Case Study: PianoGroove reduces churn and builds an engaged global subscription community with Memberful

How classic piano training and digital marketing know-how combined for a successful site

PianoGroove is a subscription site founded by pianist Hayden Hill that teaches jazz piano online. Faced with a crowded online-education market and the common membership challenge of high churn, Hill needed a sustainable way to attract students globally, make content discoverable, and keep learners engaged.

Hill focused on a content-first strategy—seeding free video lessons on YouTube to build an audience—then optimized the paid site with clearer course structure, progress tracking and a Discourse-based community, and continuously researched competitors for improvements. The approach drove measurable growth: about 2.2 million site hits, 35,000 YouTube subscribers, and students in nearly 50 countries, while improving engagement and member retention.

PianoGroove

Hayden Hill

Founder