One of the most common queries I receive during my discovery calls and general conversations with fellow artists and students is this:
"Why should I pay for coaching when there's so much free content available?"
I believe this is an excellent question. Furthermore, I stand as a testament to the partial legitimacy of that implied theory.
I still vividly remember being a 14-year-old in pre-global India, eagerly waiting for a video to load so I could listen to a 40-second (!) lecture/demo from Kai Eckhardt.
Later on, I scoured social circles in search of a copy of 'Effortless Mastery' by Kenny Werner to get my hands on.
Both were "free resources," so to speak, and I learned tons from them.
Decades later, both of these gentlemen ended up being my long-term mentors, through courses and mentorship sessions I had exclusively signed up for to work with them.
So the first instance involved consuming their content, while the latter, actually working on their material with them.
The difference between these experiences defines the crux of what this article aims to address.
And difference wasn't the quality of content.
So what exactly was it?
The results at the end.
Paid vs Free Content: Information vs Transformation
Frank Zappa (remember him kids?) deepens this thread with his famous quote.
However, for the scope of this post, let's focus on the first part ("...information is not knowledge").
Theoretically speaking, if information were knowledge, simply watching a bunch of say, Bruce Lee movies would make us black-belt maestros, right?
I know that's an oversimplification, but if you grew up around some of the people I did, you'd understand why that sentence is relevant.
(A still from my friend Q's award-winning movie 'Gandu'. One of the characters thought he knew karate cos' BL movies ⬆️)
Well, I've watched all the Bruce Lee movies there are. For a brief moment, I thought I could do all that he could (I was 9). Then, I actually started taking my first martial arts lessons. It was sobering, to say the least 😁.
Information is NOT knowledge. Binge-watching free tutorials on YouTube is not an education; it can be "educational" to some extent, pointing in the right direction.
But that's usually as far as it goes (sure, exceptions do prove the rule).
"Hiring a coach or buying their course is signing up for transformation."
Now, let's talk about transformation. (This word gets thrown around a lot).
Can the experience of studying a course (1-on-1 or through self-study) actually change you? Change you in the way you feel? Inside your brain? Your body?
I might sound a bit dramatic at this point, but I've experienced these transformations firsthand. So, my answer is a vehement "yes."
I still regularly study video recordings of my sessions with my teachers to get in tune with the frequency they were vibrating at when they were teaching me.
I know that's a bit "woo woo," but I tell you, it changes lives. It legitimately changed mine. Forever.
Mentorship with the right person can do that.
Hiring a coach or buying their course is signing up for that kind of transformation.
It's not information you're paying for. Because you're right; you can get that anywhere today.
Commitment and Accountability
Recording content for a camera and recording material for a human are different.
My flagship self-study course CIAR was based on three years of research across all five continents. Months of 1-on-1 sessions with artists and students, all struggling with very similar baseline issues.
So when I wrote the course, I wasn't writing it for a random eyeball. I knew for a fact, that there was a tribe out there waiting to find the solutions we were working on.
What we're talking about here is two-way accountability. Free content will never give you that.
Now, my students who find me and my courses aren't just communicating with a random person online anymore. We're already inside the same thought bubble.
And I am present for them with all I have because I know they are serious enough to invest in themselves. And my purpose is to do everything in my power to help them do so and make the best out of that decision.
So does that purpose change when I'm recording free content?
No. I do that with all my heart too, but I'm not always sure who I'm speaking to!
That changes when someone invests in a relationship with me. It might sound a bit cold and transactional on one level, but what we're talking about here, is two-way accountability.
Free content will never give you that.
But that's just the coach's commitment. Lets talk about the students.
Ever gotten free tickets to a concert that you have no qualms about giving aways cos' something else came up?
Now picture a situation where you paid for those tickets. Would you just give them away as easily? Or would you try a little harder?
Full disclosure: during my research, where BETA testers got free coaching worth 1000,00€ each, often they wouldn't show up for their sessions, wouldn't read through mails and FAQ and just generally took the whole thing for granted.
