To GT and the instructors

So there has been a lot said about the loss of songs, and it looks like it has long legs. Fair enough. But as a late student of the guitar and taking everything into consideration, I want to say that (and I hope I am in silent majority) I know you people have worked hard on every lesson and every video.  

So thanks!

Agreed! It is disappointing to lose some very good songs by very popular artists. I checked the other day and saw that most of the BB King songs had gone. Real shame for me. 

However, I keep finding songs I am interested in learning, so disappointing, but not terminally so.

I think some people have unrealistic expectations of the number of new songs that could be introduced. I imagine it's quite a body of work to negotiate the rights, in some cases transcribe the notation, learn the song to expert level, break it down into bite sized chunks for teaching, and publish various play-along versions.

I think we are lucky if we get 2 new songs per week.

Alf

Agree. Lot of work obviously goes into the song lessons and they are awesome. So with that in mind.....maybe think longer term and make sure all the hard work won't be lost. Whatever that takes. Mystery, but I'm hoping some takeaways in the background to avoid losing so look many again.

So many.

Interesting enough, but there are many other sites that have so much content and even many of the songs GT “lost.” Is it because the other sites don’t include tabs?  If so, can you re-introduce the lost songs minus the tabs?

 It also seems extremely evident at least to me, that the new content is regularly made up of old unknown Rolling Stones or other obscure songs (with VERY few exceptions) that we’re to believe were requested by subscribers??

 There’s got to be a reason many of your deleted songs are showing up on many YouTube sites, without actual tabs. 

It's a hunch... not based on much... that the songs we see on YouTube are not paid for, i.e., no licensing has been paid, no monies passed on to the musicians, writers and publishing right holders of the tunes.  I think that's true and speaks very well of the Guitar Tricks site and their expressed intent.

As for song requests... I'm finishing up my fourteenth year here and I know of no requests that have ever been turned into lessons.  There might be some, but I wouldn't put any money on it.  😏  Some years ago there was a Song Request sub-forum.  As I remember, it was huge with pages of requests.  I believe that members' growing realization that requests were not acted upon eventually resulted in the elimination of the sub-forum and all that was posted there, three or four or more years ago.  I think it's all gone... I know of no way to retrieve those member posts, my own included.  Now, song requests by members are not visible, i.e., whatever is requested is not seen/known by other members.

At least, that's the way I remember it and I think the way things are today.  It is what it is - yada, yada, yada.  It is GT's site to make of it what GT wants from its business plan.  Members suggest - at its own risk, GT responds as a business in a way which may or may not accommodate subscribers. 

Frankly, I'm pleased with the instructors and the interaction I get from Admin.  I'm a little disappointed in my fellow members who complain there are 'no good songs', oblivious to the tastes and likes of others (they feel left out? try being an ageing boomer and dealing with GT's catalog  😂).  I don't think much of the 'I'm taking my ball and bat and going home' attitude that is expressed so much on the Forum but I also realize that's the only way members can vent.  Still, the complaints tend to the extreme, in my eyes.  Recently, there was a complaint that there were only two versions of a song to choose from; 'one is too hard, one is too easy.'  Lord help us if we descend into Goldilocks polemics.  😬

YMMV.

john

Interesting John and appears to confirm growing suspicion that the requests functionality is a waste of time. Certainly a total reluctance from admin to have any kind of transparency on what is being requested. No reason at all why that should be confidential...unless.......

I think the shear number of songs that got pulled is what has got a lot of us so pizzed orf. A few...OK...but 300+?

Agree that was a strange one 'too easy...too hard'. Couldn't get the beef there either, but recreating exactly the same lessons and calling them new is a legit concern when new content is what is required to plug the gaping hole that has been left.

Yeah..... I agree..... it is a bit of a "have" when "new songs" are new lessons of old songs. Wonder what's going on behind the scenes. 

Well.... there's enough to keep me busy with what is available. Luckily I have a very broad range of musical tastes. There will be some who are very narrow with their tastes and it's a shame for them for sure. My step-son gave up on GT because he is only interested in death-metal....... suprisingly not a lot on offer there 😃. 

