Goodbye Cakewalk by BandLab, Hello Cakewalk Sonar

This post is primarily about BandLab's introduction of Cakewalk Sonar and the phasing out of Cakewalk by BandLab, and what that means for current Cakewalk by BandLab users. I will post later about my own experience concerning the products.

As of the June 2025 update to Cakewalk by BandLab, BandLab has introduced a Free Tier version of Cakewalk Sonar. Previously, Sonar was only available through a paid BandLab Membership subscription. With the introduction of a Free version of Sonar, BandLab is phasing out its predecessor Cakewalk by BandLab. But the expiration date for Cakewalk by BandLab is quickly approaching and will soon be as useful on your PC as chunky milk in the fridge.

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"Cakewalk by BandLab will no longer support activation renewal after August 1, 2025. Existing installations will continue to work until their activation period expires, but no new activations will be possible after that date." Source: https://www.cakewalk.com/sonar#FAQ

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In other words, Cakewalk periodically reactivates your license (as it asked me to do last night when I installed the July update). You are required to sign in to your BandLab account to reactivate the license. As long as your license to Cakewalk by BandLab remains active you can continue to use it. However, if your activation expires sometime after August 1, you will not be able to reactivate it, and thus not be able to use it.

But exactly when will current activations expire? Will they expire on August 1? Days, weeks, or months later? Who knows? Not me. Who Cares? Not BandLab.

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"Existing Cakewalk by BandLab users are encouraged to transition to Cakewalk Sonar for the best experience and support."

"If you find value in Cakewalk Sonar and use it frequently, please consider purchasing a Membership to support its continued development and innovation."

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Don't worry, your existing projects will continue to work in the new Sonar version. However, there are some things you need to know.

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"The free tier includes the core functionality of Cakewalk by BandLab, adding many new features and enhancements. It is designed to provide a robust experience for music production without requiring a Membership subscription. Premium features are available with the purchase of BandLab Membership."

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So, all your projects will continue to work in the new Sonar version, but if those projects include any of the now "premium features", you will need a paid subscription to use those features in your project.

What exactly are the "premium features"?

The "premium features" that were previously available in Cakewalk by BandLab include Elastique Pro, Plugin Oversampling, POW-R Dithering, Multiple Arranger Tracks, Overloud TH-U Guitar Amp and FX Modeling, and ProChannel Modules. If your existing projects use any of these then you will need a paid subscription to continue using these features. Otherwise, you will have to continue your project without them. Honestly, the only one I will miss is ProChannel. But there are plenty of plugins available by other developers that do the same thing. I didn't have access to the ProChannel features when Roland owned it and I purchased the lower-tier Music Creator versions; I'll do just fine without it now.

New "premium features" include Track Manager, Jump-to-track, and BandLab Sounds, none of which I'm willing to pay $179 a year for (right now they are offering it for $79 for a limited time, but will renew annually at the regular price, which just like all subscriptions, is subject to change).

Personally, seeing the soon to expire date on my current version of Cakewalk by BandLab, I have only recently downloaded and installed Sonar and explored it a little. I will post something more later after I have used it for a while and can give it an honest review.

Feel free to post your cheers and jeers below! 😉 If you're a Reaper fan, I'm surprised you read this far before commenting. (You know who you are! 🤣) Happy Producing!

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