Good news A Free version of Sonar

[John Vere]

Sort of kept secret from the public for now but this is good news for those of us long time fans who have changed Daw’s due to the Membership fiasco. 
I would love to continue using Sonar but due to not having confidence in the future I was not going to renew my membership next month. 
 

I also am not interested in Cakewalk as it’s unsupported and could be deleted any time. 
So this situation had me reluctantly returning to Platinum. 
 

This new option will give me access to the supported version. I was hoping that someday Sonar would come available as a lifetime option but this is a very good solution for me.
 

Thank you who ever came up with the idea. 
 

Having a free version ( not Cakewalk) is a great way to get new users involved. Waveform has this option. 

I would imagine that the next step is to remove Cakewalk as I don’t see any point in keeping it now. 

Edited Friday at 05:50 PM by John Vere

[Canopus]

Welcome back from the dark side, John.

[John Vere]

The following is offered as constructive criticism. You guys REALLY need to fix Sonars web presence. 

I had a heck of a time finding out about installing this free version. 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 08:03 PM by John Vere
Remove rant

[sycle1]

Good to see you back John.

 

[John Vere]

I never left. John was booted out last July, I then was SockMonkey , he got booted out last March ( you’ll see him marked as Guest) and so now im back and trying really hard to behave myself! 
 

 

[Glenn Stanton]

yeah! stop using words like "helpful tutorial videos to make your experience of Cakewalk the best it can be" and other harsh things...

Edited Saturday at 03:37 PM by Glenn Stanton

[John Vere]

Speaking of helpful Tutorials. I made a video to show everyone how easy it is to install it. It's actually the normal Sonar installer, not a separate one. That was my problem! So here I unlock the mystery of the hidden treasure. 

It's absolutely very good news. Good move Bandlab and Sonar team! 

 

[EnglandBross]

but is it free only for a month ?
I see an expiring date .. 22.07.2025 ... and after ...?

[TracingArcs]

22 minutes ago, EnglandBross said:

but is it free only for a month ?
I see an expiring date .. 22.07.2025 ... and after ...?

You just need to ensure you are online and signed in or around that date. It will renew for another month as CWbB does at present.

[DeeringAmps]

1 hour ago, EnglandBross said:

I see an expiring date .. 22.07.2025

That’s a good thing! In my case I have to bring my studio rig in the house and get it on the internet. That was the biggest reason for me to go with the subscription. 
t

[Bristol_Jonesey]

1 hour ago, DeeringAmps said:

That’s a good thing! In my case I have to bring my studio rig in the house and get it on the internet. That was the biggest reason for me to go with the subscription. 
t

Get yourself a little wireless dongle. Saves lugging equipment from one place to another

[John Vere]

My video already helped sign someone up! Read the comments. 
Offering this free version is a brilliant idea and will help bring people back. 
It will also help move people away from Cakewalk as now they have a supported and vastly improved version to use under the same conditions. 
 

It also is incentive for me to make new videos. 
It’s a sign that possibly they do have a marketing strategy. Haven’t seen anything yet unfortunately. This is a sign now to me that is a game changer. 

Edited 21 hours ago by John Vere

[504 lover lover]

47 minutes ago, John Vere said:

possibly they do have a marketing strategy

not for sonar/cbb/whateveritscalledthisweek, only for bandlab,  sonar/cbb/whateveritscalledthisweek is just a component so doesn't get its own push

[Bristol_Jonesey]

35 minutes ago, 504 lover lover said:

not for sonar/cbb/whateveritscalledthisweek, only for bandlab,  sonar/cbb/whateveritscalledthisweek is just a component so doesn't get its own push

Sonar is not CbB. Why are you conflating the 2? 

Saying "whateveritscalledthisweek" is also a bit weird. The names have never changed since being announced.

[John Vere]

This is a weird one. The guy who commented on my Video was right. He went to install Free Sonar and got full version at a discount. I assumed the $99. I wanted to see if I had Cakewalk installed which of it's included content would port over to Sonar. 

I used my laptop for this as I don't like installing anything I don't need on my main Daw. After installation when I opened Cakewalk an Orange toast said

"Sonar is your next Step- Explore the free tier or get the full access for a year with an exclusive offer just for you" 

being curious I clicked the link and the below screen showed me I could get a year for only $49.  

So I guess this is a push to win over the holdouts. It would seem this deal is only available once again to new members and is targeted directly at Cakewalk users. 

 

[Mr No Name]

go for it, it will be the best $49 you ever spent.

[Glenn Stanton]

hmmmm maybe somehow, someone is finally listening? probably peeking at the forums... 

[Charles Czerny]

Okay, so I have been paying my monthly $14.95 subscription and just paid for July 2025.

Do I have to first cancel my Sonar subscription, then reinstall SOnar using the steps John Vere explains?

When I accessed Sonar earlier today I got a large banner box telling me that I can get Sonar for free or see my special offer for an annual subscription. Just login to Bandlab.

So I did that but when logged into Bandlab there was no message, link, or anything about Sonar. Totally confused. I take from a previous comment that only new subscribers can get a $49 annual subscription for a year.

Since I now have a side job working 5 days a week, I have little time to work on music, so the free option sounds perfect and like John said, was planning to cancel my subscription (when I find where to do that) and then restart when I have time to spend on music again.

Appreciate any help.

Edited 12 hours ago by Charles Czerny
addon

[John Vere]

20 minutes ago, Charles Czerny said:

Since I now have a side job working 5 days a week, I have little time to work on music, so the free option sounds perfect and like John said, was planning to cancel my subscription (when I find where to do that) and then restart when I have time to spend on music again.

This is what happened to me last year. I started paying monthly in February 2024 and then July came along and they had the  half price sale. When I logged in I couldn't figure out how to purchase the whole year for the sale price. A few others on the forum here had same issue. So we asked staff and they said that sadly the offer was for brand new users only and loyal long time users pay the full price. That's right, you got it. So much for15 years of  loyalty. That's why I deleted my Cakewalk tutorials, I was that P---d off. I was vocal about this and got silenced on the forum. 

But I was not about to give up and I became a new Member "Sock Monkey"  and bought the year.  John Vere is not a member anymore and can possibly get the  $50 deal.  Same as a year ago,  However-- It's still the whole Membership idea just doesn't sit well with me  after how they treated me last year. 

That said -- however- I highly recommend Cakewalk users make the switch and I also encourage people to support Sonar so it can find it's way back on the charts again.   I personally will pay them $300 for a license that is not going to expire in a year. In other words, I 100% support Sonar and the developers, NOT Bandlab.  

Like Charles just said, I find myself with very little time to spend recording right now and I would rather own software that doesn't expire. Or I can just use this free version because as far as I can tell it's all I need. And I have lots of great Daw's I can also use. 

Edited 11 hours ago by John Vere

[T Boog]

14 minutes ago, John Vere said:

 I personally will pay them $300 for a license that is not going to expire in a year

Me too 👍