MasterClass slashes its prices by 33% in a bid to win back users

MasterClass is looking to boost its enrollment, announcing plans to introduce new types of programming and cutting the price of its annual subscription by one-third.

The online learning tool has reduced its individual annual subscription to $10 per month. The site bills annually, bringing the total to $120, from its previous level of $180.

“People are nervous about macroeconomics and there’s a lot more uncertainty around it,” CEO David Rogier tells Fast Company. “We wanted to meet them where they were, and we wanted to drop our prices. My mission is: I want to make it possible for anyone in the world to learn from the best. And [by doing this], that means more people can.”

The price cut comes after roughly a year of belt-tightening at MasterClass. Last June, the company cut 20% of its staff, roughly 120 workers, “to adapt to the worsening macro environment.” In March, it eliminated another 79 positions, including its chief product officer and two vice presidents.

Rogier says the price cut is unrelated to the recent layoffs.

“The price shift is just good business and aligns with our mission,” he said. “Those are not related.”

MasterClass saw tremendous growth during the pandemic, with demand spiking over 1,000% some weeks. As people have returned to work and are no longer isolated at home, those spikes are over.

Rogier says the company has seen a shift in how people engage with MasterClass classes. During the pandemic, there was a big focus on hobbies, as people wanted to learn more about things like cooking, gardening, and interior design.

While there’s still an interest in that, there’s a growing interest in personal and professional development, leading to new classes from author Esther Perel and Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski. Members are also eager to learn more about the economy, which has led to a new series, Mastering the Markets, featuring investors Ray Dalio, Meredith Whitney, Joel Greenblatt, and Seth Klarman discussing their approach to riding out market fluctuations. That series will debut in June.

Additionally, because people have other demands on their attention now, MasterClass is offering shorter classes, which can be viewed on the go or while commuting, in addition to the deep dive, four- to five-hour-long series it’s known for.

These quick hits, called G.O.A.T., focus on specific tasks. James Beard Award-winning chef Nancy Silverton, for example, has a short video on how to make the perfect grilled cheese. And chef Wallace Wong shows how to sharpen a knife.

“We wanted to be sure, in addition to our full-length classes, we had things people could watch in short bursts,” he says.

At the same time, it’s looking to lure individual customers, MasterClass is also expanding its enterprise business, with over half of the Fortune 100 signed up as customers. Currently, says Rogier, the biggest demand is for lessons on soft skills, such as empathy, collaboration, and how to listen. Years away from the office has led to a regression in those qualities, business leaders are finding. Also, managing a team is a much different proposition today than it was in 2019, so there’s strong demand for leadership training.

Whether it’s teaching empathy or how to cook the perfect brisket, though, Rogier says the approach is the same. In order to keep customers engaged (and subscribing), the lessons can’t feel like work.

“People love to learn, but people usually do not like school,” he says. “It feels like they’re having to eat their vegetables. The underlying premise of MasterClass when I started it was, I want to build a school for the rest of your life. To do that, I have to build one that you want to go to.”