How Is Cakewalk by BandLab and BandLab free?

How is Cakewalk by BandLab free? What is the BandLab business model? What is the difference between Cakewalk and BandLab? Is Cakewalk by BandLab any good?

These are questions I am asked quite frequently, and in this video I am going to answer them all!

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁:

𝗠𝗶𝘅 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀:

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 - 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗸𝘀:

𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼:

𝗚𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱:

𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱:
#Cakewalk #BandLab #Free

[JohnnyF]

It's so great to see such passionate support for Cakewalk by Bandlab 🙌🏼 It's a brilliant daw and I love it even more whenever it gets dumped on by users of supposedly cooler software 😂 More than happy to let others spend hundreds on their daws while I invest that cash in actual instruments 😊

[tmarkrogers]

I've used Cakewalk (30 years on and off) since the early days of its inception around 1990 and paid for various versions along the way. When Cakewalk/Sonar was on the brink of collapse I was so relieved to read that Bandlab was going to save it, and not only that, offer it for free. The goals of Bandlab that you have outlined in this video are commendable. But even more wonderful is the work that YouTube channels such as yours, Robert, and Creative Sauce (Mike), have done to support Cakewalk users. You have been invaluable to me (a very amateur musician and IT challenged individual) in educating and explaining Cakewalk's development in recent years. Thank you.👍

[steveburger]

Extremely interesting! Thanks for doing your homework and sharing it with us! I love Cakewalk by BandLab!

[musicoftheuniverse]

Finally, all my questions were answered. :) Thank you very much.

[BirdYoumans]

I whole heartedly concur. I've been using it since it's original cakewalk days, then largely for it's midi sequencer. But then computers got much faster and ram got much cheaper enabling us to actually record audio directly to it on our computer. Heaven. I paid 5 or 6 hundred, don't remember now, for sonar (cakewalk) and it's producer package, and if I had it to do over again, would do it again. It just works. I see a lot of other people talking about how tricky it is to get plugins to work with their DAW and I'm wondering to myself, don't they know about Cakewalk by band lab? Once I learned how to install plugins from the internet, I've never had any problem with them working. I do have a good computer and I'm sure that helps, but why fight it? This thing is free now. Hard to believe.

[larryguthrie]

Cakewalk/Sonar Platinum user since 2004... Cakewalk by Bandlab is better now than it ever was before Bandlab took it over. Frequent updates and quick to respond to any questions or concerns. I had my doubts in the beginning but I am a committed user now. Totally pro. Your video has made me realize that there is a lot more to Bandlab than just Cakewalk. Thanks.

[neiles]

Thanks so much for the explanation. Moving from Reaper (which I've found complex and 'buggy') to another DAW, Cakewalk, is a bit intimidating, and I couldn't figure out what Bandlab was about but this helps clarify it.

[Stonesilk-Music]

Without a doubt the best DAW available. As others here have already mentioned I'm also a multiple decade Sonar/Bandlab user. After the Gibson debacle I seriously considered migrating to Studio One or Pro Tools. I quickly found out there were many features that I took for granted in Cakewalk that are difficult to navigate to on other platforms.

[ToreHansen]

Had several crash with ¤%%% live, used this for almost 5 months with no crash, and got all I need! Great video!

[MarcosKleineoficial]

I use cakewalk since 96. I love it and the new updates and the new features are amazing.
Great video! Regards from Brasil 🎸

[johnhickscomposer]

I have been a Sonar user since 2004 and migrated to Cakewalk by Bandlab after the takeover. It is so enabling that the software is free, it is one of the most featured DAWs around and can hold it's own with the likes of Logic and Cubase. The fact that Bandlab have committed to continued development is also great, the recent tempo track was a godsend to my workflow! The bonus of such good free software is that you can spend your money on decent sample libraries, controllers, mics, etc. Thank you for your informative videos!

[kwameryan]

Sonar was actually my very first DAW and I did a lot of important early work in my career on it. I stopped using DAWs for a while and in the interim I became a Mac user, so that the next time I needed a DAW, I migrated to Logic and missed so many things about Sonar during the steep learning curve. When I recently found out by chance that Sonar was back as Cakewalk by Bandlab and was soooo happy! I cancelled my order of a Macbook Pro and Mac Studio that I was going to use with Logic and am about to build myself a killer PC to use with CbB. I‘m stoked to see how much content is on your channel about its features, and between you and Mike at Creative Sauce, I think getting back into it is going to be a breeze. The best part so far has been to see that the features I loved about Logic, like vocal comping and the tempo track have been added to CbB, and I actually like the implementation of articulation sets on CbB way better. Beyond stoked!

[ericmclaughlinericmclaughl]

I'm about to download it and try it free for the first time. Be right back!

[jconrad]

Interesting video - Im a pro-tools/cubase kinda guy, but I am hearing more and more people using Cakewalk.. this video has made me think about having a look at it.

[juergen_b]

Thank you Robert! This video answers some big questions. It's great that you had the chance to get the information at first hand from the CEO. Let's hope that their business model pays off. Cakewalk is such a great tool and I love that it is free.

[mwmcbroom]

I've been a cakewalk user for over 20 years and was extremely relieved to hear that bandlab had picked up the orphaned cakewalk. It's worth mentioning that, not only did bandlab pick up cakewalk, but they have committed to continue to roll out improvements to the DAW, such that it is now substantially better than the original Sonar Platinum.

[PAL-MUSIC-]

been using Cakewalk for the past few months and it's absolutely brilliant, the odd audio dropout but hey its free, so I have no issues with it, I use it every day and built up a nice collection of VSTs.... thanks for your videos they are very interesting.... 👍🏼

[PAL-MUSIC-]

been using Cakewalk for the past few months and it's absolutely brilliant, also use cubasis on ios, which I can record and then transfer to Cakewalk....! the odd audio dropout but hey its free, so I have no issues with it, I use it every day and built up a nice collection of VSTs.... thanks for your videos they are very interesting.... 👍🏼

[spookbones]

Another interesting and informative video. Thank you.

[RobertWGreaves]

I started with Cakewalk Apprentice Version 1 which was a freebie that came with a MIDI cable I bought to control my soundblaster card with a MIDI keyboard. That was an eye opener. I have purchased every single upgrade up through SONAR X3. Even though I had to use Pro Tolls as a professor of Sound Engineering for 15 years, Cakewalk remains my DAW of choice.