Masterclass Business and Financial Model
Delivered March 9, 2020. Contributor: Teresa W.
Goals
To understand the business and financial model of Masterclass including how celebrity instructors are compensated and how much revenue is generated from subscriptions. The research will be used to create a business plan and financial model.
Early Findings
- Masterclass has kept celebrity contracts and compensation plans a tightly held secret.
- According to an article by Hollywood Reporter in 2017, a source revealed that celebrity instructors receive $100,000 up-front and then 30% of the revenue their class generates.
- Co-founder and CEO, David Rogier has stated that money is not the primary reason that celebrities are drawn to becoming instructors. He believes that there are many other options available if the celebrities are looking for money. According to Rogier, they see this as an opportunity to give back. In fact, he told NBC News that his recruiting pitch is simple: "This is a chance for you to give back and share. Wasn’t there someone in your life who changed your life? How neat would it be to be able to do that on a massive scale?”
- Single access to a MasterClass is $90. An all-access pass is $180 and grants access to all MasterClass sessions. There are currently over 75 available classes, averaging about 20 lessons per class.
- A thorough search of news and press articles and the company website failed to provide the number of subscribers or revenue for Masterclass. The app available through the Google Play Store has had over 100,000 downloads. Though the number of downloads is not published for the app through Apple, it has received over 29,000 reviews.
Proposed next steps:
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