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Cakewalk ceases production (free versions of Sonar for Windows and Mac available)

Posted: Nov 21, 2017 2:39 pm
by Guy Rowland
Yikes!

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2017/ ... -products/

I grew up on Sonar. Does this mean they are looking for new buyers or is it the end?

(thanks to Anders for the heads up)

Re: Cakewalk ceases production

Posted: Nov 21, 2017 4:30 pm
by catsass
After 30 years of Cakewalk's long and illustrious history, I am saddened to announce that we ceased new product development and reduced overall operations this past Friday. You can read the formal announcement from Gibson here, which states that this decision was made in order to align with the company’s acquisition strategy, focused on growth in the global consumer electronics audio business.

Working at Cakewalk has been an incredibly positive experience for all of us who worked here. This can largely be attributed to the incredible people who worked here, past and present. I've been at Cakewalk 19 years and I've never come across a more dedicated and talented group of people. Our greatest motivation was the joy in producing software for an astonishingly passionate base of artists, musicians and producers who used our software to create music on a daily basis.

So what does this mean for you, our loyal customers who've been with us all these years? Cakewalk's servers will continue to operate, you will still have access to all of your online assets, and your software will continue to work normally. A dedicated team has been established during this transition period to continue to serve the Cakewalk community. Monthly updates to SONAR from Cakewalk will however cease during this time. We will continue to post notifications to keep you informed with any relevant developments. A sincere thank you to everyone in the Cakewalk community.

Sincerely,
Noel Borthwick
CTO, Cakewalk

http://www.cakewalk.com/announcement

Re: Cakewalk ceases production

Posted: Nov 21, 2017 4:50 pm
by Lawrence
Having been through the end of Opcode (and still mourning Vision) my guess is that this is the end of the road.

Re: Cakewalk ceases production

Posted: Nov 21, 2017 5:51 pm
by Guy Rowland
I think you're right Larry. I've always had a soft spot for Sonar, it got a lot of things really right. Reading around, it seems like its end has a lot more to do with Gibson's perilous finances than anything else. It's a cruel world.

Re: Cakewalk ceases production

Posted: Nov 21, 2017 6:29 pm
by heisenberg
Guy Rowland wrote:...it seems like its end has a lot more to do with Gibson's perilous finances than anything else. It's a cruel world.
When it was announced that Gibson bought Cakewalk, I said to myself why? Strategic purchase? No!!

Sure came to an end fast. Time between acquisition and burying the company and it's product line was not very long at all. Tragic and a pity.

Re: Cakewalk ceases production

Posted: Nov 21, 2017 10:31 pm
by JBacal
I used Cakewalk and Sonar for many productive years. It did many things very well. Sad.

Re: Cakewalk ceases production

Posted: Nov 21, 2017 10:54 pm
by tack
Kinda sad, yeah. My very first experience using computers with music was on Cakewalk in the grade 9 music lab at my high school, almost 30 years ago. Alas, competition is fierce.

Re: Cakewalk ceases production

Posted: Jan 20, 2018 12:41 pm
by Guy Rowland
This is interesting - looks like they made Home Studio free, and also an Alpha for a Mac version. For Home Studio go here - http://forum.cakewalk.com/Free-copy-of- ... 18860.aspx . For the Mac Alpha, go here - https://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR-Mac-Prototype