Some Guy

I have an extra license I can part with at the sale price 😛

I'm aware that Broadcast Wave stores Timecode. That's more interoperability. Yes, that will work... if all you need to do is send it out to someone else for them to Mix or Master the project. If you're composing with VSTis and collaborate with another composer, this becomes an unworkable mess. It's easier to just use the same DAW and pass around Project/Session files. This is why businesses tend to standardize on the tools they use (NLEs, DAWs, Color Correction Software, etc.). Yes, interchange options exist, but they are not designed for collaboration. They are designed for interchange and interoperability. I would send my NLE timeline to a colorist with an AAF. I will not collaborate with another editor using an interchange format. This is why many professionals own more than one DAW or NLE. It's only the lower ends of those markets that shackle themselves to one [and only one] solution.

He means that the site exists primarily to cover Pro Tools-related topics, not that it is site owned and operated by Avid (the owners of the Pro Tools product). The way "iMore" is an "Apple Site." Mobile Nations has sites for all major ecosystems (Android, Windows, Apple) - so this site can simply be diversifying in a similar way. If it's popular, and it will draw new readers, it's kind of a no brainer to go there... Unless you're just an independent person running their own personal fansite 😛 Abandonware shouldn't be taken literally. It's just the most apt term to describe people's view of the product's development pace. The people who do that tend to cite reasons other than whether or not the new owners have added in a feature here or there. If you read the Last Review on SoS for Sonar Platinum, almost nothing has changed since then. Every positive remains the same, but isn't quite as good as it was in 2015 (just over 4 years ago). Any Product that remains this stagnant is bound to be summarily written off by many people... including Pros. Every negative remains the same, except it's even more noticeable now; as we are in a more developed market. This fuels "which DAW is better" arguments in the competitors' favor. Usually end up being troll threads, but how many people read them and have them influence (consciously or otherwise) their decision regarding what DAW to employ in their Studio? They have added BandLab integration and ARA2, and that's pretty much the only major feature addition it has gotten since then (and certainly the only one worth mentioning). They have fixed some bugs, but even the bug fix updates are tiny compared to what other DAWs routinely push out. The development pace is what leads people to say that. It affects perception in a huge way. Also, having this huge bruhaha about the product being Discontinued/Shut Down before BandLab purchased it has put a permanent black mark on its reputation. Gibson should have just sold it off as a steep discount, to offload it.

The people who are collaborating, often, are doing so with DAWs with larger user bases... so they can collaborate "trouble-free" with those people. Moving to CbB will introduce your collaboration issues to them, because they will not be dealing with a problem they didn't run into [so much]. It's of a circular situation that will probably never correct itself, short of you moving to a more "popular" solution to join the herd. That being said, Steinberg has VST Transit Join in Beta, so that may be a solution one can examine (now or in the future). BandLab, theoretically, could have done something similar with their web service, but haven't [yet]. Wouldn't that have been nice, though? I suppose you can sort of use it in a similar way. It's just not as "clean" as what Steinberg has implemented, since their solution was designed for this specific purpose. Also, with the way DAW vendors are building out their ecosystems, there is a level of lock-in at play.

Provide source links to issues that 1903 has that may affect the OP and his work. Otherwise, it comes across as FUD. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-information/status-windows-10-1903 The only "issue" I heard of, was some external storage (SD Card, USB HDD) having their drive letters changed... which was a non-factor since the OS wouldn't even let you upgrade with these plugged in (so it literally brute forces avoidance of the issue). Then again, this isn't something that would affect work, as the OS blatantly just avoids installing the update in this case. The rest of that stuff is fairly non-factor in the grand scheme of things. The DLL stuff was fixed by Microsoft. Upgraded on day 1. No issues. This is probably the cleanest update Microsoft has ever released for Windows 10, thus far.

