I know one thing for sure:  Cakewalk closed their phone lines for tech support.  What does this indicate about the company?

cparmerlee
 
Interesting.  I don't have any informed speculation about the exciting new development.  However the offer of a paid-up-for-life version of Platinum suggests that Gibson/Cakewalk sees DAWs in general and SONAR in particular as starting to approach the end of their mission.  That isn't to say that DAWs are going away, only that the DAW foundation and core feature set are pretty stable.  Future developments will mostly be at higher layers and/or separate products that live in the DAW ecosystem.  And these products won't necessarily be free to the Platinum user.  Examples, FWIW, include LANDR and Melodyne.
 
I am not suggesting that the DAW development will be frozen, but that over time, Cakewalk will consider there is less and less they want to do with that product.
 
If my speculation is correct, that is not good news for people who have been hoping to see big improvements in MIDI editing and music notation, to name a couple of soft areas.  I am not suggesting such a product direction would be wrong, evil or anything else.  Every product needs to find its niche and Cakewalk has made enormous progress on solidifying SONAR since the Platinum program was announced.  Realistically, those who really want strong DAW/Notation synergy will probably end up on Dorico and Cubase.  But I would sure like to see the rough edges of MIDI editing worked out in SONAR.

We have no plans to stop improving the core functions of the DAW - this is why lifetime updates will ALWAYS include improvements to MIDI/editing/audio processing/optimizations/fixes etc. Hopefully our announcement on June 1 should solidify our intent.
 
We've already demonstrated our commitment to updates over the last year of membership. We're now taking this a step further to demonstrate that we are committed to delivering the highest value to customers, pushing the platform forwards and improving the experience for the maximum number of users. 
 

I've been following this post from the start and can only say well done to Cakewalk and the team. As a user since the 1990's I'm always amazed at the reaction both here and in the press whenever an announcement is made......
Cakewalk Pro Audio to Sonar - "That's a bad move dropping the Pro Audio name. They will lose customers and be bust within a year". Result - better product and happy user base.
Sonar 8.5 to new Sonar family of products - "They should have not dropped the numbering protocol. They will lose customers and be bust within a year". Result - better product and happy user base.
New pricing structure - "They are making things difficult for users to understand the product. They will lose customers and be bust within a year". Result - better product and happy user base. 
And now the latest big announcement and we are already seeing the "They will lose customers and be bust within a year" comments.
I can see a trend over the years. Anyone else?

  

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk
Clearly stated, you will not have to pay for any future updates for SONAR. Everything we put into SONAR, you receive. You continue to get the rolling updates, only they don't expire after a year. That also means you never have to pay for bug fixes (a long time gripe). You will only pay for optional stuff that we release that is not part of SONAR. We do that today as well. Z3TA+ 2, CA-2A, Rapture Pro, Videos, Expansion Packs, Third party products are all available as add-ons and for purchase separately. 

 
I'm concerned that we'll get the basic program and all the new improvements will be available "for a price."  And for some people like me, $199 is a lot of money for software.  It also seems like the past few years, there has been a constant marketing hype to keep users throwing money at this product.  I'd almost prefer to pay this amount to get an overhauled version every 4 years or so... but with M$oft owning your OS and altering it at their option, it may be what's required for the future of computing.
 
 
 
 

no email here :-(

No e-mail here, but I have a question.
 
I am a Platinum user from the day it came out and I just resubscribed for another year about a month ago. How would this work? I'm paying another $99 right after just doing it a month ago that will go into affect once the current subscription is up? How does that work? It is just a little deflating that I just paid $99 for another year when there's now supposedly $99 for a lifetime membership. :/

Vern C
No e-mail here, but I have a question.
 
I am a Platinum user from the day it came out and I just resubscribed for another year about a month ago. How would this work? I'm paying another $99 right after just doing it a month ago that will go into affect once the current subscription is up? How does that work? It is just a little deflating that I just paid $99 for another year when there's now supposedly $99 for a lifetime membership. :/

If I understand this correctly, the 99$ price is for those who upgraded already this year (99$ deducted). For those who did not, the price will be 199$.
All the best.

Maybe we should break it down into individual models...
 
1. One-time purchase:
You get core SONAR + the default set of included add-ons. You don't get any additional updates. If you want to get the latest version with all fixes and new/updated add-ons, you need to make another one-time upgrade purchase.
 
2. Monthly/yearly subscription:
You get core SONAR + the default set of included add-ons. As long as you maintain your subscription, you get the latest version with all fixes and new/updated add-ons as it becomes available.
 
3. Previous "loyal" SONAR users who opt for the lifetime deal:
You get the latest version of SONAR + the default set of add-ons with all fixes and new/updated add-ons as it becomes available indefinitely. You don't need to pay anything again unless you want extra add-ons that are not part of default set of add-ons.
 
4. [Speculation] Free core SONAR with no extra add-ons:
You get the latest version of SONAR with all fixes as it becomes available indefinitely. You can buy extra add-ons. If you buy the individual add-ons so that you have the same ones as the default set of included add-ons in SONAR Platinum, you will end up paying roughly the same as what you would for monthly/yearly subscription (or the one-time purchase, depending on whether the specific add-ons follow a one-time or subscription model).
 
5. New users and those who don't qualify for the lifetime deal:
You can choose either option 1 or option 2, and maybe option 4 if it turns out to be true.
 
 
Now... I think people are concerned about option 3 because it implies CW will never make any money from them again. True, however that is a small % of the overall user base, and since the offer is a limited time only, eventually these "lifetime boomers" will go away and we will be back to everyone paying again. Plus it makes for an interesting experiment. And generates a huge amount of buzz and publicity.
 
Eventually most/all will probably end up with option 4, which allows people to try out SONAR for free, and then only buy the extra add-ons based on their finances and needs.
 
I don't think we need to worry too much. I'm more interested to know what happens on June 1.
 

Morvejones
With monthly/annual everything would be included as it is now, people with lifetime updates would have to pay extra for things, such as Drum Replacer, Vocal sync and 3rd party plugs

Well, I am not sure that is the case and that's exactly why my queries in my previous post. Things like Drum Replacer, Melodyne updates for Sonar, Vocal Sync, TH3 for Sonar, etc., etc., have to be part of available updates irrespective of the option and path chosen. Basically, no difference whatsoever should be there in terms of the total monthly content as long as one is an active Platinum member, irrespective of whether that membership is monthly/annual or lifetime. Otherwise, the lifetime updates route would clearly lead to disadvantages. The only things that I presume would be extra payable are things like Rapture Pro, additional Prochannel modules, TH3 Producer, etc., which are extra items even now and will be the same for monthly/annual and lifetime members alike.
 
I think we have had previous clarification posts that it practically should make no difference. One of such posts is from Joey on this link :    http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3419045
 
I hope I am not misunderstanding anything here.

Received the mail and instantly took advantage (?) of this opportunity. I'm quite sure we're in for a surprise.
Although I had to think about a Monty Python sketch: a man bought a watch with lifetime guarantee.
When he returns to the shop to complain about his - not working - watch, he is shot dead by the seller. Lifetime guarantee indeed!
I'm sure Cakewalk has something different in mind