Masterclass- After one year of membership

So, are we going to renew our membership for another year?

With less than 3 weeks remaining in our yearlong Masterclass membership, we’re reflecting on the year that was and trying to decide if we’re going to renew or not. And here’s are musings.

What have we learnt?

Well, to be honest with you, we haven’t learnt much actually. With Gordon Ramsay we didn’t try any of his recipes or cooking techniques, but we did take up his advice and bought ourselves a good large saucepan- and these days this is the only cooking implement we use for everything! While all the other lessons we sat through, it was all nice to know but it also highlighted the fact that we’d never be like our Masterclass instructors. Because: A-We’re not as gifted as them; B- We’ll never have the same amount of time to devote to one single craft (as we do have day jobs); and C- We’re just not as obsessive about one single thing like they are! So, in the end, we haven’t really learnt anything, but have only solidified in our minds that we’ll never ever truly master anything. Nooo! And after the first month when I had already consumed 6 courses, I had to physically restrain myself from binging anymore. As the end result was that I wanted to buy all the gear that they had- case-in-point, I was 80% on my way in buying new DJ turntables after completing Questlove’s course. Until I made myself wait 3 months and re-consider then, and at that point, I realised that I just didn’t have the time to muck around on decks anymore.

Were there any bumps along the way?

Yeah, part way through our Masterclass year, we just gave up on it. Partly due to the fact that we watched it during dinner time, this time which we usually devoted to Netflix/Disney+, and after a while we just wanted some “real” entertainment- something mindless and fictional. And then when we tried to get back into it in October, as we felt we weren’t getting our monies worth and the subscription was going to end soon, then the Masterclass app had some bug where we couldn’t cast it to the TV anymore. So that was another few months before we tried it again (FYI the bug in the app has been fixed now after a new version was pushed out to users). So realistically we probably only used it for 5 months of 12.

How many courses did we actually finish?

I think I only completed 10 Masterclasses, perhaps 12 by the time we attempt to smash it out in the next 3 weeks. So that averages out to one per month, so more than $30 per course. Which is pretty cheap if you’re attending a community  based interest group in person over several weeks. But pretty pricy if it’s an online class, which is produced for mass consumption (which it is).

Have we got our monies worth?

For the 2 aforementioned reasons alone, i.e., only using it for less than half a year, and not using it enough so that each course was costing upwards of 30 bucks, I’d say we didn’t get our monies worth. But while saying that, I’ve noticed that they now have a new tiered pricing structure, and the single access cost is half as much as it was a year ago (advertised for $180, compared to paying upwards of $300 Australian dollars last year). So, if we were on this new pricing structure, would it be worth it? Yeah, it probably would have been, but based on the old cost (paid up front). We didn’t get our monies worth.

Would we renew for another year?

Hmmm, at first I was going to say definitely not. The classes had been fun and interesting enough, but not as educational as we initially hoped it to be. Just because 95% of things which were taught, were at a level which was way beyond what a mere mortal could ever achieve. And the new classes which have been uploaded since we’ve joined, have moved away from the original essence of Masterclass, but now they’re more on the lines of an extended version of a TED talk- and you can watch that stuff for free.

But with this new pricing structure, of $180 for a single user….. It has me thinking…… “Could we do this all over again for another year? And I think it all comes down to, is this $180 US or Aussie dollars (as this same exact amount has been quoted on both US and Australian web-sites). And you truly don’t know, until you get your bill from your credit card company. So, if this amount is US, after conversion and all the fees, it’s going to add up to near $300+ Aussie dollars again. For that same price, I’m out. But if that $180 is in Aussie dollars? I could be enticed to hang onto Masterclass for another year.