Your entire post, and the way you reference "young people" is patronizing. Clearly, one as old and wise as yourself can see this? It comes across as incredibly condescending. Quote me where I stated they did, and I will take this statement seriously. What they do is contribute to the DAW market by buying software licenses, which allow developers to license better tech and invest more into R&D to create and deliver better projects and updates. They also exist, so naturally products that care about those niches have to deliver on their requirements. And DAWs like Nuendo and Sequoia market heavily at the high end post production industry (Cubase and Samplitude and basically* lower end SKUs of those products). Digital Performer (which has great video support, BTW) is has been developed to cater very well to that market as well, with superb support for that kind of work. You are looking at this through foggy glasses of bias. Because you do not care about those markets, you speak of them as if they are completely non-factor. Just because You and "90% of people who use DAWs" (tend to have a lot of confidence for someone quick to point out what other people do not know) don't care about something doesn't mean that the company developing the software don't want to sell it to the tens of thousands of people who do... Lol... What? Where have you been over the past few years? Not all of us are completely stupid, and have convinced ourselves that BandLab buying it on a steep discount (after Gibson literally killing it off) makes it some brand new entry on the market. It's Cakewalk SONAR, with slightly changed branding and a few bugfix updates... The people who change DAWs tend to be upstarts looking for a DAW that fits them. Once they establish themselves, they tend to change less. Change is disruptive, and actual professionals do not change for the sake of change. Hype is not as effective, there. What you're bloviating about in the OP is normal, and the market has always been this way. When SONAR was more "popular," it benefitted greatly from this. There are very few reasons for anyone to bother switching off their current DAW to Cakewalk. Telling me I'm wrong isn't going to cut it. Tell me why I'm wrong. What actual competitive advantages - that isn't just your opinion - does Cakewalk actually have over the competition . There are very few, if any. "I like the workflow" is the DAW user equivalent to Apple users saying "I like the UI" when people compare Windows and macOS. It literally means nothing, and anything at the same time. It's a failsafe. What BandLab has done is barely anything. They have fixed a few bugs, added a feature here or there, and changed some optiosn around. The last few years of development has been quite wanting. The change logs are publicly available for all to see... Again, Cakewalk is not "only a couple of years old, " except to delusional people. Doing things differently is different from missing features/capabilities, and the inability to collaborate with others. Samplitude's notation editor is 10x faster than Cakewalk's, and you can put your lyrics straight in. There are options other than the one DAW that lacks a feature and requires an add-on that you can think of, in an attempt to make your argument sound stronger. So many options. That's part of the point, though I expect you to completely ignore this fact. You can add Notion to Studio One for like $99, IIRC. You said it doesn't really work, then you stay they are kind of doing it. It's contradictory. Do not expect you to have an idea what I'm saying... you wrote it! No. You seem to enjoy being a condescending *****. But then again... Maybe "most of those young people" just haven't grasped the sheer immense amount of wisdom that spews forth through your old fingers slamming on that keyboard? 85% of "DAW Wars" is nothing but bias and personal preference posited as facts and statistics. 90%, Lol...

