From what I can gather from all the official information posted so far:
 
1. When Roland sold Cakewalk to Gibson it had been steadily losing money each year
2. Gibson made some changes and gave Cakewalk the chance to turn it around
3. Cakewalk made changes, but were too little to late - so Gibson pulled the plug.
 
I'm sure the senior execs at Cakewalk were trying their best to turn things around until the last minute, but in the end it was Gibson's money they were losing. Gibson obviously thought enough was enough.
 
Now I'm sure there were plenty of things that could have been done differently, both by Cakewalk and by Gibson - Craig Anderton's ideas to my mind would have been perfect to create alternative revenue streams, whilst keeping up interest from existing Sonar users. But in the end, Gibson has enough debt and they can't have one of their brands making their situation worse.
 
I've just gone through a similar thing in my day job, where the product I was working on was canned by our parent company for exactly the same reason. Luckily we all got the opportunity to work on other products, which is working out great for us all. It's a pity that Gibson, being a hardware company, couldn't do the same for their Cakewalk employees.
 
I doubt very much that the lifetime updates were put out in the knowledge that Cakewalk would be closing. I'm sure the senior exec's knew of the risk of Cakewalk being closed unless they made a profit, but as has been said in other threads, this was part of a greater strategy to turn the company around. Unfortunately, it wasn't turning things around quick enough for Gibson.
 

SigiZ58

didd
Knock on the Microsoft's door they are more fit and uptodate in PC softwares than Gibson !

genial idea!
and they were looking for developers & audio specialists short time ago.
they have the power to make sonar the "logic" from Microsoft :-)
 
 

Microsoft would most probably be the worst company to bet on.
Just take a peek over how much MS abanonded over the last few years, both hardware as software.

As for SONAR, I don't even consider using any other DAW, as long as it works it's my number one choice.
 
As for Gibson, they should have stopped being greedy and stuck with what they are known for, guitars.

I found an article on the purchase dated Sept 2013.  I mean what's done is done, I can't complain about the lifetime updates I purchased in Jul 2016 but if anyone bought updates recently, I imagine they can make a case to Gibson.
 
https://www.cakewalk.com/Press/Release/1195/Gibson-Brands-Announces-Intention-to-Acquire-Cakewalk-Inc
 
So does anyone know who their main competitor is?  Is it ProTools?

I read a few posts as to what would happen if Microsoft purchased Sonar and then I thought, what about Google or Apple?  I mean I know Apple has Garage Band but possibly integrate them both?  I don't know, I just don't want to see it go away or the developers lose their jobs.

Just a quick shout out to all here for the good advice given over the years.
 
I have been a Cakewalk user since version 2.0 (1994), which came out on 3.5" floppy discs.
 
I will continue to use Sonar for as long as I can. I really hope that someone purchases the brand name and the source code and at least keeps selling it and keeps the forums alive.
 
Peace out,
 
Phil Darg

pdarg
 
I will continue to use Sonar for as long as I can. I really hope that someone purchases the brand name and the source code and at least keeps selling it and keeps the forums alive.
 
Peace out,
 
Phil Darg

OMG ... I can't believe it ...
I bought my update few days ago ...and now?
I am deeply saddened by what happened ... but not for the money ... but for the human events that are in these events!
I will continue to use sonar until some other company acquires it. and  will block w10 updates to maintain stability ... and if there is a need to pay the update again to save cakewalk, I will be there.
sincerely
elix

Lifetime updates One year out of It!!
Someone knew about this all along as we all have been hoodwinked
Losing LoungeLizzard and True pianos and a host of other things is atrocious
If Cakewalk go down then our lifetime guarantees should apply to all the vst's from third parties and we should get the right to use them outside Cakewalk. It Is the least repayment that Gibson could do.
All the luvvies are SAD for what! "You all should be LIVID"
There is a lot of users on low budgets and they are the biggest losers out of all this especially the younger generation.

I cant use Prochannel modules in another DAW. It's a really sad fact. They have another format. So sad. So long used Sonar and now I dont want change DAW. I hope another company will buy Cakewalk sometime. Z3ta2 and Rapture Pro will disappear too. I very often use these instruments. And I can use TTS1 for  a fast arrangement. And after I'm recording  realy instruments. Its usefull plugin for me

I am really REALLY surprised / shocked and disappointed, Cakewalk was the reason I got into making and recording music in the first place, I remember saving up to buy Cakewalk as a teenager, and I loved seeing the advances and growth of the Software over the years. I wish all the Developers and Creators that worked on and contributed to Cakewalk over the years all the best and I pray that they find a place amongst some of the other companies that make up this amazing industry we have. I had a lot of hope for SONAR, and was excited when it became available on STEAM (no brainer buy), and when there was talk of and even a MAC beta for Sonar! In the end I do think that there were a few bad business decisions, and perhaps a lack of agressive marketing to push Cakewalk products.
 
Recent changes in the company focus seemed to me to be driving towards new innovation and new markets, and could have resulted in some truly significant and exciting developments.
 
All that said,
 
I truly believe that Gibson could have handled the running of Cakewalk diffrently. In stead of growing their market and being true to the spirit of Cakewalk, they hired the wrong people for the wrong reasons, and pushed back a lot of positive movement that could have in my mind had a positive effect on the company. You can't just buy a brand like Cakewalk and expect it to turn around in a short period unless you put the right people in charge.
 
So end of rant, Cakewalk, and Sonar, I will miss your innovation, I am going to keep on using SONAR until DAWs get replaced by Robots...
 
Gibson, I have no idea what you were thinking, to grow markets and turn a profit you have to invest in people, not companies, in ideas and innovation, and not in returns and profits, you have to believe in a brand more than you hope to, and push it more than you think you have to.
 
Once again to the Cakewalk guys, (And especially Seth who did a brilliant job of handling the STEAM side of things), you rock! keep believing!
 
 

italy1234
I cant use Prochannel modules in another DAW. It's a really sad fact. They have another format. So sad. So long used Sonar and now I dont want change DAW. I hope another company will buy Cakewalk sometime. Z3ta2 and Rapture Pro will disappear too. I very often use these instruments. And I can use TTS1 for  a fast arrangement. And after I'm recording  realy instruments. Its usefull plugin for me

Same here! QuadCurve, Tape Emulation or the Tube modules would need huge investments if you want to replace them quickly with quality VST substitutions. And that great and easy TTS... I love Cakewalk since Cakewalk Professional 3 some early 90's, I'm totally based on Platinum (Lifetime) now. This is devastating.