Sanderxpander
I agree, which is why I don't object to WUP. Judging by most people's responses I don't think it would be well received but I don't think it's a bad idea.

 
If there's one thing that's clear from the way this thread has gone, it's that Adobe has defined a "subscription" model that sends people running for cover. I still think it's a "rental" model.
 
Maybe it's my print background, but I think of a "subscription" as something that sends you something new typically every month, you pay for it a month at a time at a newsstand or save some money by buying upfront for a year, and you keep your back issues. I just don't see the Adobe plan as that kind of a "subscription." 
 
But the HUGE aspect where magazine subscriptions differ from Adobe's rental concept is that magazines don't have a lock on their readers. So, they need to offer incentives to subscribe ("three free trial issues!") and because renewing a subscription is optional, they have to satisfy their readership to convince them to keep subscribing. With Adobe, you have to subscribe.
 
I'm sure Keyboard, Sound on Sound, Guitar Player, etc. would love a way to do business where if someone started a subscription, they would have to keep subscribing forever  

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk]
I've been at Cakewalk for 12+ years and one thing has always remained true... we are very customer focused. So please keep that in mind as you speculate on how SONAR will evolve. 

I hope I can take that to mean iLok is not being considered... 
 

You said the i word. Bad bartender.

ampfixer
You said the i word. Bad bartender.

No, smart bartender! The "i word' drives people to drink.
 
Would you like a lime in your gin and tonic?

On the avid pro tools forum we have the same discussion over the last weeks. Many users are not really amused! Avid's not really coming arround with the facts, what users might get for their money (199$/year for PT vanilla) and what happens when your subscription lapse.  Rumours say that you than have to purchase a new license of PT vanilla for 899$. Not to mention costs for PT HD. 
I thought that's another reason to use Sonar more than usual and now I read the same things here.
 
I have no problem to pay an annual fee, but who guarentees a decent value. Will I be able to decide, what I spend my money for? Or do I just have to take what cakewalk or avid give me?
I know that all these brands, if it's avid or gibson, try to get constant income to make their shareholders smile. I truely hope that they don't forget about their userbase and drive into a deadend street.
I think the number of DAWs will decrease in the next decade. Some will have to strike sail, I'm sure.

Anderton

Sanderxpander
I agree, which is why I don't object to WUP. Judging by most people's responses I don't think it would be well received but I don't think it's a bad idea.

 
If there's one thing that's clear from the way this thread has gone, it's that Adobe has defined a "subscription" model that sends people running for cover. I still think it's a "rental" model.
 
Maybe it's my print background, but I think of a "subscription" as something that sends you something new typically every month, you pay for it a month at a time at a newsstand or save some money by buying upfront for a year, and you keep your back issues. I just don't see the Adobe plan as that kind of a "subscription." 
 
But the HUGE aspect where magazine subscriptions differ from Adobe's rental concept is that magazines don't have a lock on their readers. So, they need to offer incentives to subscribe ("three free trial issues!") and because renewing a subscription is optional, they have to satisfy their readership to convince them to keep subscribing. With Adobe, you have to subscribe.
 
I'm sure Keyboard, Sound on Sound, Guitar Player, etc. would love a way to do business where if someone started a subscription, they would have to keep subscribing forever  

 
Again, I philosophically agree on the rental vs subscription and in a way I prefer WUP to Adobe's deal. BUT in my view people are forgetting the cost of the initial purchase. Sure, if you already have the pro package and you can choose whether or not to upgrade every year/iteration, the balance is rather in favor of the regular purchase. But if hadn't already spent 600 bucks you can get a lot of subscription for that kind of money. I wouldn't personally have bought PhotoShop for full price for instance, but since I did want Lightroom and the Photography subscription included both, I'm quite happy with it. I totally understand the mistrust for subscription deals. But if I add up everything it may actually be cheaper for me.

EDIT: also, with WUP I actually still have a large initial purchase.

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk]
Oh boy. There were like 35 other questions on the survey. Who wants to talk about rollbacks? :)

Seriously though, I don't think it's such a bad thing to try and understand how users purchase software these days. The more information we have, the better we can service our customers. So all these questions had a purpose...to try and understand our customers better. I've been at Cakewalk for 12+ years and one thing has always remained true... we are very customer focused. So please keep that in mind as you speculate on how SONAR will evolve. 

My position is even though I answered the previous questions with no uncertainty that I would not support a subscription model, to answer $9.99/mo or 99.99/yr would imply, push comes to shove I would accept a subscription model.  An answer of "None of the Above" or skip, would have been a valid answer in keeping with my feelings on the matter and to me should have been an obvious choice. 
 
There is nothing wrong with trying to understand how users purchase software these days, and I had no problem with the questions other than when a question omits an important choice in the context of the questions, to me it is leading the user to answer in a desired way rather than actual feelings on the matter.
 
I'm not speculating on how Sonar evolves, I'm just stating my feelings on the matter.
 
Dan

I just did the survey thing and they were pushing for a subscription model.  Pretty polly please don't as that would end my relationship with Cakewalk
 
A subscription model would mean my main machine would have to be connected to the internet which it ever is very deliberately.  It would mean I would have to subscribe for the shortest period of time so that I could migrate all of my projects to a new DAW.  It is very intrusive and offers me no benefit whatsoever as a user.

Musikus
I know that all these brands, if it's avid or gibson, try to get constant income to make their shareholders smile.

 
FYI, Gibson is privately held. 

This would mean the shares are not publicly traded. The company still has shareholders.