“With great power comes great responsibility”
We all know the quote, that now famous line Uncle Ben drops on Peter Parker as he starts to harness his new Spider-Man powers…
It seems like a poignant place to start with this week’s newsletter…
I’m a fan, a friend, and a longtime supporter of Drumeo.
Not only was I personally invited to appear on the platform a few years back, by Jared Falk himself, but that studio, those blue walls… well, they mean something. And to all of us!
Some of my favourite drummers have played in that studio. It’s iconic. And being invited there meant a lot to me, and still does. It’s absolutely one of the highlights of my career.
Now for context, when I went to Drumeo, they had around 40 full-time staff. Then, about a year ago, in a chat with Jared, he mentioned they’d grown to over 100. Wild to hear! I’d guess it’s even more than that now. What an achievement.
I mean, how could it not? With Musora, the parent company, now including Drumeo, Pianote, Singeo, and Guitareo, the growth makes total sense.
It’s an incredible business success story, and Jared deserves real credit for building something that big in the online education space, and for his direct and very powerful contribution to the drum industry.
If you’re a teacher, there’s a good chance your student was influenced by something Drumeo has done or created that inspired them to pick up the sticks in the first place, and that should never be understated or undervalued.
But… I do wonder if it’s now become too big?
For a site that’s built around education, I’ll be honest, it’s surprisingly hard to navigate. I’ve been on there a bunch over the years, and the UX (user experience) is a rough ride to say the least.
There’s just so much content, and I think that’s the issue – it feels quite bloated. PDFs, lessons, play-alongs, notation etc, it’s loaded to the gills of everything you may need in your drumming journey, sure, but finding a clear and structured A–Z path? It’s surprisingly quite tough.
An observation I’ve made in recent years is that most of the people I know who use it regularly are actually educators, not students. Why? Because it’s a resource goldmine! Even if it’s hard to navigate, if you’re a teacher, Drumeo definitely makes your life much easier with drumless tracks, notation, and lessons on literally every topic imaginable. And all for a nominal monthly fee… Not bad!
That said, I do think relying entirely on Drumeo’s content to teach your students is a bit of a cop-out. I believe educators should write their own curriculum, or at the very least, use original texts when possible. It’s good for the educator because it keeps their teaching sharp and engaged, and it’s good for the student because they learn the origins of the source material. History matters.
Obtaining everything through one source homogenizes the information, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. I might just be a traditionalist here, and maybe even a little idealistic (highly likely, ha), but either way, I do believe it matters.
Now, somewhere along the line, Drumeo made a clear and noticeable shift. They started prioritising content over curriculum.
And look, I get it! That’s definitely what grows platforms. The more views, the more reach. The more reach, the more eyeballs. The more eyeballs, the more subscribers! But with that shift, I do feel something’s been lost, and if I’m honest, I’ve found a lot of the newer content quite hard to watch.
Which brings me to Steve Jordan…
Drumeo recently posted a video of Steve playing along to the Incubus track Wish You Were Here. It was part of their popular “First Time Hearing” series.
You’ve probably seen other episodes too: Larnell Lewis playing Metallica, Chad Smith playing Thirty Seconds to Mars, Mike Portnoy playing Tool, and Dennis Chambers doing the same. There are a ton of them.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an issue with the series itself. The concept makes sense. Watching great drummers interpret a song they don’t know can be quite fascinating, sure, and it clearly has been for many, many viewers. The series has been a massive success!
But I do believe the pairing has to be right. Otherwise, it runs the risk of falling into the trap of feeling like content for content’s sake, even if that’s not the intention, and that never favours the artist.
That’s what this felt like.
Steve Jordan is what I’d call a ‘legacy artist’. A world-class player with incredible pedigree, tenure, and stature, who’s helped define the modern pocket and feel on the drums. He’s played with John Mayer, The Blues Brothers, Paul Shaffer, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor, just to name a few, and most recently took over for Charlie Watts in The Rolling Stones after his passing.
In a lot of ways, this guy IS groove, and with that in mind, should be handled so.
But this clip? It did not reflect this. It did not reflect his brilliance. It felt forced, uncomfortable, awkward, flat, and ultimately, I don’t believe it honored his playing in a way that his legacy deserves.
Now in full transparency, I did reach out to both Jared and Brandon at Drumeo, to share my thoughts and let them know I was going to start a public conversation regarding this, because I wanted to see if others felt the same.
