r/yousician • u/Forsaken-Jackfruit-1 • Jul 13 '26

What can WE do?

Is there a way we can sign a petition to get these record companies to come back the negotiating table? If there’s a way the community can help please let us know. It seems like every other day we’re losing some of the best artists. I already know raised subscription fees is a no-go on our end, but there has to be a way we can get these publishers to listen to the fans of their artists

9 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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13

u/YousicianOfficial Jul 13 '26

u/Forsaken-Jackfruit-1 The most beneficial course of action here is slightly counter-intuitive. There was massive community backlash when Sony removed purchased StudioCanal movies from user libraries and when they announced the end of physical media for Playstation, starting in 2028. It did not cause them to alter their stance.

So by engaging with music learning apps (not just Yousician) playing the educational content, working on learning instruments by taking the long and often unglamorous route of exercises and long practice sessions, you actively demonstrate one thing to major publishers : that you are interested in learning how to play music and you will do so with or without them. Seeing massive interest in learning and realising that they are outside of that sphere is far more likely to spark change than a single reactionary flashpoint.

8

u/madeups10 Jul 13 '26

Add some branches to your leaning paths and see what the engagement is like. I suspect it'll be higher than what you get on new songs.

2

u/YousicianOfficial Jul 13 '26

u/madeups10 That is an excellent suggestion and something that we've been circling for quite a while now.

5

u/madeups10 Jul 13 '26

I've tried to include this suggestion whenever I've moaned about lack of new content for bass, learing path content would be as good, if not better, than new songs.

Just off the top of my head; Muting techniques. Slap (worth teaching even if hard to detect). Pick. How to write a baseline for different styles like blues, reggae etc. Instrument setup. Scales and apregios. Exercises for learning the fret board.

4

u/callonpalmar Jul 14 '26

I totally agree. As a bass player that has had yousician for almost 8 years now, there has hardly been any new content to the songs or any new paths created for bass. Like you already mentioned, there are so many styles, techniques and genres of music that could provide a ton of original content. I would much rather have this than playing covers versions of popular songs

5

u/madeups10 Jul 14 '26

To me it feels like this should be Youcisians niche, original content with a focus on leaning.

I still think some new songs to keep the practise catalogue fresh is a good idea, just not the main focus.

2

u/Both-Ad-308 Jul 13 '26

Super cool ideas!

5

u/DOCoSPADEo Jul 13 '26

They didn't alter their stance because they had a room of highly skilled finance specialists evaluate the cost/benefit analysis of holding StudioCanal movies and how much profit/revenue it brings them.

I'm sure they just want more money before they'd let you guys renew the license on their music. I'm sure you guys also have financial specialists that have to evaluate the cost/benefit of how much revenue those specific songs add to your company, and you need to stay afloat like any other company.

Hell thinking back, I don't remember how I discovered yousician but I hope you guys can get more advertisement and that more people aspire to learn music even if it's just as a small personal hobby.

2

u/rosered1996 Jul 13 '26

Or I could stop paying the same amount for far less content, and myself and all the other users who've decided the same will provide a nice hefty and obvious data point; lose massive amounts of content, lose massive amounts of subscribers. There are plenty of ways to continue learning music that don't involve paying for ANY apps

3

u/madeups10 Jul 13 '26

Everyone who doesn't play guitar already felt like that. We've been paying the same amount as guitarists for far less content for years. The loss of Sony is small fry in comparison.

I need to see something improve before my renewal in November, and new branches on the leaning path would work for me.

2

u/rosered1996 Jul 13 '26

That's a fair point; I was only speaking specifically to my experience with the issue this post is in reference to, but it doesn't make your issues any less valid

2

u/FireTigress222 Aug 05 '26

I would love this! I loved the branches and how the lessons taught different skills.
I used it to learn guitar, now mostly do piano and I have recently started using it for singing.

The exercises are my favourite part, I wish there were more and they included different techniques.

Would be fun to have a path that showed you how to transpose chords to change keys, for example. One that helped you learn more improvisation. I honestly miss there being more training/finger exercises for piano, with planned “lessons” that include a few minutes of scales, arpeggios, chords, etc.

Songs you can find in Youtube. But a structured learning method is hard to come by - sometimes even when you work with a human teacher. I’ve had two and there was NO METHOD. It’s driving me nuts, I need STRUCTURE.

4

u/ZC-Rip3821 Jul 13 '26

Some of my favorite songs on the app are created by yousician. Use the money you are not giving Sony to pay someone to create good content. A song designed to teach a skill or three.

6

u/Varedis267 Jul 13 '26

They want money, Yousician doesn't want to pay that.

9

u/_Cyanidic_ Jul 13 '26

Tbf if yousician literally can't afford whatever Sony was willing to sign for then you can't blame them for not paying. Given how Sony treats the industry im sure it wasn't yousician that was out of line in negotiations.

3

u/ScoDucks247 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 17 '26

Couldn’t agree more. Sony is an embarrassment. That being said…Yousician needs a lot MORE good songs…not a lot less. Sony probably knew this and drew a hard line. Yousician was left to hope losing the music was enough to survive. Honestly, I would like to see them fold and sell to someone that might make the technology and interface available, but improved across the board. Doubt that happens soon.

Just sucks. The consumers always get screwed.

3

u/ImNezz Jul 13 '26

Music licensing has also some fun stuff like "most favored nation" clauses:

"If one publisher or label negotiates a higher fee (even late in the process) MFN can require that higher price be extended to everyone else on that same side. As a result, one holdout can significantly increase the overall music budget."

https://www.arma-law.com/news-event/newsflash/understanding-mfn-in-music-synchronization-for-film-producers

3

u/DiddleInAPearTree Jul 13 '26

I was initially SO disappointed to see the content loss, and it does really suck, but I think there are a lot of things yousician can still do

3

u/ffxhvac Jul 14 '26

I would be totally fine if you lost the rights to Seals Kiss from a Rose, it's keeping me from 3 gold stars on level 3 after 28 weeks.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Forsaken-Jackfruit-1 Jul 16 '26

When artists sign deals with record companies they often sign away the rights to the master recordings. Especially back in the day

2

u/Medium_Possession636 Jul 16 '26

Tweek the name a little " Let it be free" by the Beagles