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Could Microsoft Acquire Cakewalk Music Software?
I use Cakewalk Sonar, a Digital Audio Workstation. I use it on Windows 7. In November 2017, Gibson Guitars (which owns Cakewalk) announced that they would no longer be developing and supporting Cakewalk. This means it is basically a dead DAW, if you'll pardon the pun. Since the news, users have been scrambling to find other software to use, save their projects, clone their hard drives to preserve what they have; etc.
One big area of speculation is whether Gibson will sell Cakewalk, which is of course what users are desperately hoping for. The worst outcome is they use it as a tax write off, which will officially kill it forever. One company that has been mentioned is Microsoft. Apple has a free DAW, Garage Band, that is bundled with the operating system. But for 200$ you can upgrade to Logic. So, the analogy is that Microsoft could bundle Sonar Home Studio with Windows, and offer Sonar Professional or Platinum as upgrades.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how likely this might be? There have been hints that a transition is taking place, and that "there's a good chance for a positive outcome," to quote Noel Borthwick of Gibson/Cakewalk. While this remark is encouraging, it doesn't really say much. "A good outcome" might mean that Gibson will continue to authorize new installs of the software for a period of time, to allow users to find an alternative. Or it could mean that the software will be sold.
So, is this something Microsoft might do? Would there be any incentive, for example getting people to upgrade from Windows 7 and 8? I know Microsoft is a huge company, and this might not have any value to them. But we Sonar users are getting desperate. I have tried other software, and nothing but Sonar really works for me. If necessary, I will try to use it for ever, on Windows 7, disconnected from the internet. But that would be far from ideal.
Just looking for a ray of hope here.