PLEASE NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED
(23 January 2012)
After five years of working with you to ensure that singing is at the heart of young children’s lives in England, we’re now launching a membership scheme so that we can keep it going, providing you with a comprehensive package to support all your singing needs.
After months of research with you, our most valuable friends, we’ve put together a Membership Package incorporating all of the elements of Sing Up that you’ve indicated are the most valuable in helping you with your work.
In the coming months, we’ll have more details available regarding memberships for individuals, organisations, parents and others but in the first instance, we’ll be launching pre-booking for Schools Membership with an Early Bird Discount later this month. Memberships purchased during this period will actually start on 1 April and, in addition to the fantastic discount, your school will also receive six bonus download credits for free to use by 31 March.
What do I get for my money?
Since we know how much you value our resources and training, we want to make sure you have everything you want and need available to you. This will include:
- Full access to the Sing Up website featuring high quality teaching and learning resources – lesson plans, curriculum support materials, interactive web-based tools and whiteboard mode, activity plans, films and more!
- A termly issue of the Sing Up Magazine each featuring 10 NEW songs (on CD and Online), warm-ups, advice and news from across the country
- Access to stream content from our ever-growing Song Bank – a collection of 500+ songs and warm-ups. And, we’ll continue to add new songs throughout the year!
- Full access to our digital songbook –100 favourite songs and accompanying resources, downloaded to your library for unlimited offline usage
- Exclusive access to attend two Sing Up Local Training Events in your area, including exceptional training, supporting materials and Awards support
- Learn new skills with video tutorials and live webinars
- Ability to purchase extra song download credits
- The opportunity to achieve a Sing Up Award and the support to help you
- A customisable user experience with access to online forums
How much will it cost?
Although we’ve been able to bring you Sing Up free of charge until now due to Government funding, there is, and always has been, a real cost associated with all that we offer. We understand the difficulties posed by tight budgets and the current economic climate, so we’ve tried to keep the cost to the absolute minimum without fundamentally changing the nature of the Sing Up package. This has been difficult to achieve having received funding of £9m per year from DfE, which, if we had simply shared as a cost across all schools in England would have come to around £500 per school.
The Schools Package, which will include all of the benefits listed above, will cost £150 - £250* per year based on school size (using pupil roll statistics). This roughly works out to be £15-£25 per month during term time with the two summer months provided to you for free for help with your planning.
With our Early Bird Discount offer, these overall costs will be reduced to £125 - £175* representing an up to 30% discount for the annual membership.
Need a little more?
For those of you who might need a little extra, we’ve put together some additional top-up packages for you which provide a bit more of all that we’ve got to offer, in addition to some download credits. In the future, all members will also receive exclusive discounts on Premium Sing Up Training Workshops.
Top-Up 1 – featuring 15 extra download credits and 1000 extra streams, you’ll also get exclusive termly activity packs and an additional training place at a Sing Up Local Training Event, all for £75*.
Top-Up 2 – featuring 30 extra download credits and 5000 extra streams, you’ll also get exclusive termly activity packs, an additional training place at a Sing Up Local Training Event and access to our new and interactive digital magazine, all for £150*.
Extra Copies of the Magazine – Each issue of the Sing Up Magazine will be priced at £10.00, but an extra annual subscription (1 per term) is great value at £25.00.
Download Credits – In addition to the multiple audio tracks (performance, backing track, slowed down track), one download credit will unlock the sheet music too. You’re also receiving a wealth of activity plans, lesson plans and curriculum support materials, all for £5.00* per credit.
To help, we’ve also put together some discounted download credit bundles for you (complemented by exclusive bonus content) at great value – buy an extra 5 Download Credits for £22.50*, or 15 for £63.00*
What’s next?
In the coming weeks, we’ll be launching pre-booking with our Early Bird Discount and we’ll let you know when you can come back to take advantage of the discount and receive your six extra download credits.
If you’d like to be the first to know when we open our virtual doors, drop us a line.