1. The best way to learn is by doing. If that means they start off creating the type of music they, themselves, like... why not? Daft Punk isn't going to start doing Country just because some bitter old people on the Cakewalk forums are tired of EDM, and/or would prefer "most young people" look up to someone who does something other than the current in-fad music genre. The only reason why this is even discussed is because that market is already dominated by a few DAWs that cater to it, anyways. Cakewalk isn't one of them, and this is the only reason why those people, and that genre seem to be spoken about with such disdain by a choice few... There are still tons of other niches where Cakewalk could have made inroads, but even in those areas the feature development simply isn't there. You can't fit a square peg through a round hole. 2. Young people know how to save and spend money, as well. This is less of an issue, due to the decrease in price for Pro DAWs. MAGIX is routinely selling Samplitude Pro Suite for $149. You can get Pro NLEs for Free or $25 (Humble Bundle)-$299 Perpetual Costs. Most Pro DAWs have lower-end SKUs and will give you upgrade pricing to the full thing later on, allowing you to pay nothing but the difference in cost between the two (PreSonus, MAGIX, etc.). Affinity sells Graphics design software for $50, which could easily have sold for $400 in the late 90s/early 2000s. You can put together an entire suite of creative tools, pro level, for dirt cheap these days. I think people are severely underestimating just how affordable this stuff is. Computers are also more powerful at lower price points than they used to be. You can get budget i7 Laptops now, which would have cost over two grand in 2004/5 (for an equivalent machine, back then). 3. The people who latched onto Cakewalk early, and he people who are industry professionals are going to think the way Tezza does because that is a captured market. Competitors went after it hard when they announced the shutdown of the product, becuase that forces people off of the product. However, they aren't caring about the fact that they have a "Free" competitor, because they have already leeched off all of the users worth anything (as in, those most likely to invest more money into their own ecosystem). Once people get established in the market, they are not going to see much value in switching software. That is what people do when they're establishing their workflow and their career - as different software do appeal to different people, markets, workflows, and even music genres. Those "young people" are no different than anyone else. They want to make specific type of music, and those options are strongest for that. And those products have much cheaper SKUs than Ableton Live Suite 😉

The DAW Market is huge and EM is only a part of it: EDM Digital Composition (i.e. the people who want to learn how to compose, but don't have an Orchestra on hand to use as their guinea pigs) Singer/Songwriters who want to play guitar and sing into the microphone Mix Engineers Videographers who can't afford to pay a third party ^ to do all of this work. Sound Designers Athletes, Coaches, and Chreographers who have to cut music for performances - something that two track editors like Sound Forge are actually not as good for as many people may think (Audition do work well, Audacity is awful when it comes to Noise Reduction, Retiming, and Pitch Changes - for obvious reasons). There are lots of DAWs, and while some are designed for the broader market, many of them do target specific niches within the broader market - and excel doing so. Ableton Live is one of those products, which is why it is a de facto recommendation to people who want to do EDM and Live Performances. It does work well. That's why those DAWs survived and Cakewalk died. Studio One is even a newer product, so there is actually room in the market to carve success out. The difference is that many of them simply had better Product Managers than Cakewalk did, better investment from the parent companies, and much better development pace and code maintenance. Other DAWs are catching up and surpassing Cakewalk in the areas where it was traditionally strong, while still keeping their competitive advantages intact. A lot of momentum for different DAWs also has to do with market conditions. If you live in a market where everyone uses Ableton, then the chances of you using anything else are much less. If you have to collaborate with other artists, then you need to be compatible. Cakewalk is quite weak in this area, and there are very few reasons for anyone to bother switching off of their current DAW to Cakewalk. It's completely expected that you will say this, because Cakewalk hasn't been well developed the past few years. This leaves it with fairly obvious workflow and functionality holes, so it will naturally be fit more in the markets that ask less of that from it. No AAF/EDL Support. Mediocre Video Support. Laggy and Mediocre Notation and Score Editor. "Bring Your Own Stuff" packaging that makes it most useful for the types of people who need the least amount of stuff out-of-the-box, etc. Then the statement about Studio One completely contradicts your earlier quoted statement. I would finish off the bolded sentence with "who find the Cakewalk by BandLab to be an appealing choice." Also the patronizing tone of your post isn't appreciated. Fortunately, you weren't around to talk at Mozart.

I'm currently using Audio Studio 12 for Wave Editing, and Pro 11 - despite only being 32-Bit - is still way better, with far superior plug-ins. So it being an old version doesn't matter, as it's still going to be a sizeable upgrade, for me. I don't really need VST3 or 64-Bit support in it. It's kind of meant as a companion to Samplitude, anyways. For Sample Editing and Loop Creation, etc. Otherwise no one would buy Sound Forge for $400 if you can get it bundled with Samplitude for $5-600 😛 Bundled version will probably go to 12 on next Samp release. I like the instruments that MAGIX ships with Samp, and the Suite version comes with the 70GB Independence Library. Mostly interested in doing some digital compositions (and getting better at it) and recording the audio for my short films better. With that, I probably would just have to install the stuff and not have to worry about scouring the web for add-ons. $149 for that package is tempting...

