I could always go back to iTunes……but that’s like comparing apples and oranges and I have always maintained that iTunes could not carry Roon’s jock strap….but at this point it’s a known quantity unlike the current state of Roon.
For the moment I’ve rolled back to 1.8 Legacy and will see how that goes. Thankfully I delayed pulling the trigger on a lifetime licence and have now downgraded my annual subscription to monthly until the dust settles and I decide whether to continue with Roon. If I decide to return to the fold in a few months the cost differential is minimal.
I have alternatives since I own several Bluesound and NAD devices and can ‘fallback’ to BluOS. I also own a lifetime licence to Audirvana 3.5 which allows me to playback through a computer attached to a DAC. Neither of these is ideal as Roon runs circles around them in terms of SQ, multi-device support, DSP and of course meta-data and music discovery.
If the comments on this community forum are any indication most users are thrilled with ARC and Roon 2.0 and those of us who want control of our local libraries without always on internet are in the minority.
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Once again its highly unlikely Roon will announce their plans as last time they did they were hammered for not achieving the deadline, software development is a complex art. This is their STATED policy !!
After all other than looking for Beta testers they only hinted at Roon 2 a week or so ahead when they were sure of the release date !!
In terms of fallback as per the OP, I still (and always have) maintained my legacy JRiver library . Admittedly mainly for video but my local audio files are still in their and in some cases better accessible than in Roon (Back to BOX SET). My streamer supports RAAT and UPnP/DLNA so I am fit to go.
That said I am 100% committed to Roon for audio , I converted to ROCK/NUC and recently bought a Roon Ready streamer. I suppose I could install Windows on the NUC come the day .
I am one who worries about the Always On Internet given South Africa’s current electricity woes . Must turn off now the internet is about to GO 
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I never wanted to depend on just one system. Before I became a Roon-user two years ago I used Apple Music combined with Audirvana 3.5. My Apple Music library runs on my second NAS. It’s still operational. When I add music to my collection I add them both to my Apple Music Library and to the Roonserver.
So this way I can fall back on the old system anytime necessary. I prefer working with Roon (much more versatile), but when I would be in need of an alternative it would be Audirvana. It’s sound quality is excellent (and that’s the heart of the matter to me when it comes to enjoying my music).
I bought an Innuos server for Roon, but now use it standalone with Innuos Sense in my main system. I have about 10 zones run from a Roon Core on QNAP, although most of them have Amazon HD built in and I can them voice controlled with Alexa. They are now also recognised by Innuos using uPnP. The only issue that switching Innuos from standalone mode (using usb) to uPnP requires a restart. Everything except my main system also has Spotify built in, which my wife uses a lot.
So it really seems how up-to-date your audio products are and what you subscribe to, as well as what you listen to (library music, streamed music, podcasts, radio). I am currently listening to a podcast on BBC Sounds via AirPlay through my office speakers, as Roon does not do podcasts.
So Roon is only one of several systems in use here, I could easily live without it, and Innuos Sense has overtaken Roon for my main system and has is just getting better on the domestic front.
Vinyl is also used a lot here.
Everything I have is replicated in Tidal and local files are in Apple Music.
I can use BBC sounds on SONOS for radio.
I’d only really miss the interface but musically the world would carry on…
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For clarity, this really doesn’t relate to what I said. It isn’t about Roon stating software update release dates, it’s about what Roon would do for “Lifers”, if anything, should they close up shop. That’s what their statement in 2015 was addressing. It would be nice to know whether that statement is still true or not.
PS - I started a thread about this as to not derail this thread. 
Sorry I misread your post. I agree full time internet access worries me .
Ironically just this evening my internet failed while watching Netflix, only for 20 minutes but it highlights the problem.
Currently we are losing power supply 2 or 3 times daily , it just depends whether my loss coincides with ISP power supply loss. This probably what happened this evening
Maybe @danny will assuage our fears yet again , I still don’t understand what is being moved to the cloud and why.
Fortunately I maintain annual membership, I missed life at the start and it doesn’t seem appropriate now.
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I still maintain a UPnP server to serve my Naim NDS Network player.
I can use the Naim App and functionality.
The Asset UPnP scans the same NAS based library, as the Roon Core does.
Not as good, nice or functional as Roon but I would be without music playback. Never mind the Record player and all the Vinyl.
Well.
If roon dies somehow I will probably go with Audirvana but as long as roon is here - I am here to stay (lifetime subscriber).
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Yes, Audirvana would be my fallback if Roon were to fold. In fact it would be the older version of Audirvana which I own (v3.50 IIRC). Audirvana has a decent remote as well.
One catch here is that I have moved the computer source from the living room - using a NUC with ROCK in my office. So no USB possible. If I were to move to Audirvana I would probably have to play to my dCS Rossini via UPnP, which Audirvana can do, but I don’t know how good it sounds or whether it’s reliable.
As for momentary internet outtages, my fallback is MinimServer+dCS Mosaic to play local files which works great.
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My fallback would be HQPlayer Client since I am already using HQPlayer Desktop as the playback engine for Roon. The UI is a little funky but it is usable…
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I would find it upsetting if Roon were no longer available but I choose not to worry about it. In the unlikely event that it happens, there are plenty of other (not so good) options.
The only essential is to have a few backups of your own music files - mainly due to the fact that HDDs have a relatively high failure rate rather than any malicious external attack.
I just got the lifetime Plex Pass (so I can use Plexamp) after the Roon 2.0 update as a backup.
Did you try Plex without internet? I heard it’s possible, but I couldn’t get it working (but I only use it for video, maybe it’s easier to set up to work without internet for audio only).
Hi, Danny. Yes, Plexamp works without internet for me. That is, I can stream/play my local albums to/on my Plexamp endpoints. I also tried it with Roon. The remote apps opened on both my iPhone and Mac. Understandably, home just had my recent activity and a lot of missing album art. I could also navigate to the Discover page. And I could play my local files as well. I haven’t tested for how long exactly though. We had a 2-hour internet outage last weekend, and I was able to play music using both Plexamp and Roon.
Edit: I forgot to say that with a power outage/server restart, Roon stopped working for me, but Plexamp still worked.
Hi @JIm_F , sorry a bit late. I was prompted by this to relook Audirvana as my sub has run out.
Audirvana Origin works only with Local Files AFAIK , and we know you have none !!
You would have to go Studio subscription to get streaming services or stick with your old 3.5 license
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The wife? 
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Well my fallback for today has been Spotify (sorry Team Roon).
Murphy’s Law, had an outage of internet at 3am, had to reset ISP’s one piece box and forgot to put it back to modem mode for I left for work at 6am. No Room Arc today. 