Ben Chase Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Are perpetual licenses for Sonar in the works? I'd be happy to pay for it again, I'm just allergic to to subscriptions. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canopus Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 53 "We just have to wait and see." 54 GOTO 53 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moddelmog Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 (edited) There's been a change in language on the website that leads me to believe they won't offer a perpetual license. Previously, they referred to "early access" to Sonar being available through Backstage Pass membership. That language has been replaced by This: "Cakewalk Sonar is currently available through BandLab Membership [no reference to early access]. If you have a BandLab account, you can purchase BandLab Membership here, or learn more about it in the BandLab Membership FAQ." The question "Will Cakewalk Sonar be offered via one-time purchase or perpetual license?" is now answered by this: "At this time, Cakewalk Next and Cakewalk Sonar are available exclusively through BandLab Membership." While that doesn't grammatically mean there won't be other purchase options in the future, my experience with the phrase "At this time" on companies' website almost always means " we aren't planning on it." So I am considering my options: (1) continue to use CBB until it no longer activates, then switch back to SPLAT which should always work (I also have X3 if the SPLAT authorization disappears), (2) look into other DAWs that offer perpetual licenses (Studio One?), or (3) purchase the Membership and see if I can get over my extreme aversion to that model. Under Option (3), I'd like to be assured that my files saved in the new Sonar can always be opened by the original Sonar, understanding that using certain new features could create some issues when opening the files in old Sonar. Edited June 5 by Steve Moddelmog 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Chase Posted June 5 Author Share Posted June 5 Thanks, Steve. I appreciate the thoughtful response. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Kelley Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 I am still betting against it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Baay Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 2 hours ago, Steve Moddelmog said: There's been a change in language on the website that leads me to believe they won't offer a perpetual license. Previously, they referred to "early access" to Sonar being available through Backstage Pass membership. That language has been replaced by This: "Cakewalk Sonar is currently available through BandLab Membership Funny, I read exactly the opposite. Why bother to say "currently or "at this time" if you have no plans to do something else in the future? The removal of "Early Access" is just an indication that it's considered stable and fully functional and ready for wide public release without reservations. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnbee58 Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 We're almost at the 1 year mark since we were told that we would have to start paying for the DAW. I'm assuming that CbB is still available for free to new users for download. Also, I'm sure they know that probably most of us don't like subscriptions especially after the big blowout with the Waves situation last year. I'm hoping the wait is just to finalize loose ends and the perpetual licenses will materialize soon. I only started the membership to see how the new Sonar works. I'm only going to wait so long before I start shopping around. 😀 John B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB99 Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 They might be saying "at this time" because they do not want to be locked into the idea that it will never happen. I find that very understandable. Meanwhile, it is a great product for a fair price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moddelmog Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 (edited) 41 minutes ago, David Baay said: Funny, I read exactly the opposite. Why bother to say "currently or "at this time" if you have no plans to do something else in the future? The removal of "Early Access" is just an indication that it's considered stable and fully functional and ready for wide public release without reservations. I'm just saying I've read those words on other companies' websites in the past, and "at this time" has proven in the long run to mean "no." As I said, grammatically it would suggest reason for hope. Edited June 5 by Steve Moddelmog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moddelmog Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 One more thing... if they ARE planning to offer a one-time purchase option, why don't they simply say so? They are the ones that put the question on their website. They fact that they don't simply answer their own question "We plan to offer a one-time purchase option in the (near) future" makes me think they aren't planning to do so. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moddelmog Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 (edited) And it also seems clear now they aren't going to throw a bone to those of us who paid for perpetual licenses during the prior ownership (I bought every single version of "old" Sonar, so I have paid a fair amount). They certainly aren't obligated to, but I would have done it if I were in their place (meaning a modest discount). Edited June 5 by Steve Moddelmog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canopus Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 I think the reason for not clearly stating whether there will be perpetual licenses available in the future, or not, might be a wish to test the waters. If a sufficient number of users are willing to pay $15 monthly for a BandLab membership, maybe that will generate more revenue than outright purchases. If not, maybe the incentive to offer perpetual licenses might be greater. Only time will tell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnbee58 Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 3 hours ago, Steve Moddelmog said: One more thing... if they ARE planning to offer a one-time purchase option, why don't they simply say so? They are the ones that put the question on their website. They fact that they don't simply answer their own question "We plan to offer a one-time purchase option in the (near) future" makes me think they aren't planning to do so. They did say as much last year when they mentioned that several price points will be made available for different needs. The initial thread that Jesse Jost posted had some excellent information on the subject but was unfortunately locked because some people on this forum can't act like adults. It's still available to read. Go back and have a look. 