I just got a 1 Day offer for Samplitude Pro Suite X4 for $149. My God. So tempting. Has AAF support, too, which I badly need (and comes with Sound For Pro 11, which is probably worth the cost for me on its own). Really trying to resist pulling the trigger, but they have really "check mated" me with the 1 day duration on this offer... Probably means a new version is coming out soon, too 😛 But goes to show why gaining users is hard, even when you're "free." I think Steinberg is selling Cubase 50% off for some time, as well...

Agree. Cheap NVMe are like cheap SATA SSDs. They overheat, or have tiny cache and don't perform well. I'd also go for a Pro SKU if I were getting 2TB NVMe drives. If I'm investing that much, I want the higher endurance and better warranty. Lastly, m.2 drives can be SATA or NVMe, so you have to make sure you aren't buying drives with 2 notches on them (that's SATA). For normal day to day operation, you aren't going to see huge differences between data and nvme as most tasks don't require that kind of bandwidth.

As regards to the popularity of Cakewalk, Reaper is on topic because the popularity of other DAWs is related to the topic. Most people aren't trying to use every popular piece of software on the planet. The one that grabs them in a certain market tends to be the one they stick with, so users that Reaper gains are often users that Cakewalk has either lost, or won't gain as a result. The more market share competitors gain, the more pressure Cakewalk has on it in the market because the popularity gap can widen. Not sure why those two people made those posts. They don't make a lick of sense.

Yes, much of the older Vista Technologies are legacy, deprecated, and have been replaced since several years ago. As far as the ASIO, etc. stuff... some of this is down to device manufacturers, as well. Support for Windows technologies has generally been way worse than the equivalents on macOS, because Microsoft does not manage its platform as tightly as Apple. This also extends to other things, like APIs for Text and Graphics, etc. A lot of applications are still using legacy APIs for this stuff, even though superior replacements have been in place (in the Windows OS) for several years. They simply don't see a point in updating and optimizing for the new stuff, because that isn't a fat new feature that will sell new licenses. This is hilarious to see when you compare products like PaintShop Pro (uses legacy APIs, mostly) to something like Affinity Photo (uses all the new Windows and macOS APIs for things like Multi-Threading, Text and Graphics Rendering, GPU Acceleration, etc.). The difference in both quality and performance are stark. Having a newer/freshes code base also helps 😉 There are Audio Interfaces and devices that still have random issues in different DAW software... something that Microsoft tried to eliminate with their OS and Windows Logo requirements - but that has not worked so well. Still need that 800MB driver package for those Realtek Audio Drivers! P.S. Honestly have had awful experience trying to get ASIO to work on Laptops with integrated audio. Basically need an interface, there, and hope it isn't problematic with your DAW (less risky if you use one of the more "popular" DAWs (Pro Tools, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, etc.)).

That may very well be the case, since I've gone back and looked a bit at the old Cakewalk forums 😛

Windows [natively] uses DirectX Plug-Ins for Audio and Video Effects, among other things. Most media stuff is branded DirectX (Encoders and Decoders, as well). The Sonitus FX Plugins in Cakewalk are actually DirectX Plug-Ins, which is why they show up for use in VEGAS Pro despite no effort to set them up there. The Studio Instruments are DirectX Instruments, IIRC. Same with VEGAS Pro Audio Effects - they [annoyingly] show up in Cakewalk for use, because they are DirectX Plug-Ins and these Windows-only creative apps tended to support the native frameworks well (the same way macOS audio apps support Audio Units... almost without fail... which are the DirectX equivalent for Audio Effects and Instruments). WASAPI is actually a thing most people here act like they have never heard of. We can argue how much Steinberg stood to benefit from pushing VST another day. Then again, there are multiple applications that don't support OpenFX or VST Plug-Ins... And even more that only support VST2 and not VST3. Personally, I prefer to use system-native APIs for this kind of stuff, though that is more work for the developers. That being said, all of them have no issues doing it for macOS, but use lowest common denominator solutions for Windows 😛

