Why MasterClass Isn’t Really About Mastery

MasterClass is an online education portal. It works like this: you pay $180 for an all-access annual pass to tutorials and lectures by experts in various fields. For example, you could learn tennis from Serena Williams or you could learn filmmaking from Martin Scorsese. Each lesson includes several pre-recorded videos, workbooks, activities, and no... See more

Instead of competing with universities at their own game, MasterClass took a different route. They hired experts and celebrities — practitioners who are at the very top of their field — and made beautiful, highly-produced videos of them explaining their craft. MasterClass might claim to be selling education, but don’t be fooled: they are selling cr... See more