I’d already seen a bunch of reputable drummers say similar things online, regarding Drumeos content direction – so it’s not a new conversation, but I was still genuinely curious.
To their credit, both of them were open, understanding, and respectful, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. They’re genuinely great guys. I know Jared a bit better than Brandon, but I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with them both in person, and stayed in touch over the years through social media.
We discussed things in detail, I shared my position, they shared theirs, and one thing I really appreciated was that they agreed conversations like this are important, and that they truly do matter.
What’s interesting though, is that Brandon mentioned this particular video did actually spark an internal discussion too, about whether they should post it or not. But, ultimately, since Steve gave it the green light, they went ahead with it.
And I totally get that. If the artist gives it the okay, it definitely makes it easier to move forward. Right? I mean, what more can you do?
Well, I think there’s still more to consider here…
Brandon is the Chief Content Officer, and let’s be real, he does an amazing job. At a company that size, that’s no easy role. Every piece of content that comes through Drumeo literally flows through him as the last line of defense. That’s massive, and a lot of weight to carry.
But I do believe that with a role like that comes a deeper responsibility, not just to the brand, but to the artists, the community, and the legacy of the craft itself. Even if the artist does sign it off, I still think the content should pass through three simple filters:
Does it serve the artist?
Does it serve the audience?
Does it serve the artist in the audience’s eyes?
And in Steve’s case, I’d actually say no to all of these.
Now look, I could be missing the mark completely here. I might be overlooking the simple and fun tone this series is meant to have. Absolutely. But this video did evoke these thoughts in me, and since I’m genuinely interested in exploring things on a deeper level, specifically through my weekly newsletters at MasterMindDrummer.com, I still felt compelled to put this together. So here we are.
I feel a bit more care was needed here. Especially when you’re dealing with someone of Steve’s caliber. If I think of Drumeos younger audience, the ones who haven’t grown up listening to him, who don’t yet (and may never) understand his contribution to drumming, and music as a whole, they watch that video and go, “Who’s this older guy kinda struggling with that Incubus track?”
*note – I may be projecting my here, I am aware, but as I say, it’s what I see.
In a nutshell, I think it all comes down to a simple mismatch of track to artist. That’s it.
Given Steve’s history and specific skillset, the goal should’ve solely been to showcase his incredible feel, the best way possible. That pocket. That groove. His control of space. What he’s known for.
And how do you do that? Well you pick the right song. Something built around pocket, feel, and groove. Something left of field, sure, something he’s never heard of or played on, sure, but something in a lane that really shows his strengths and pedigree.
That’s why Chad Smith’s now viral performance of Thirty Seconds To Mars landed so well. It was a straight-up groove rock track, in a familiar ABABCB structure. Right in his wheelhouse. That’s his bread and butter and made total sense. And it worked.
And Larnells Enter Sandman was much closer too, which is why it worked.
Unfortunately, I think Drumeo may have unintentionally, or perhaps intentionally, slipped into the trap I mentioned earlier – content for content’s sake. And with the size of the operation now, I’m not sure the genie can be put back in the bottle, or to be honest, whether they’d even want to. Who knows?
Am I right about all this? Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t claim to know what’s best for Drumeo. But it’s not even about being right. It’s about sharing honest thoughts and opinions on something you care deeply about, regardless of the source or your history with it. We’re all adults here, and surely we can handle that.
There are people who passionately disagree with these thoughts, and come from the angle of “who the hell am I?” and that’s totally fair. It’s all just opinions, right? But I’ve seen a lot of pros and educators echo the same concerns. Some have spoken up publicly, others privately, but the sentiments are active, and are definitely out there.
Given their size, Drumeo has a strong grip on the global drum conversation, so these conversations are important. I’m guessing most drummers who’ve been featured on the platform won’t bring it up publicly, and those who haven’t been on, but want to, might avoid it altogether in case it hurts their chances of getting featured.
That’s why I’m bringing it up here. If handled carefully, respectfully, and most importantly, honestly, conversations like this can stay on the table for open discourse, without hurting anyone in the process. I truly believe that’s what nurtures a healthy environment and strong community.
I’ll end on this…
I’m not here to tear anything or anyone down.
I’m certainly not here to cause drama.
I’m here to talk about (and protect) the artform. That’s it.
My goal is to simply honour legacy, and to help make sure the biggest voice in the room still represents, firstly, the people, and secondly, the heart of what this whole thing is about.
Let’s leave it there this week, as writing this actually took quite a lot out of me, haha. Phew!
Stay hungry (and healthy),
Stan