Core Audio is a framework, not a driver. And Microsoft has had something equivalent to Core Audio. That's what WASAPI is. It's existed since Windows Vista, at least, which was released in 2006 - so not very long after Core Audio became a thing for OS X (10.3, IIRC). Windows has supported driver-less audio devices that "just work" since Vista. The Windows Logo requirements required machines that shipped with Vista to include such a device (Audio device that doesn't require drivers to function). The drivers and control panels are icing on the cake. That is why when you do a fresh install on a clean machine, Windows 10 will often have Cortana speaking during setup, despite the fact that no specific drivers are installed (on most machines).

Then, respectfully, you need to go around to the places where beginners and learners are hanging out. The fact that Adobe has massive amounts of educational material for their products is a competitive advantage which has people paying a subscription for what you can get for cheap (or even free, in some cases) elsewhere. You are severely underestimating the impact this has on how people view a product. NLEs, DAWs, VFX Compositors, etc. are not Notepad. They're complicated applications, and potential users really appreciate having good materials to guide them. This directly affects their view of how easy to use your software is. Complicated software with many educational resources are easier to use than those with fewer. That's how people view things, because many people quickly realize that the internet is full of distractions and depending on forums and YouTube for this stuff wastes massive amounts of time. Marketing speaks for itself. Many people have no clue what Cakewalk was until the publicity from it being sold off or purchased by BandLab.

I think the basic Lens is fine, honestly, and can't see much reason for the second point as its usefulness is completely dependent on ex-SONAR users caring enough to "plug-in" functionality from SONAR into other DAWs... and they'd probably want to become as proficient using the actual other DAW's functionality as possible... particularly for industry professionals. That would certainly look nice on a feature list, though... I think the biggest issue with Cakewalk are: 1. Windows-Only 2. Bugs that have persisted since older versions (and still aren't fixed): Example 3. Weak Bundled Plug-In and Instrument Bundle. Beginners do not want to spend 20 hours scouring the internet for subpar instruments. Virtually no Loops bundled - and no avenue to buy what used to be in/bundled with the Sonar Platinum product (It's been a year... how long will that take?) 4. No Marketing; Lots of people simply don't know about it, because Cakewalk (the company) didn't really do as much as they could to push it. Similar issue to VEGAS Pro with Sony. 5. Not a lot of learning material. Not covered in nearly as much depth as competing DAWs, due to lack of industry momentum. Improving, but the quality of the material isn't yet on par with other, newer, DAWs. 6. Lack of AAF support inhibits it in some niches (Film Audio Post, etc.), as well as its collaborative potential with people who do not use Cakewalk (AAFTranslator is $199, mind as well just buy Studio One if you're going to blow that much on an OMF->AAF Utility, frankly). Platform-locked plug-ins don't matter to beginners and hobbyists/upstarts. They probably won't be using multiple DAWs, anyways, so depending on them to pick up Cakewalk as "another DAW" is not a great strategy if that level of the market is a big deal with BandLab. I wouldn't even recommend those people double fist two DAWs. Learn ONE and then learn about Music Theory, etc. so that you can actually produce good work. Don't bog yourself down with redundant software. That's for "later."

It depends on the reason why they purchased it and what the plans for it are. If the plans are for them to build up the BandLab ecosystem, then having Cakewalk can be a crucial component of that. Sometimes, companies are playing the long game. It isn't always about Year 1 user base increases... That being said, they don't seem to be putting much work into BandLab.com, either. So I'm just a tad bit confused, myself.

Nor Surprising At All. A lot of people do not like even looking at Avid Media Composer or Pro Tools. The UI/UX is old school and frankly, the applications are developed in a non-disruptive way. When you are industry-standard, you sort of lose the ability to do things like massive UI Redesigns and fundamental changes to functionality without disrupting the market (FCPX's release is a good example of this). That market position is both a boon and a bane to developers. It guarantees their software will be widely used, but it also ties their hands and severely constricts the room they have to be innovative or "forward thinking" in many areas.