Just to be clear, that's not judgment, it's observation.
I am personally guilty of courses lying unopened on my browser cos I managed to get a freebie (I have some really nice friends).
The paid ones though? I ravage them like an animal. And keep going back.
The differences are real.
Access to Your Mentor
Most high-quality self-study courses will come with a communication method where individual queries are answered.
CIAR, for example, has inline discussions for every lesson where I aim to reply to every question within 48 hours. While it doesn't offer the kind of hyperfocused attention that 1-on-1 mentorship does, it's still like having me hold my students' hand as they progress through the course ⬇️.
Every mind thinks differently. So, it's beautiful for me to observe the same topics being interpreted uniquely by individual students. It challenges me both as an artist and educator, and prevents my students from feeling alone on their journey.
This is something I would never be able to offer to subscribers of my free content. And I know none of my many mentors who I work with would either.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is either scamming you, not sure what they're doing, or both.
Curation and Structure
Back in the day, access to information was the problem. Today, it's about managing overwhelming quantities of information.
I often compare information to a balanced diet. I use this analogy with my students and clients often – I'm a certified PT as well, so it figures (no pun intended).
How lean, quick, healthy, and functional is your brain? And what are you feeding it?
Binging 20 YouTube videos to find wobbly answers to one question is the equivalent of living on random fast-food meals hoping to hit your protein goals.
Sure, you might "hit" the protein goal.
But what's the rest of the junk doing to us?
And how often do we stop to think about what the rest of the "information calories" are doing to our brain?
Paid courses and mentorship are curated and structured for your specific needs. It's like a nutrition plan that guarantees success (albeit in varying degrees) in your goals. That's what you're paying for. Results.
The information is just a means to an end. Not the primary focus.
My job as a professional coach is to make sure that my students:
- Find all the answers they are looking for in one place.
- Have a support system to fall back upon for any further questions they may have.
- Deepen their knowledge and revise the material discussed.
- Make sure they come out on the other end swiftly, with new skills and tools to navigate the journey.
- Without wasting precious time or energy on 'junk' information.
Relationship-building and Community
This is one of the most underrated aspects of working on a professional basis with mentors.
When we invest our resources into it, it grows into a relationship of collaboration by default.
I am very clear with my clients that we are "collaborators." Ideally, the roles will be fluid and interchangeable. I've gone on the record with this, and I mean it sincerely.
''..merge the lines between student and teacher.''
I come from an ancestral culture where traditionally, education in performing arts merged the lines between student and teacher. That blurring was the very success the system aimed for.
I wish I could say the realities of this noble philosophy were as black and white, but the ideal is one I still find very progressive and timeless.
Some of my most fulfilling collaborations are with former mentors and mentees.
Furthermore, knowing where to reach out when I have specific doubts, is a game-changer.
My doctor doesn't help me with my car repairs. And my plumber doesn't do my taxes.
So when I want assistance with my artistic ventures and their hiccups, knowing I have a community of like-minded people from the same field as mine is worth its weight in gold.
Conclusion:
While free content may seem appealing to us musicians and artists seeking to enhance our skills, investing in coaching offers unparalleled advantages. The personalized guidance, structured learning, accountability, tailored feedback, and access to expertise paid coaching provides can result in a transformative experience that accelerates growth and unlocks artistic potential in ways that free content simply cannot match.
I'm doing my bit to put out as much valuable (free) content out there myself lately. God knows I don't "water down" or put out crappy content for the "free" version. All of it represents me. My podcast episodes are about 30-40 hours of work each and completely free to listen to. Some of these are LEGIT masterclasses.
But by recognizing the value of investing in coaching, we musicians and artists can take significant strides towards achieving customized goals, honing our craft, and ultimately, reaching new heights of creative excellence.
Download my FREE 'Artist Mindmap'. A one-page mini-masterclass for independent musicians.
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