Gibson kills Cakewalk

Help!I'maRock!

Help!I'maRock!

Mediocringly Derivative
http://www.cakewalk.com/Gibson-Announcement

November 17, 2017
GIBSON BRANDS ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING CAKEWALK, INC.

Gibson Brands announced today that it is ceasing active development and production of Cakewalk branded products. The decision was made to better align with the company’s acquisition strategy that is heavily focused on growth in the global consumer electronics audio business under the Philips brand.

Cakewalk has been an industry leader in music software for over 25 years by fusing cutting-edge technology with creative approaches to tools that create, edit, mix, and publish music for professional and amateur musicians. Gibson Brands acquired Cakewalk in 2013.

Gibson Brands, a growing company in the music and sound industries, was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Gibson Brands is a global leader in musical instruments, consumer electronics, and professional audio, and is dedicated to bringing the finest experiences to consumers by offering exceptional products with world- recognized brands.
 
2 things I learned from that. First Gibson owned Cakewalk and second, that Cakewalk was still around. I had it years ago when I first tried to record with my computer, but I thought Garageband, Logic and ProTools killed it years ago.
 
At the risk of alienating Henry haters, I am trying to be sanguine and understand this: we are eliminating a software brand to focus on a hardware brand.

A hardware brand that, to my knowledge, has not been growing. What am I missing? Is Phillips about to launch the next 'have to have' smart phone?
 
Danhedonia said:
At the risk of alienating Henry haters, I am trying to be sanguine and understand this: we are eliminating a software brand to focus on a hardware brand.

A hardware brand that, to my knowledge, has not been growing. What am I missing? Is Phillips about to launch the next 'have to have' smart phone?
Click to expand...

Teac
 
So, did they at least try to sell it before killing it? It’s not like they already had an in-house competitive product. Surely they could have gotten a few shackles out of it.
 
Gibson kills lots of things. Normally they do it without making an announcement though. Typically they will acquire something then just kill it. There are many examples but two would be Kramer and Garrison.
 
To look at it from a more objective POV...

There is a glut of DAW programs on the market...Ableton, Steinberg, MOTU, PreSonus, Propellerhead, and Avid Pro Tools (which probably outsells all the others combined)...so they're really not giving up an area in which they control a large share of the market...

I don't really see much to get in a huff about here...
 
Ugh. Cakewalk was where I started, way back when it fit on a few floppy disks and was primarily MIDI-based. I used Sonar for years and my dad STILL does. I'm sure he'll be bummed.
 
jelloman said:
To look at it from a more objective POV...

There is a glut of DAW programs on the market...Ableton, Steinberg, MOTU, PreSonus, Propellerhead, and Avid Pro Tools (which probably outsells all the others combined)...so they're really not giving up an area in which they control a large share of the market...

I don't really see much to get in a huff about here...
Click to expand...

Cakewalk/Sonar hasn't been a major player in the DAW market for well over a decade really. So many others that are cheaper, more stable (imo) and easier to use.
Doubt there will be too many people missing that DAW.
 
I used to use Cakewalk, but now I use Cubase.

Just wondering, how many brands has Gibson bought & killed?
 
jelloman said:
To look at it from a more objective POV...

There is a glut of DAW programs on the market...Ableton, Steinberg, MOTU, PreSonus, Propellerhead, and Avid Pro Tools (which probably outsells all the others combined)...so they're really not giving up an area in which they control a large share of the market...

I don't really see much to get in a huff about here...
Click to expand...

On the surface, you are 100% correct; however, I'm sure most of the outcry is about another seemingly boneheaded business move more than the actual death of Cakewalk. BTW, per the links below, the purchase of CW preceded ANOTHER boneheaded business move:

http://cdm.link/2017/11/gibson-just-killed-cakewalk-philips/

https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/n...o-sell-WOOX-Innovations-to-Gibson-Brands.html

So, in 2013 Henry buys Cakewalk from Roland for an undisclosed sum, with an intent to use CW to help develop and bolster pro audio lines, but then the next year, buys WOOX Innovations (Philips A/V and multimedia subsidiary) from Philips for $135 MILLION :facepalm:, plus a licensing fee for the (I assume) Philips brand for said products.

In essence, in less than a year, Henry wastes money on one company, only to basically render that company obsolete by making a BIGGER waste of money - not to mention that Gibson has had money problems for a LONG time.

Somehow, the only way it makes sense is if he can take a bigger accounting loss on CW than if he sold it outright; either way, he is absolutely delusional in general, and has absolutely no fucking clue in running that business.
 
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