Which is why Intel is in the position it's in. They actually were Future Proof. Anyone who has used a pre-Ryzen AMD CPU knows the deal (I certainly do) - ESPECIALLY if they had a Laptop with one in it. Those CPUs and APUs were absolute atrociousness compared to Intel; and, even back then, they did have decent multi-core Performance. The single core performance is better, now, but Intel still has upwards of an 8-10% lead in Single-Quad Core performance. There are tons of people running Sandy Bridge or Haswell machines that still perform quite well. Nothing from AMD in that timeframe has held up nearly as well - nothing - except maybe server CPUs. No one is even recommending anyone use a Trinity/Kaveri-era AMD CPU/APU, while people routinely tell others to keep their Haswell CPUs and just upgrade the GPU in many instances. Additionally, while AMD CPUs have lots of Cores/Threads, thermal limits come into play. Clock speeds increase in "cap" the more cores you max out, and Intel still has IPC advantages over AMD. So, a 4GHz Ryzen CPU may only run at 4GHz if you're using 1 or 2 Cores, then its' 3.8GHz up to 4, then 3.5 up to 6, etc. (Not factual, just to illustrate what I'm talking about). Intel uses less cores in their CPUs, have better thermal control (CPUs run cooler), so you tend to lose less when you load them up - on top of their IPC advantage... which means their CPUs still end up giving comparable performance with less cores (and lower clock speeds) than AMDs. Lastly, developers tend to bias to Intel due to prevalence and market share. If Intel introduces new technology, developers tend to adopt it quicker. The support for Intel QuickSync Video (everywhere) and Nvidia NVDEC/NVENC (decent support) over AMD UVD/VCE (comparatively poor support) is a good example of that.

The texture behind textual elements makes this incredibly hard on the eyes.

I think this has become more and more of a thing since Adobe moved to Creative Cloud, and more software packages have moved to the subscription business model. A few "Alternatives" have a similar [very vocal and combative subset of their] following that trolls YouTube and forums with these types of comments: Reaper, Studio One, DaVinci Resolve, and VEGAS Pro are the most notable of the bunch. I don't typically see Cakewalk users do this. I do tend to recommend it in YouTube comments where I see fit, though... But I tend to just give my recommendation and ignore the feverish comments I may get in response to it. Those people aren't interested in discussion and will only attempt to gaslight and bamboozle you, anyways 😛 Cakewalk being Windows-only is a bit of a competitive disadvantage as there are macOS users who cannot take advantage of it... But it is designed very well to take great advantage of the platform on which it runs (similar to Logic Pro X on macOS), which is something I appreciate and think is a bit underestimated. Many cross platform creative applications bias to macOS, IME (with the exception of Adobe, which tends to run better on Windows, but $$$). If only they can add AAF support to Cakewalk by BandLab 😞 Collaborating with people who don't use Cakewalk is hard without it. OMF is not enough , in 2019, as increasing amounts of software are not supporting it (or have such bad support that it mind as well not exist). Exporting Stems (for video projects, etc.) is fine, but I need to be able to import AAFs from those other applications. I see they have delivered an up to date Reference Guide, and it looks really good (though it could use a Table of Contents). Thanks to BL for delivering on that request.

