the end it is Gibsons to do with as they wish!
 
Just one of the myriad reasons why companies spend large sums on lawyers to draft end-user agreements, and to determine the syntax of offers such as these. Not saying there is any blatant deception here, just saying Gibson have used a marketing tool to get some extra cash injected into the business. It is probably needed to fund the rather costly programming effort to bring OSX version to market. They have obviously made economic calculations that offering "lifetime" upgrades will inject cash enough to proceed forward, but the lifetime (in its p.o.v. - if a comapny can have such thing?) is nto going to be long enough to cause much (if any) financial burden on the company.
 
Yes I know Apple do it with free upgrades to the iOS system, but Gibson do not have the millions of Apple users paying for apps on a daily basis. It is why the Apple model works. It would not work for Gibson imo, well not to the same extent, so one must look "behind and between the lines" for motivations for actions - of course it is speculation, but specualtion based on real world experience of how companies operate. They are not benevolent societies after all

I don't think you understood what I said. This has nothing to do with free software. 

I don't usually get involved with these kinds of posts, but HOLY COW!, I cannot possibly understand how people are saying things like "Time to look for new DAW software", and "This is the thanks I get for all my years of loyalty"
Give me a @#*&ing break!    Sonar Platinum is probably the best piece of software Cakewalk has ever produced.
And it's getting better EVERY MONTH!   There's not much more I can ask for in a music production program.
Sure if you want to nit-pick about colors and coming late to the Mac party, there's a thousand little nit-picks you could probably come up with, right down to the font style of the UI.

Who knows how long anything will last.  The Earth could be destroyed tomorrow, or Sonar Platinum could be around for another 25 years.   Meanwhile, while some of you obsess about the future, I'm enjoying the hell out of the latest release of Sonar Platinum, every single day.

I think you could come out with the perfect piece of software, that's great in every way, and someone will STILL find something to complain about.
 

guitars53
I agree with you. Sounds like a rip off. This may be the last straw. I've been a Cakewalk user for many, many years. But it may be time to make a change. Studio One maybe. Anyway, very frustrated after all the years of my loyalty.

Says the user with 1 post to their name? I call shenanigans.

Leee


I think you could come out with the perfect piece of software, that's great in every way, and someone will STILL find something to complain about.
 

I think this is spot on

guitars53
I agree with you. Sounds like a rip off. This may be the last straw. I've been a Cakewalk user for many, many years. But it may be time to make a change. Studio One maybe. Anyway, very frustrated after all the years of my loyalty.

Wow, that is one heck of a very first post to these forums!
Hmm, makes me wonder if "guitars53" has previously participated / ranted / under a different name... 

Sylvan

The Grim
companies are all the same, at the end of the day it is all about what is best for them, their survival first and foremost, everything else is secondary, anyone who tells you different is either deluded or flat out lying.

Wait a minute. Do you mean that companies go into business to make a profit? What nerve! How dare they make decisions based on staying in business! This is an outrage!
 
They should require their employees to spend 40 hours a week working for free out of the goodness of their hearts while their families starve in the streets, all to make products and services to benefit everyone else.
 
To actually think that any company could have the audacity and evilness to go into business to make a profit, so they can earn a standard of living for themselves and their families is so vile it should be condemned for all time!

BOOM! You said what I have been thinking ,getting sick of how rediculous  people are being .