Cakewalk, maker of leading DAW application SONAR, has announced an expansion of their strategic relationship with Roland. According to the company, this is the natural progression of a relationship that goes back more than a decade. In 1995 Roland began distributing Cakewalk products in Japan. In 2003 Roland invested in Cakewalk to help fund the development and marketing of joint products. At that time they also started distributing Cakewalk products in many markets outside the US. Now in 2008, Roland is increasing their investment in Cakewalk, and together the two firms are committed to creating a series of impressive software/hardware joint products.

“Although Roland now owns a bigger share of Cakewalk, they didn’t acquire the whole company. Cakewalk is not becoming a ‘division’ of Roland,” explained Greg Hendershott, Cakewalk's Founder & CEO, in a letter to customers.

“On the contrary, we remain committed to developing stand-alone software, as well as hardware/software products. We’re updating our logo today, to prepare you for seeing it on some very exciting joint products in the months and years ahead. Cakewalk knows how to make outstanding software. Roland knows how to make outstanding hardware. Together we can make a big difference in the world of music and audio creation and production.”

Hed added, “I deeply value the relationships that we have built with you over the years. Our mission is to provide you with the best software and hardware tools for music and audio production. That hasn’t changed and we will continue to look to you, our customers, for your important feedback. Our discussion forum will remain open. You will have the same high level of technical support and customer service you have come to expect from Cakewalk. And furthermore, we will stay committed to our belief in open standards, collaboration with other leaders in our industry, and not using intrusive copy protection.”

About Cakewalk
Cakewalk is the world’s leading developer of powerful, yet easy to use products for music creation and recording: Award-winning Digital Audio Workstations and Sequencers, Integrated Music Hardware and Software Solutions, Innovative Virtual Instruments and Effects, and Entry-level Consumer Products.

Millions of musicians around the world choose Cakewalk products to produce audio for the professional music, film, broadcast, and video game industries. These customers include Grammy and Emmy-winning producers, composers, sound designers, and engineers. www.cakewalk.com.

[tags]Twelve Tone Systems, Cakewalk software and Roland, CEO Greg Hendershott[/tags]