DRUMEO: A Comparative Analysis of its Free Version vs. Paid Subscription Service Version

 

                                                    (Drumeo.com, 2024)

    As an official percussion educator since 2005, I have always prided myself on striving to not only continuously build up my own knowledge of percussion instrument maintenance, music notation, rudiments, and techniques, but find unique and fun ways to relay this same information back to my percussion students as well.

     Back in Late March 2020 during the early part of The COVID-19 Lockdown, I started to wonder what I could and would be able to do percussion-wise in an isolated state at home with my wife and young daughter at the time.  With my family's blessing, I was able to research and review multiple Drumming-Related Applications, Websites and YouTube Channels to see what I could download, print out, save, and/or screenshot for my personal learning and academic use with the goal of "...expanding the learning experiences of every student" (Alaniz & Wilson, 2015, p. 61).

Enter: Drumeo.

     Not only did I find the Drumeo Website to be very eye-catching, but their social media platforms presence on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube Channel to be just as cool as well.  For three straight years, I only used their free drumming resources as they became available and made sure to follow-up and follow-through on any free brand-new materials as they were released.

That all changed in October 2023.

     At that point in time, Drumeo was offering a Special Bundle Pack that included One-Year Access to Drumeo's Paid Subscription Service, a pair of Drumeo Drumsticks, a Drumeo Drum Pad, and a Drumeo Drum Stand for $200.  Given how much I knew each of these items costed by themselves, I felt like that I couldn't pass up the chance to see everything Drumeo was about--especially when my Percussion Ensemble Class could benefit from experiencing some of its features in-class.

(Musora.com, 2024)

So what exactly are the differences between The Free Version and Paid Subscription Version?  

     I think the best way to see would be to table everything Drumeo:

    As you can see for the most part, you are paying Drumeo for yearly access to learning how to play Drums, Guitar, Piano and Singing through Musora that includes multiple courses that allow you to comment on videos; perform full instrument workouts with music notation and play-along tracks; message multiple musicians; and play along to popular songs transcribed for multiple instruments.

    Between October 2023 and October 2024, here are the official Drumeo Method Statistics that I was able to amass in a year's time of watching, listening and practicing with its Paid Subscription Service:

                                                      (Drumeo.com, 2024)

     After trying to figure out what to make of the above for a whole year, I'm not sure that Drumeo's Paid Subscription Service tallied my stats as accurate as it could have over that same length of time.  I know for sure that I had completed more than 3 Total Minutes of Practice Time--whether it was all done on my Laptop or Phone Device while I drumming on my drum pad, drumset or snare drum--but alas...I also know that I was not into commenting on too many of the videos as most paid subscriber comments on these same Drumeo Videos I watched, listened and practiced to were neither constructive nor relevant to the drumming work at-hand.

References

Alaniz, K., & Wilson, D. K. (2015b). Naturalizing Digital Immigrants: The Power Of Collegial Coaching For Technology Integration. Rowman & Littlefield.

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     Overall, do I think that Drumeo's Paid Subscription Service is worth its $200+ Annual Cost?🤔

NO!🚫

     In my eyes, The Free Version of Drumeo on YouTube already offers 24 Hours-A-Day/7 Days-A-Week/365-Days-A-Year Access for percussionists of all ages and experience levels to dive hands-first into 1,800+ High-Quality Drumset, Practice Pad and Snare Drum Videos without paying a single dollar.💵

And that, to me, makes Drumeo an essential 21st Century Digital Percussion Resource and Tool for Percussive Excellence!🏆

**Just know going in with Drumeo, that you will be limited to exclusively watching and interacting with Drumset, Practice Pad and Snare Drum-Related Videos that do not cover anything with Keyboard/Mallet Instruments or Auxiliary Percussion Instruments such as the Concert Bass Drum, Hand Drums, and The Triangle.**

     With all that being said, are ya'll ready to read up on a FREE Percussion Resource that includes Keyboard/Mallet Instrument Materials?!  Then, stay tuned for my upcoming post on Pocket Percussion Teacher!