Hey Cakewalk/Tascam/Gibson - whoever might be reading this stuff; I've been a Cakewalk customer since Pro Audio, and at this point a gentle nudge would send me into the arms of another vendor.  Cakewalk moving to a subscription model would be more like a punch in the nose, and if I'm going to bleed - I might as well bleed all over Studio One or Pro Tools (for all the wrong reasons).  
 
That should give you a good indication of what I think about a Cakewalk subscription.  No thanks.

a dumb question,maybe,but,my DAW is an internet virgin,never been there.
under a subscription model will I need to be online at any point or will I  still be able to download updates etc on my laptop,ensure they are clean,then transfer to my DAW?
thanks
tony

@ webbs
 No one outside of Cake knows and every thing here is pure speculation. Some CakeWalkers have chimed in to calm the waters but as you see that has done little good.
 
I am going to wait and see what happens before I make any decisions.

If they want to get new users and protect the old, what they could do is offer the BASIC version of sonar as a sub model, and producer version as a traditional purchase.  The sub model would be like a pay to play demo.  Better than a demo because you can keep using it over 30 days and it won't be crippled.
 
This would make it real easy for new people to try it out but would provide an avenue for traditional buyers, people who are comitted to the program.  If I could try cubase for $10/month I would.  I have loaded most of the available demos and between being crippled and the fact that if I want to keep working in them it requires a cash outlay, they are not enticing.
 
They could also provide incentive for people to buy producer and offer discounts for people who have paid into subscriptions.
 
At first I thought sub sounded like a scary departure, but as long as they continue to provide traditional sales version, it could work out.  I wouldnt want someone "renting" the producer version however.
 
I think the rent model would benefit a company whose software is better than their market share.
 
 
 

"For $50 per hour subscription all your faders in SONAR are at best positions any time, once the period is over, you are forced to do that yourself..."
 
"Tired to record crappy guitar played by your 10 years old daughter? For $10 per minute subscription you get 'Super Rec' button on all your tracks producing perfect sounds coming from Cakewalk Forum Hosts!"

webbs hill studio
a dumb question,maybe,but,my DAW is an internet virgin,never been there.
under a subscription model will I need to be online at any point or will I  still be able to download updates etc on my laptop,ensure they are clean,then transfer to my DAW?
thanks
tony

Nobody knows. I'm sure there will be offline methods. However the idea of 'offline' being best for a DAW in terms of reliability, or for that matter anything else is slowly proving to be out of date... Sadly if you dont have an internet connection you will be left behind eventually...

Paul P

200bpm
I think the idea is that as DAWS have matured, there is less  and less reason to upgrade.  It may be that a subscription model will be the only way for them to guarantee steady income and buffer against market trends/seasons/etc.

Everyone seems to be forgetting the new user.  If I were Cakewalk, that's the only one I'd be thinking about.
 

 See review and reactions about Reason 8.  It was for the new user.  Cakewalk always throws in 3rd party stuff for the new user.  
 

MachineClaw
EPIC-ness sold separately.
 
I would probably buy a Cakewalk Sonar X Pro Complete package that included ALL the ProChannel plugins, but I can wait for sales.  I have bought Sonar X1 Pro, X2 Pro, X3 Pro but I have yet to buy any of the separate ProChannel plugins. 

 Only if they are the Cakewalk ones.  I'm not always a fan of 3rd party software that has an authorization process unlike Cakewalk's or not even similar to their licensing.  

CakeAlexS
Sadly if you dont have an internet connection you will be left behind eventually...

THAT! It is 2014 after all.
 
Mind you, it might not be mandatory to be online to run the sub software (assuming it comes to fruition in any shape described in this entire thread) daily but could be required to get updates.
 
If I know Cake (and I'm no expert) they probably would devise a dual system. Online to install. Offline to operate. Online to get updates.
 
Funny thing is, I NEVER read the survey question(s)  to mean that cake WILL go that way. But if they did I still suspect that they would devise it such that the sub would be about the same as annual upgrade fee (regardless of what number$ they used in their example).

I don't know why you people keep talking about a sub. It's not a sub, it's a hovercar (although the Producer version has a hovercraft with a few more features). If you want the hovercar to function as a sub, you'll need to put in a feature request...and Cakewalk will need to make the doors a lot more airtight than they are now.