PSA ArtistWorks 50% off Black Friday

[Skarsaune]

No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

There's no substitute for in-person teaching/lessons, but the ArtistWorks platform is darn near that, given that you submit videos of your playing for review by some top artists.

This 50% off sale isn't unusual; it seems to come up several times a year. It knocks down a $279 yearly membership to $140. Not a bad price for the amount of content and interaction available.

I just signed up for a third year of the Bryan Sutton Bluegrass guitar course; there are a number of others.

[Ralph124C41]

Thanks. I've been thinking about getting his course or the Brandon Johnson one.

I do have one question and I hate to go off on a tangent but I checked the website and I really don't see any policy that would say how I could get a refund or some adjustment if I agree to get a year's subscription. I mean what if I just don't like the sessions or something else? I know it includes the video submission but I would not use that. The only thing I can see in the policy is a statement about writing the company and asking for a refund and then ArtistWorks will consider my request.

[Skarsaune]

Originally Posted by Ralph124C41

Thanks. I've been thinking about getting his course or the Brandon Johnson one.

I do have one question and I hate to go off on a tangent but I checked the website and I really don't see any policy that would say how I could get a refund or some adjustment if I agree to get a year's subscription. I mean what if I just don't like the sessions or something else? I know it includes the video submission but I would not use that. The only thing I can see in the policy is a statement about writing the company and asking for a refund and then ArtistWorks will consider my request.

I wouldn't recommend signing up for a year and then asking for a refund, if you already know you're not going to do the video submissions. The videos, to me, are the big selling point of AW. I'm going to guess getting a refund might be troublesome. If it's not explicitly stated, then it's probably not something they normally do.

I've bought individual lessons from Brandon Johnson and gotten good use out of them. You might be better served by his stuff.

[SRL]

Well, here's what you get for your money:

The Bryan Sutton course:
* About 840 videos with a total duration of 54 hours
* Beginner, Intermediate and advanced courses
* About 245 PDF files of scales and songs
* About 545 .mp3 backing tracks

An additional set of shorter courses from other instructors with:
* 135 videos with another 12 hours of content
* 34 more PDF files and 62 backing tracks
* Courses are "jam workshop", "electric country guitar", "improv workshop", "ear training workshop" and "practice and warmup tips"

So it's quite a lot when you add it up, even if you don't submit any videos or watch any of other people's submissions (which aren't included in the above numbers) and read the comments.

Whether or not it's worth it to you really depends on how much time you have to dedicate to following along with the course and learning the material. But if you do, the cost in terms of dollars per hour is almost negligible.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by SRL

Well, here's what you get for your money:

The Bryan Sutton course:
* About 840 videos with a total duration of 54 hours
* Beginner, Intermediate and advanced courses
* About 245 PDF files of scales and songs
* About 545 .mp3 backing tracks

An additional set of shorter courses from other instructors with:
* 135 videos with another 12 hours of content
* 34 more PDF files and 62 backing tracks
* Courses are "jam workshop", "electric country guitar", "improv workshop", "ear training workshop" and "practice and warmup tips"

So it's quite a lot when you add it up, even if you don't submit any videos or watch any of other people's submissions (which aren't included in the above numbers) and read the comments.

Whether or not it's worth it to you really depends on how much time you have to dedicate to following along with the course and learning the material. But if you do, the cost in terms of dollars per hour is almost negligible.

I'm retired with no close family so I do have the time to do justice to the program.

I know you can purchase a monthly subscription without the video submission at a discount. I wonder why AWorks doesn't offer that option on the yearly plan too.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by Skarsaune

I wouldn't recommend signing up for a year and then asking for a refund, if you already know you're not going to do the video submissions. The videos, to me, are the big selling point of AW. I'm going to guess getting a refund might be troublesome. If it's not explicitly stated, then it's probably not something they normally do.

I've bought individual lessons from Brandon Johnson and gotten good use out of them. You might be better served by his stuff.

Yes I agree it would be hard to get a refund. I've read online where somebody asked for a refund and was offered a discount or something like that for another course ... but not his or her money back. And I agree that if a policy is not explicitly stated the company would be under no obligation at all to offer any refund.

And although I do agree the video submissions are a big selling point I still think the main point is having the lessons provided by a three-time Grammy-winning artist.

[Skarsaune]

Originally Posted by Ralph124C41

And although I do agree the video submissions are a big selling point I still think the main point is having the lessons provided by a three-time Grammy-winning artist.

And passionate teacher of flatpicking.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, by any means.

The video exchange is unique to my knowledge - personal and in-depth responses from that Grammy winner. I myself haven't used it a ton, but it's obvious he puts time and thought into his response.

$140 is two or three-ish in-person lessons from a local teacher. Getting hours and hours of content from artists like Sutton is a great deal, to me.