cclarry
The issue is this...if Sonar wants to make any headway against their competition...
 
Then they should be trying to sell as many as possible by lowering prices...not scaring people into buying
other products by raising prices....that's just common sense...

Which is, obviously, in short supply...

IF that was good business sense iPhones would be selling for $100.

Pricing software can be much more complex than it seems on the surface. Target customer (this is very important), dev costs, support costs (which varies across targets considerably), partner license costs for bundles, competitor products, competitor's pricing, etc. etc. etc.  Believe it or not, sometimes you sell more by RAISING your prices than you do by lowering them due to perceived value. And if you don't sell more units, you might still increase your profitability on what you do sell. It seems to me Cake's management is pretty smart, and I wouldn't read too much into this. Besides, they can always lower their price if they need to, and call it a special! ;)
 
 

There have been studies showing that in retail a lot of people won't bite until they see 30-40% off.  Of course, the retailers know this and put an original price 40-50% higher so they can run such sales.  No doubt Cake (or Tascam Professional Software) will be seen selling 30% off this week only sales of Sonar for $399.
 
@

Craig Anderton posted a few months ago: "Well I've learned a lot about how the software business works in the past few months...a lot of a product's upgrade price depends on whether there's third party software involved, and if so, what the licensing fees are. If you see anything in a piece of software that wasn't made by the company itself, somewhere a royalty check is being cashed "
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/This-is-good-news-indeed-Gibson-is-buying-us-that-is-why-they-got-Craig-m2890809-p6.aspx
 
In the light of this, consider the impressively extensive collection of 3rd party software and content bundled w/ Sonar... 
 
Actually, I found it rather odd when I visited the Cakewalk home page for the first time in months tonight and saw that the focus was put rather heavily on 3rd party products - XLN Addictive Drummer, a Nomad Factory plug-in, AAS Lounge Lizard, Melodyne. Almost as if Sonar itself was a mere bonus...
 

 
 

Well... Effectively I think they did lower their price. Hear me out on this:
 
They changed around what is offered in various versions and really, the Studio version is now the "full" software package. I can't see anything functionality wise that it doesn't have. Unlimited audio/MIDI tracks, high sample rate, 64-bit mixing, surround support, VST2/3, Prochannel, ARA, good basic FX set, etc. All that for $200. That competes with the top end version of Cubase and such. No, it doesn't have every FX pack and sampler Cakewalk sells included, but it comes with all the basics, and no limitations that I can see. It is "top range" software from any other vendor.
 
Producer is now kinda the "extra" version. It comes with more FX, a bunch of Cakewalk's samplers and synths, and a bunch of 3rd party content. It is the kind of thing that gets you more features, if you don't already have stuff you like (or if you just want more) but you don't need it to get any abilities unlocked, it isn't limited near as I can tell.
 
You compare that to, say, Cubase Artist at $250 and there you have no surround, 64 audio track limit, no MIDI device maps, and so on and you can see what I mean.
 
Also I think part of it may just be the "MSRP overstating" that resellers love. Producer is $500 near as I can tell. B&H, Sweetwater, zZoundz, Guitar Center, all sell it for $500. In the audio world, that just seems really popular. Resellers like for manufactures to overstate the MSRP, so they can give you a great "discount" and you feel happy. However part of that is the manufacturers usually can't offer you too much a discount on their site.
 
I'm not that bothered because I think, were I to buy in today, I'd probably get Studio X3. It looks like a full featured DAW to me. I don't see anything and say "Man, why did they have to disable that!" which is what I see with all the other DAWs at the $200ish pricepoint.

CW store has always been more expensive in UK than retailers. I have always bought boxed upgrade versions from a retailer more or less at time of release for less than the download. It'll be on "sale" soon enough, so probably just a move to make the disount look bigger I would think.

JohnKenn
225 for commercial, 60 for individual. Left to personal honor defined by how much you are making a year on the program. Don't see any hit records by you or me out there so far. Likely we'll never cross the theshold asking for a 225 commercial license.
 
Right about apples and apples. Depends on what the need is. I stand corrected. Thanks.
 

The point is there are far less expensive versions of SONAR also. Whether or not you or I make a hit record is irrelevant - SONAR gives you the license to (the rest is up to you). 
(My reasons for selecting SONAR producer over Reaper are more about the differences in features between the two  - so (my opinion only) even the "apples to apples" reference was being very kind to Reaper. (Flame Suit On).

The greater the price, the greater the savings in a sale

Rain
 
Actually, I found it rather odd when I visited the Cakewalk home page for the first time in months tonight and saw that the focus was put rather heavily on 3rd party products - XLN Addictive Drummer, a Nomad Factory plug-in, AAS Lounge Lizard, Melodyne. Almost as if Sonar itself was a mere bonus...
 

 
 

Technically...it IS...as most of what you're paying for is the 3rd Party Content, which most serious
users already own anyways...so not much of an "enticement" IMHO...

Maybe Cake is planning on finally adding the muffler bearings so desperately needed and the price increase reflects that?