😀 🙂John B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 As mentioned earlier in this thread, tomorrow will be exactly one year since the "change" was announced. Could it be that tomorrow "anniversary" will be the day of release? That would be sweet... However, my patience is running extremely thin. A full year after announcement to come up with pricing or at least approximate "release" day/month, is more than enough. Why marinate those folks who are not interested in subscriptions?? Seems a bit cruel. It would be OK if they stated that Cakewalk would be yours to keep regardless how they decide to offer Sonar, but since it was stated that it will go away... Feels a bit like like dejavu of 2017. Fortunately or unfortunately Cakewalk has a very particular "takes" workflow that for now is only available... in Cakewalk. The unfortunate part is that 2017 version had a bug (that I reported during Gibson time) that was only fixed in Bandlab's version. So if SHTF, I will end up using 2017 with that particular bug until learning another DAW. Hopefully it will not come to that. I guess, the main point of my reply is this: Bandlab, if they care about integrity, keeping trust of people who didn't leave in 2017 when vultures were offering sweet crossgrade deals on the former Cakewalk forum, should either release Sonar ASAP or the least offer clarity if normal licenses are expected in near future, so people can make informed choices. P.S. If you leave the Cake in the oven for too long, it will not be edible and people will Walk out. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 8 hours ago, Steve Moddelmog said: .... So I am considering my options: (1) continue to use CBB until it no longer activates, then switch back to SPLAT which should always work (I also have X3 if the SPLAT authorization disappears).... Are you sure about activating SPLAT or X3 indefinitely? It is my understanding that all of the legacy versions of Sonar will lose their activation servers at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moddelmog Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 8 minutes ago, JonD said: Are you sure about activating SPLAT or X3 indefinitely? It is my understanding that all of the legacy versions of Sonar will lose their activation servers at some point. Well, X3 is activated with a serial number and as near as I can tell does not require servers anywhere to activate. And since they recently updated the old Command Center, it seems like the intent is to continue to allow people to activate SPLAT and other software they bought from the old entities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnbee58 Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 23 minutes ago, Steve Moddelmog said: Well, X3 is activated with a serial number and as near as I can tell does not require servers anywhere to activate. And since they recently updated the old Command Center, it seems like the intent is to continue to allow people to activate SPLAT and other software they bought from the old entities. I was thinking that too, but my fear with that is with Windows constantly updating and creating new operating systems it will eventually get to a point where a new OS will no longer support it. 🙂JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnbee58 Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 1 hour ago, Misha said: P.S. If you leave the Cake in the oven for too long, it will not be edible and people will Walk out. I love that! 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moddelmog Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 19 minutes ago, Johnbee58 said: I was thinking that too, but my fear with that is with Windows constantly updating and creating new operating systems it will eventually get to a point where a new OS will no longer support it. 🙂JB Maybe. But I just found my Sonar XL (2?) CD and the copyright date on it is 2001 - 23 years ago. So it would have been running under XP. I'm pretty sure I have installed from that in Windows 10 with no issues, don't think I've tried with Windows 11. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Anderton Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 (edited) 2 hours ago, Misha said: keeping trust of people who didn't leave in 2017 when vultures were offering sweet crossgrade deals on the former Cakewalk forum I just want to set the record straight that at least a few companies genuinely felt Sonar was not going to come back, and Sonar users had been dumped unceremoniously with no recourse (there had been prior unsuccessful attempts to sell Cakewalk). One company considered just giving copies to Sonar users so they could start making a transition, but decided that wouldn't be fair to the existing users who had paid for the program. So, they charged what existing users paid for an upgrade. I'd add this is a tightly knit, small industry, where many people have friends in competing companies. No one that I knew was happy to see Sonar get caught in the crossfire of Gibson's problems. They felt it was bad for the users, bad for the morale of all software companies, and bad for the industry. IMHO they were less like vultures, and more like first responders coming to the scene of an accident to try and keep the patient alive. Of course, they also hoped that over the long run, Sonar users would find their programs a suitable replacement. Edited June 5 by Craig Anderton 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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