I do wonder how sustainable their business model is now......    I hope they can re-build.

Thanks for the positive feedback.  I appreciate it!

Pleasure!

I for one have groaned about the loss of songs, I don't think unheard of Rolling Stones songs are a substitute for what got lost.  However I would be reasonably happy with the site if there was consistency in the way tab is presented with the lessons that are there. Very few of the songs I have tried actually have scrolling tab, which is a great feature on the site when it works.

Could it be the age of the lessons?  As I remember, scrolling tabs is a later added feature to song lessons, older lessons may not be updated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWNgzbgrDe0&ab_channel=TheBluesfan12

Good luck, have fun.

Thank you, GT and the instructors, for your exceptional guidance and support. Your expertise and dedication have truly made a significant impact on my learning journey. I am grateful for the invaluable knowledge and skills I have acquired under your tutelage.

I appreciate that you are happy with the interactions you receive from the admin of GT, but I for one am not. We all subscribe for different reasons and some of us were here for song lessons. I think it is only fair as a subscriber to let GT know when I am unhappy with their service. You can be disappointed with what is said about the gutting of the song catalog, but we aren’t paying you for guitar lessons. This isn’t the first time this has happened. We are paying company that didn’t protect (at least some) of its subscribers interests and if we want to post about that, I don’t see how that affects you. What about the people who bought an annual subscription based on the catalog just to find out in the first quarter of the subscription that all the tunes they wanted to learn were leaving the site? What would you say to them voicing their concerns?  Be disappointed in us, that’s fine. You aren’t the one we are giving our money to. 

Yep. I’m amazed at some of y’all that don’t see much wrong about a 300+ song dump. It’s not like they pulled them a few at a time. I personally was drawn to the site by not only the songs I grew up loving but the high caliber of instruction. When I first perused the sight after joining, some years ago, it seemed I hit the motherlode of classic rock; and I did! Although there are still many great songs, there are definitely MUCH fewer! I will stand by my premise that something IS going on deeper in GT. The songs being released each week are quite a steep departure from what they were in the heyday (!) of GT. The strange, obscure, releases are but just another piece of the puzzle that is also concerning. Hear me out though, this is not by any means meant to vilify or cast a shadow on the incredibly talented teachers at GT. 

It is very disappointing to see so many songs dumped all at once. I joined GT because of the song lessons. I've also learned a lot from the other lessons, but by far, my reason for joining was the extensive song lessons. This is on top of the big dump a year or so ago. I appreciate all of the work the instructors put into the song lessons and it seems a shame it is now all going to waste. I also don't understand the reason so many were dumped at once. It seems like it must be for financial reasons. It doesn't seem reasonable the publishers just all of a sudden decided to collaborate and jack up the licensing fees all at the same time. It's also frustrating to be on a yearly subscription and have this happen when I have almost a year to go on my subscription. I've cancelled my subscription and won't be renewing. I'll just have to make the best use of the site until my subscription runs out.

Im in the exact same situation.  I also joined in 2008 and cancelled my subscription.  What's even more disappointing is GT's lack of response to all these posts.  I guess they'd rather lose their customers than give a detailed response.  I predict GT won't be around too much longer.

Agreed. I keep getting emails about how the annual subscription is at a discount at $99. It isn’t really a deal anymore though, with so many songs gone. It’s a shame, not just for us, but also the instructors. All their hard work, just gone. 

Hi folks

This is my first submission and may be my last as I am seriously considering dropping my subscription after 14 years.  I am so annoyed by the way GT handled this whole thing.  Believe me GT was not forced by the publishers to give up the rights.  They were asked to pay more and they said no.  They didn't try to hold on to the songs.  They should just come out and say it instead of treating us like children. "We did our best" nonsense is insulting.  They made a business decision and cut the songs.  Regardless, I have to gaugethe worth of the site.   I am going to guess they will keep cutting songs until people just leave and the site fades away.  It's a shame. I assume because I have criticized GT this post will get deleted and when it does I am out of here.