I think most people here know the types of people I'm referring to. If it's any consolation, I find that the people who are like that tend to be less of the professionals, and more of the hobbyists and enthusiasts. Pseudo "gamer guy" types... I don't think the disparity in hardware cost matters, because people keep their PCs for a long time, these days. I have a Late 2013 iMac that I bought shortly after it came out. It still runs GarageBand flawlessly, and runs Logic Pro X really well. It runs Final Cut Pro X, as well... pretty well... Had I not moved back to a Windows PC, I don't think I'd have even heard about Cakewalk by BandLab; because I never would have bothered to look to see what was out there. I'd have stayed on GB and upgraded to Logic Pro X whenever I felt the need - since I can easily migrate all of my projects there, there is a GarageBand App for iOS that's better than anything BandLab has out (Plus the Logic Remote App that works with both of them), and it Syncs well over iCloud (and can publish directly to iTunes, etc.). Logic is also stupid cheap, and students can get all of Apple's Pro Apps for $199 in a bundle. Cost simply isn't a huge deal, unless you're going to be upgrading your Macs like you do your smartphone. I think the price factor is really overstated. People say the same thing about Adobe, yet their profits continue to skyrocket 😉 I actually have good things to say about Cakewalk. I think the UI is great, and the performance on my machine is good. But it is of little use to me without AAF support, as I'd have to continue using another DAW as well... No use complicating things further...

Vegas Pro is a relic, and is not that popular. Premiere Pro basically dominates the lower end on Windows, with Resolve making some waves. The only reason you hear about VEGAS Pro, these days, is cause MAGIX has been putting it on Humble Bundle for $25 for the last couple of years. Yes, (basically) free stuff trends. News at 11... That NLE just isn't that good, and it has barely been developed the past decade. Supposedly a huge revamp is on the way this year... But serious editors do not use VEGAS Pro. It's a workflow nightmare.I Final Cut Pro X can get away with this due to the way Apple's user base operates, and the fact that it's a much better product than Vegas. Did they ported to Windows, they'd probably sell a million copies within weeks. I Much better analogues would be Samplitude and Logic Pro X. It doesn't take a genius to see that Logic is far more popukar, and used more by industry professionals than Samplitude. I won't even start on ACID Pro... ... The only product from Sony that had decent market penetration was Sound Forge, because wave editors have far less competition and the only thing better than it comes from Steinberg, requires a dongke, and costs almost twice as much. It's Windows only, but it's legit... VEGAS is ... Not. Base example, IMO. Cakewalkl's trend comes from it being free. Nothing more. There was a lot of YouTube videos being made when the acquisition happened. Pros are not gravitating to it. It's been practically replaced in mindshare by Studio One, and Reaper fanatics are very pushy about making sure that DAW is a part of every conversation... I complained multiple times about the bad BandLab site maintenance. No use uploading there, when you're being buried in the Classical Music category by tons of Rap, Rock, and R&B - intentionally mislabeled by people to exploit the system and force people to see their content in more niche categories on the site. It's like the Wild, Wild West. That site is worthless to me. Better off using Behance or Avid Link... Lastly, GarageBand is a problem on macOS. It's a bigger deal for its market than iMovie is for the video editing market, as it is far more usable for projects beyond the trivial. It ships with a lot of instruments and tons of loops - it's 100% usable out of the box, unlike Cakewalk by BandLab. There is no reason for any lower end of beginner music maker to even consider anything else, and the natural progression from it is to Logic Pro X. You boot up your iMac or MacBook, and GarageBand is there for the taking. There's a reason why, despite Macs being popular with creatives, that platform actually has a ton less options for creative software compared to Windows - especially once you move below the big industry players. Only recently are things starting to level off a bit (Affinity, HitFilm, etc.). Microsoft has never provided out-of-the-box options with the type of viability than Apple does, so it naturally became a more competitive market for "alternative" software. The people buying Pro software have typically made their mind up, or are purchasing based on industry/market requirements. Cakewalk is not going to factor much into that. It is not a big industry player, so it won't have much market share anywhere when you talk to people who do serious work with their DAW. Being a long time user who prefers something is good for you, but really means nothing at all to someone just entering this market. If the majority of people in a certain market use a certain other DAW, chances are people will naturally gravitate to that DAW - for some obvious and very important reasons (interoperability/collaboration, training and being able to tap into an existing knowledge base, etc.). People are too religious about software, these days. I rather just go with the flow than deal with the debates that pop up about it - which don't help me get better at making music. They just annoy me.