off topic? here's a good read that seems relevant https://www.technologyreview.com/s/401594/why-software-is-so-bad/ it's 15 years old but still

“The classic dilemma in software is that people continually want more and more and more stuff,” says Nathan Myhrvold, former chief technology officer of Microsoft. Unfortunately, he notes, the constant demand for novelty means that software is always “in the bleeding-edge phase,” when products are inherently less reliable. In 1983, he says, Microsoft Word had only 27,000 lines of code. “Trouble is, it didn’t do very much”-which customers today wouldn’t accept. If Microsoft had not kept pumping up Word with new features, the product would no longer exist.
“Users are tremendously non-self-aware,” Myhrvold adds. At Microsoft, he says, corporate customers often demanded that the company simultaneously add new features and stop adding new features. “Literally, I’ve heard it in a single breath, a single sentence. We’re not sure why we should upgrade to this new release-it has all this stuff we don’t want-and when are you going to put in these three things?’ And you say, Whaaat?’” Myhrvold’s sardonic summary: “Software sucks because users demand it to.”

(although these days myhrvold's considered a "patent troll")

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
Hi John and Marled,
 
Lifetime updates had nothing to do with this event. In the business plan and how it was presented to users it was never intended not to offer every feature free forever. The intent was to offer frequent updates where all bug fixes and certain CORE features would be free but major new or premium features would still cost money. i.e. it would be similar to an in-app purchase model.

 
I read in another thread about this and I like this model very much! And I think such components like the "Adaptive Limiter" or the "Drum Replacer" I would be willing to buy all the time as additions, if the prices were reasonable. I believe also in the success of such a model, because you would get a lot of new users and great loyalty to the company.
 

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
The SONAR team was very small for most of the time in recent years it was at a max of 4-6 engineers - mostly superstar players. I don't hesitate to say that we had among the best in the world. Dedicated people who really knew their stuff and could deliver amazing stuff in really short time frames. Developers at other companies were always shocked when they learned how small our team was. 

 
Great! This is exactly the way I am convinced is best for software development (self an IT guy). Now I totally understand how you could develop such an amazing, if not the best DAW (at least for me)!
 

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
... Additional manpower is not necessarily a solution to this problem since you can add 10 more people and it could actually make things worse if they introduced more problems. Small focused superstar teams are by far the most effective and we had some amazing dedicated people.

I do 100% agree to that!
Thank you very much for your recent posts and explanations! And of course for this powerful DAW that I like! I will use Sonar Platinum in any case, without regard what will happen in the future.
 
Marcel

Noels comments are interesting but they shed absolutely no light on the current situation. He maintains that the plan was good, there were world class developers and they were doing great things. But why then couldn't they make any money?
The really nice LP plug-ins, the drum replacer and that amazing adaptive limiter should have been paid for add-ons according to the announced business plan, but they weren't. I'm a lifer and I wouldn't have had any problem paying for them. I expected to pay for them based on the Sonar For Life announcement. But they dropped the ball. No follow-through. The Cakewalk CEO has yet to make an appearance or offer an explanation. Was Noel actually the one running the company and making the business decisions? 
We still don't know anything

ampfixer
Noels comments are interesting but they shed absolutely no light on the current situation. He maintains that the plan was good, there were world class developers and they were doing great things. *But why then couldn't they make any money?
The really nice LP plug-ins, the drum replacer and that amazing adaptive limiter should have been paid for add-ons according to the announced business plan, but they weren't. I'm a lifer and I wouldn't have had any problem paying for them. I expected to pay for them based on the Sonar For Life announcement. But they dropped the ball. No follow-through. The Cakewalk CEO has yet to make an appearance or offer an explanation. Was Noel actually the one running the company and making the business decisions? 
We still don't know anything

 
*Presumably because they didn't sell enough copies of Sonar. If overheads and production costs were equal to, or more than turnover, there was no profit.
 

I agree (Again! What's the matter with me?) with you, ampfixer! There is not so much information what will come, but there is information from the past and to me this is also interesting to judge the situation. I think Noel has said that we have to be patient and wait. I understand that he is not allowed to say more, that's business, even if this is cumbersome for us customers. And yes, it is nebulous why they did not sell those plugins, but gave it to us for free! Probably they wanted to get our loyalty like this.

It has to be said that not charging money for the adaptive limiter was baffling. Good quality limiters are primo pieces of kit and people are usually happy to shell out for them. Same with compressors. Now with something like a delay effect, you can see that as a freebie. But a high quality mastering limiter....yikes. 

marled
I agree (Again! What's the matter with me?) with you, ampfixer! There is not so much information what will come, but there is information from the past and to me this is also interesting to judge the situation. I think Noel has said that we have to be patient and wait. I understand that he is not allowed to say more, that's business, even if this is cumbersome for us customers. And yes, it is nebulous why they did not sell those plugins, but gave it to us for free! Probably they wanted to get our loyalty like this.

Without any thing tangible to be patient for, waiting is not really a good option. The choices as I see them are sticking with the Sonar version we have or getting another DAW.

“Users are tremendously non-self-aware,” Myhrvold adds. At Microsoft, he says, corporate customers often demanded that the company simultaneously add new features and stop adding new features. “Literally, I’ve heard it in a single breath, a single sentence. We’re not sure why we should upgrade to this new release-it has all this stuff we don’t want-and when are you going to put in these three things?’ And you say, Whaaat?’” Myhrvold’s sardonic summary: “Software sucks because users demand it to.”

 
As a software publisher myself, I can say that truer words were never spoken.

Good afternoon to all members.
I do not think it's really the end of SONAR ... I still hope that it will come back soon ...
If it really was the end, why would they offer free licenses for SONAR HOME STUDIO + Rapture Session & Big Fish Audio Loop Collection?
If it really was the end of the product, there would be no more interest in publicizing and winning more customers.
I just got my free license and I'm already downloading it directly from the official website
For those who are interested, here is the link:
https://thesoftware.shop/...udio-giveaway/#buy-now
SONAR is the best DAW of all time ... I will not move to another, unless I have to do it ... Be patient, do not change software yet ... SONAR will still work for a long time , even if he dies definitely ...

ampfixer
Noels comments are interesting but they shed absolutely no light on the current situation. He maintains that the plan was good, there were world class developers and tthey were doing great things. But why then couldn't they make any money?
The really nice LP plug-ins, the drum replacer and that amazing adaptive limiter should have been paid for add-ons according to the announced business plan, but they weren't. I'm a lifer and I wouldn't have had any problem paying for them. I expected to pay for them based on the Sonar For Life announcement. But they dropped the ball. No follow-through. The Cakewalk CEO has yet to make an appearance or offer an explanation. Was Noel actually the one running the company and making the business decisions? 
We still don't know anything

 
There is no Cakewalk CEO and hasn't been one for over 5 years. I was co-general manager last year and take accountability for the decisions in that year obviously. Regarding the LP's, had I been in charge of the business side this year all I can say is that they would definitely have been an in-app purchases :) Those are amazing plugins and the guys who developed it were top notch.