Noel Borthwick Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 53 minutes ago, Alan Bachman said: I do not mind the subscription or plan idea at all. I have asked some questions for clarification - such as - does bandlab membership include Sonar - with no extra fee? Just want to know. I do think it is time for Bandlab to start clarifying pricing, whatever it is. There are often critiques on this forum and almost always they are made to make sure the product and presentation of the product improves. Imho, no one should abandon Cakewalk or Sonar. It is a great, deep, reliable program and for me, it is especially important because I can open files from decades ago in various iterations of Cakewalk/Sonar. And good luck finding a DAW with as helpful people as the Bakers with this forum, etc. It includes both Sonar and Next at no extra fee which is a great value if you do the math. Also included are all the standard BandLab membership perks like distribution promotion etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Borthwick Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 22 minutes ago, Promidi said: I would rather have a perpetual licence - a similar way that Sonar Platinum was offered (before the lifetime licence was offered). Making 12 consecutive monthly, or one annual payment, gives you a version that keeps working. If any updates are released while you have an active membership, you have access to those updates. If, after the 12 consecutive monthly, or the one annual payment, you decide to stop renewing your membership, then you keep the version you had when you stopped renewing. What I definitely would not like is for the only way to keep using Sonar is via membership. I think that would annoy a lot of users. We’re looking into other package options. Anything like that involves back end, and has a lot of other moving parts which is why there is a delay in information being made available. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Promidi Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 4 minutes ago, Noel Borthwick said: We’re looking into other package options. Anything like that involves back end, and has a lot of other moving parts which is why there is a delay in information being made available. I am very confident that this is a case of “All good things come to those who wait”.... I have no doubt that this whole thing has many moving parts.... there is also change management to consider... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB99 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 33 minutes ago, Noel Borthwick said: It includes both Sonar and Next at no extra fee which is a great value if you do the math. Also included are all the standard BandLab membership perks like distribution promotion etc. Thank you Noel. So the bandlab membership includes Sonar, with no extra fee beyond the bandlab membership. And if one is a bandlab member, then there is no additional fee for Sonar. All good inho. That is fair pricing. And no one has to use the other membership perks. And as you said, if later they figure out other Sonar pricing that does not include the membership, great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milton Sica Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 I have been following the posts regarding the new (???) Sonar and would like to make some suggestions regarding the pricing of the product. I believe it would be very interesting, including from the perspective of Marketing and Sales strategy, to propose different prices for the continents. I think this would be very interesting for propagation and even reaching more users. All of this is due to the exchange rate relationship that exists for us in Latin America, Africa, etc., causing the exchange rate difference between our currency and the dollar. For North Americans, Canadians, Europeans, etc. to have this perception, to compare $1.00 (one American dollar) we, Brazilians, have to pay R$5.26 (five reais and twenty-six cents) today. Imagine if the price already stipulated in dollars today in all situations were multiplied by 5..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) @Milton Sica Not sure what you are saying as we are a global community as well as most people these days purchase items directly from many countries. I live on the border and Washington USA is 10 minutes from my house. So we often even go grocery shopping there. But over the years we keep a close eye on the exchange rate. We have always looked at prices and had to calculate that into the cost. Right now is pretty bad as Canadian dollar is down to $.73 so if I see an item for $1. it is as actually costing me approximately $1.27. It is entirely up to your chosen payment method what you will be charged as an exchange rate. And many credit cards also add on a fee for foreign transactions. We found a card that doesn’t. This saves us 1.4 %. So pricing is based on US dollars for Bandlab and it is not up to them to offer different prices for different currencies. That’s not how things work. I just bought a plug in from Germany so it was listed in Euros. That’s even more @ a $1.48 Can right now. Im not sure why people are going on and on about the pricing? Is that the only reason people liked Cakewalk was because it was free? That’s not why I use it. I used it because it’s still the one I like the most. So to me it’s simple. If you like it you buy it, if you don’t like it then please stop thinking about what it will cost. Move on. Edited March 19 by John Vere 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milton Sica Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, John Vere said: @Milton Sica Not sure what you are saying as we are a global community as well as most people these days purchase items directly from many countries. I live in Brazil where the Real/Dollar exchange rate is 5/1. In other countries in our Latin America the exchange rate disparity is even greater. If we talk about African countries, certainly even more so. So, for those who live in a first world country like you, the exchange rate variation is not significant, but for those of us in the third, fourth, fifth world, pricing is something important in our options. You ask: Did they stay at Cakewalk because it was free? The answer is a resounding YES! Therefore, I am completely sure that, as citizens of countries on this side of the world, we always produce our work with free plugins, free applications, etc. I don't know if I understood the topic, but I tried. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, John Vere said: . . . . not sure why people are going on and on about the pricing? From what I have seen there are a number of reasons covering a wide range of motives. But I'm saving up my thoughts for an April Fools' Day post. ? