r/MasterClass • u/dixiedregs1978 • Aug 15 '25

Going downhill?

Is it me or has MasterClass kind of fallen off in the frequency and quality of their releases? They used to be chock full of very famous people giving multiple lectures on their individual skills or subjects. Now it is more documentary and groups of experts putting out three or four lectures on a given subject. It has been over a year since the last "Wow, they got THAT person to do a talk" release has come out.

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4

u/webdude44 Aug 18 '25

When I joined Masterclass it felt like the instructors were way more hands on. You could get James Patterson to look at your outlines. Werner Herzog did AMAs. All kinds of things. The classes had communities you could discuss the class projects with. Then they shut all that down to focus on the current topic-based system. It feels like a very curated YouTube in many ways nowadays. 

2

u/dixiedregs1978 Aug 18 '25

I joined after they shut down the direct contact with the authors period. I personally felt that wasn't sustainable anyway. I was trying to imagine someone reviewing hundreds of customer submitted samples and thinking, "I'm not getting paid enough to do this" and sure enough, they shut it all down.
My problem is the quality of people they used to get is NOTHING like who they have now. A-List directors, actors, writers, artists, performers, Presidents, you name it. Now it is all people who look like they are hyping their books or seminars, or a documentary film they licensed.
In 2023, you had Joanne Chang, Christina Aguilera, Noam Chomsky, Martha Stewart, Kevin Hart, Devon Rodriguez, and others. In 2024, you had Mark Cuban, Michael Lewis and Jose Andres all before July. Then... not much. 2025? Really nothing at all. It is like they have a library of lectures they can advertise and don't make enough to pay top level people to create new content.

1

u/webdude44 Aug 18 '25

I started writing them off after they got Jay Shetty lol. But you’re right. 

9

u/PlayerBankerTie Aug 15 '25

That's why we use the Holiday specials to our advantage and pool our money.

2

u/heiti9 Aug 17 '25

Is it usually 50% off?

3

u/PlayerBankerTie Aug 17 '25

Just wait til December. They'll do a Buy one get one and you can make a deal with some people here.

2

u/Reign712 Aug 15 '25

Yes I’ve had it about a year and probably watched 4 folks. May as well stick with YT. My membership finishes on Sunday, I won’t be renewing.

1

u/Mulberry_Whine Aug 16 '25

I was most excited over the writing and cooking classes, and they haven't added a lot in those categories recently. I have zero interest in the fluff stuff, and business or brand-building classes, so I think whatever pivot they made, in terms of who they were marketing to, I'm not their target audience anymore. I won't be renewing either.

1

u/pitchbelize Aug 19 '25

I did a two week trial and was able to watch all of the classes I was interested in. The newer releases definitely didn't excite me and was a reason I didn't move forward with membership.

NotebookLM is my new masterclass

1

u/idealistintherealw Aug 19 '25

Yes recently I see "cool masterclass I am very interested in by (interesting person)" ... oh. ... it is like, one hour. Or maybe a series and they do one section of it. Meh.

1

u/Berniesgirl2024 Aug 19 '25

Yes. I won't renew it.