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Cakewalk (Sonar)membership ltd time offer, 99 USD / year


Pragi

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  • Pragi changed the title to Cakewalk (Sonar)membership ltd time offer, 99 USD / year

Still pondering if I wish to sign up for the subscription...long time Cakewalk users, any feedback? I've used since 1995, just not sure I wannt go the subscription route (again), as I have with a few companies (Izotope, for example). Tried to switch to Studio One years ago, just couldn't make it work like I wanted it to. Still would consider it, but I'm so old I find change very hard.

So is this new version worth the cost of membership? What say you!.

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I'm conflicted about this:

-on the one hand, Bandlab provided me (us) with Cakewalk by Bandlab for free for around 5 years and updated it;

-has Bandlab (not Gibson);  deserved it in the sense that I give something back because I saved a lot of money during that time.

-Sonar is simply my main DAW.

-Bandlab doesn't just offer the DAW;

on the other hand :

-I don't like subscription models;

I'm not interested in the Bandlab community;

I'm not interested in their other services like distribution; and I don't like to put everything like marketing, DAW, and advertising in one hand.

It's good that you ask me what I think about it so that I had to write my thoughts down.

My decision:
I will buy the Sonar subscription for one year, not knowing if the new Sonar is a big step forward in development.

Edited by Pragi
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3 hours ago, Dave Maffris said:

Still pondering if I wish to sign up for the subscription...long time Cakewalk users, any feedback? I've used since 1995, just not sure I wannt go the subscription route (again), as I have with a few companies (Izotope, for example). Tried to switch to Studio One years ago, just couldn't make it work like I wanted it to. Still would consider it, but I'm so old I find change very hard.

So is this new version worth the cost of membership? What say you!.

Seems a risk to backwards compatibility if I moved to the newest version if you stop the sub and need to move back to Cakewak, not sure if they released any guarantees on that.

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2 hours ago, Lee D said:

It would be nice to get a permanent license out of the subscription.  Or to have an option to buy Sonar.

They built up Sonar to be a sweetener to subscribe to their community and made a subscription the only way to get the product.  But the existing Cakewalk/Sonar user community wants nothing to do with the community and even less to do with subscriptions.

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You have to be careful what marketing you click on, if they have your credit card on file, I clicked on something to boost my song post, but it appears there is a charge for that . . . I got 4 likes and only 1 listen, I love the new Sonar version, and the new features, but the BandLab thing  is a disconnect for me so far . . .

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6 hours ago, Magic Russ said:

They built up Sonar to be a sweetener to subscribe to their community and made a subscription the only way to get the product.  But the existing Cakewalk/Sonar user community wants nothing to do with the community and even less to do with subscriptions.

I can't confirm that; there are some users in the Sonar/Cakewalk subforum who have purchased the subscription license.

The lack of backwards compatibility also gives me something to think about, but you should bounce everything before muxing a track so that you can then continue with CbB or other DAWs.

I still hope that the subscription License will in 1 or 2 years  change to a perpetual license  Bandlab announced the subscription with the words:

"this time" and

it's 99  USD a year only.

Edited by Pragi
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@Pragi projects created in the new Sonar can be opened in CbB and older versions of SONAR. The only thing will be, functionality available in new Sonar obviously can't be available in the older products. Solution once opened in the older product save as new name to preserve the new file.

Projects created in Cakewalk Pro Audio can be opened in any later versions of Cakewalk software called Sonar or Cakewalk by Bandlab. 

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6 minutes ago, Wookiee said:

@Pragi projects created in the new Sonar can be opened in CbB and older versions of SONAR. The only thing will be, functionality available in new Sonar obviously can't be available in the older products. Solution once opened in the older product save as new name to preserve the new file.

Projects created in Cakewalk Pro Audio can be opened in any later versions of Cakewalk software called Sonar or Cakewalk by Bandlab. 

@Wookie

Thank you for the clarification.

 

For me personally, that doesn't mean there's much to be said against a 1-year subscription, just to support Bandlab the way Bandlab did for me for 5 years.

 

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18 hours ago, DamienF said:

Wilmar International which is behind Banlab, is one of the world leader of palm oil, the main cause of deforestation in Asia ; so I'm ok to use Cakewalk for free, but I don't want to give any money to this company

If you set standards like that; what about Fender (Presonus belongs to their group)?

For decades, the best woods were harvested from the jungles of South America and Asia for Fender guitars, and why do you only think of the deforestation of the Asian forests when you have to pay for sonar?

You are customer of Bandlab, even if you may not be aware of it, but you are also supporting them by paying them through your use of the DAW - you generate online traffic aso.

Bandlab has already generated money from you.

 

One of the biggest manufacturers of biodiesel in the world, which is required for the creation of greener fuels, is Wilmar.

Furthermore, Wilmar. continuously raises its own criteria for the production of palm oils, as do the US, EU, and other countries. As a result, Wilma is one of the biggest producers and is the only focus of regulatory bodies.

just saying

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7 minutes ago, Pragi said:

It's good that you wrote that. I used to think that companies like Fender and Wilmar worked for free and just for fun. O.o

Nope we are suppose to treat them like a charity.

Just because I used a product for free doesn't give me any compulsion to try a year sub.   Not much different  to me than charity.

The best value of paid DAWs is Reaper.   I don't not need their pro license for $250 so should I buy it because "they've been good to me".

I think I already practice charity by purchasing upgrades of DAWs I rarely use.

Like yesterday - that $99 DAW upgrade that somehow seeped into this forum.

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If you like Cocko, go  and reap ...

3 hours ago, kitekrazy1 said:

Just because I used a product for free doesn't give me any compulsion to try a year sub.   Not much different  to me than charity.

That's right, but a gift like this creates a certain sympathy, so assuming you like the gift, right?

The best value of DAWs ist  CbB.

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