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Kelley Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) Bandlab isn’t the carrot some think. Edited March 19 by Terry Kelley 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John T Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Obviously, at this point in time, we can only speculate. But it seems a reasonable assumption to me that Bandlab's core business is in driving membership signups. And therefore they're going to want Next and Sonar to contribute to that. There is of course a bit of a tension between that and the value to customers who want to use Sonar, but have no use for any of the Bandlab features. That certainly describes me; I'm not involved, and not planning to be involved in the distribution of any of the stuff I work on. And I'm not in the market for the kind of collaboration tools Bandlab provides. So the question is two-fold, I think. Firstly, is Sonar going to be available outside of Bandlab membership? And secondly, does that matter to you or not? I'd say for myself, I don't really care either way, as long as the cost is reasonable for what I use. Which the current membership is to my mind. ~$15 a month is fine by me. My current guess is that they're going to launch as membership-only and see what happens. But of course, that's only a guess. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John T Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Yeah, that's my gut feeling. I think that makes more sense for Next, which doesn't have an existing user base, and seems more suited to integration with the overall Bandlab thing. But for Sonar, I think it would certainly ruffle some feathers. I suppose we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB99 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) Here is a way I am looking at it for now: I am purchasing Sonar by buying the bandlab membership. And I am considering that the bandlab membership is basically of no cost. The price for Sonar, including its continued sustainabability with enough funds, and updates, is all worth it for the price of the bandlab membership. (I am not saying this for "Next." And I certainly support those that want other pricing. But if the price is too low and the Bakers cannot make a decent salary, etc., then eventually we have an unstable platform.) Edited March 20 by Alan Bachman 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) I wasn’t arguing I was just trying to explain international trade. @Milton Sica does bring up a sad truth about what will happen to many people that started relying on the free version. I can tell by the names of my subscribers just how global Cakewalk has become. As we all know a huge population of this planet live in absolute poverty. But big business is big business and so these people in a way will be victims of a marketing strategy that has now become very apparent. They will be cut off with only choice being something like Audacity. This has given me an idea! Hmm. As a note I logged into the Next Discord chat room and all of a sudden some of those people are wondering why they are being asked to activate. Seems the beta testing of Next has also ended. Anyhow if you were only interested in Next and not Sonar then $15 a month is a little steep. I rate Next as being worth around $50 -$100 based on its simplicity. Not based on quality, just features. Edited March 20 by John Vere 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canopus Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 So, here’s my plan. I will lean back in my chair until Sonar is released and the question whether it will be possible to buy a permanent license, or if Sonar only will be available through a BSP membership, has finally been decided. I have always stayed away from software subscriptions (ask Adobe) and intend to do so in the future as well. As for the BSP package, I’m only interested in Sonar. While waiting, I’ll keep using CbB as long as it runs. If CbB stops working before any such decision has been made, I have both Cubase and Studio One installed on my computer. Also, I have SONAR Platinum installed, so I will be able to open my unfinished Cakewalk projects reasonably well. In a worst-case scenario, I certainly won’t change DAW lightheartedly. I’ve always loved Cakewalk, but I will move on if the only option is a BandLab membership. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSistine Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 IMO Bandlab gambles for high stakes! Lately I read a lot of comments that sound like long-term advocates here on this forum are disappointed and irritated. Many of them express their backup solutions. Me too, I have a backup solution. I can live absolutely without Sonar! All this here reminds me dreadfully to the Gibson debacle. I fear that this really could be the last days for Sonar! I guess many will not be willing to invest in the unsteadiness of this daw's future! 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 I think the price IS VERY IMPORTANT. ANYTHING you buy you look at the price. We all make our own choices. My choice is NO SUBSCRIPTION. Guess it's different if you are making $$$ using a daw, I am not. So if I cannot BUY a Sonar license like it used to be , I will sadly move on. ? I also have Studio One and Reaper. As stated before, since my memory sucks I have to relearn whatever I use anyway. Ok this is getting old for me because it seems obvious to me that nothing will change in the foreseeable future. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Wynn Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) I’ve been using Cakewalk/Sonar for +20 years. And for many years when it became CbB I used it for free. Zilch. Nada. Whatever the pricing scheme ends up being I’m onboard. Cakewalk/Sonar has been extremely good to me and I have zero problems reciprocating. Edited March 20 by Greg Wynn 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) ? Edited March 20 by Pathfinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeringAmps Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 3 hours ago, Greg Wynn said: Whatever the pricing scheme ends up being I’m onboard. Cakewalk/Sonar has been extremely good to me and I have zero problems reciprocating. Ditto! t 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) Guy walking trough a Saturday afternoon Farmers Market sees an artist painting a picture and stops to ask him about it. “I like your painting is it for sale? “ “No I’m not finished yet. “ “Ok but when it’s finished how much will it cost?” “ I don’t know until it’s finished . And I’m thinking I might rent this one in the Gallery art rental program. I can sometimes make a nice steady income from that.” “But I don’t want to rent it, I prefer to buy it from you, but only if I like the price.” “Ahh, see you already are offering me less money than it’s worth and haven’t even told you what I think that is?” This is why I think I’m better off renting it. That way more people will enjoy my painting and I’ll have a monthly income for a long time. If I sell it to you when it’s finished, you will want a bargain and I’ll be sad and probably spend that money all at once in the bar. I’ll have no money later on.” The man walked away and bought a ugly framed print from WalMart. He didn’t like the ugly cheap painting very much but he was proud because he owed it outright. Edited March 20 by John Vere 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now