Also, if you’ve got any questions or need any support, get in touch as we love to hear from you. We’re determined to continue to develop Sing Up to best address your needs and we can only do that with your feedback, so please keep it coming!
Join us and let’s get the whole place singing!
*All prices exclude VAT
School size is based on pupil roll.
Small School (up to 100 pupils) - £150 or £125 with Early Bird Discount
Medium School (101-250 pupils) - £200 or £150 with Early Bird Discount
Large School (over 250 pupils) - £250 or £175 with Early Bird Discount
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UPDATE - Streaming and Download Access (23 January 2012)
Thanks for your feedback. Following your questions, we thought it was worth clarifying a few points for you.
Regarding the ongoing costs of song usage - the funding Sing Up has received hasn't only paid for the one-off costs of content creation. Every song on the Songbank costs something each time it is streamed (played live) or downloaded because as with all music, the creators, writers, publishers and performers get paid a royalty each time it is used. So although the government has been paying these costs until now, they will still need paying for in the future.
These on-going costs are one of the reasons we cannot simply host a catalogue of songs for free – because each and every time a user wants to play a song, it costs money.
Streaming is where you play a song live from our website by clicking the ‘play’ or ‘preview’ button next to a song. This will not use a download credit, but it will count as one ‘stream’. The number of ‘streams’ you have used is displayed in your My Sing Up area.
What we are calling our ‘Digital Songbook’, will be immediately available in all members’ Libraries when memberships begin on 1 April. This actually means that with the Membership package, users will receive free access to download 100 favourite songs from our Song Bank, like My name is Joe (Button Factory), Baby one, two, three and the Gospel medley. This includes unlocking the sheet music, teaching notes and all audio tracks for unlimited offline usage. We’ve taken great care in developing this selection of songs and we know it’s a fantastic resource.
Ms Shilvock Report this comment
Posted 8th Feb 2012 10:34
I am the music teacher in my school and use Sing Up all the time and could not imagine being able to run either the junior or senior choir or do any singing in class without you. For this reason I have arranged a fundraising concert where all the musical activities that go on in school will be showcased. This will include a LOT of singing! I am sure parents will be happy to give a little towards such a valuable cause. For those of you out there who are quick to bid 'adieu' to Sing Up, might you consider an option such as this?!
Mr Clayton Report this comment
Posted 7th Feb 2012 08:53
Having been an avid user of Sing Up for many years I am dissapointed by this news. I am currently taking a second school through the Silver Award and were thinking of going for Gold later in the year. Due to the high costs it looks like this is now out of the question. Sorry to loose you Sing-Up!
Mrs DeBroise Report this comment
Posted 7th Feb 2012 03:18
As in many primary schools, music is well down on our budgetpecking order. The fees for this service, even with the early bird special, go well beyond our resources. So "Bye Bye Sing Up". I mourn your loss.
Mr Picton Report this comment
Posted 7th Feb 2012 02:51
Singup is a great resource - but do you realise how many 'songs' (CD's/itunes etc) and songbooks can be bought for £250!!! What a ridiculous pricing strategy. Why not charge per song like itunes, or at least have a slightly more afforable pricing layer for those who only use 5-10 songs per year.
Mrs Dixon Report this comment
Posted 6th Feb 2012 11:28
Although I am lucky enough to have a small music budget this year it is all gone on the repair of our piano and I probably will have to use part of next years as well for this! It is a great shame that such a great resource is going to be put out of the reach of so many people just as the governments new National Plan for Music Education is published with it's emphasis on singing together. Whilst I appreciate that there is a need to charge for these services I like many others will find it difficult to afford to take up membership. Having achieved our Silver Award we are trying to make sure that we gain our Gold before losing out because we can't afford to join. It would be great if there could be, like many others have commented more tiers to the membership to allow a greater range of use.
Miss Teng Report this comment
Posted 5th Feb 2012 03:32
We started our Sing Up Journey in September 2009. During the past three years, we have benefited enormously from the Sing Up brilliant FREE resources. We really appreciate all the support from the Sing Up team. Without Sing Up, our school would not achieve our successes.
We are very sad to hear that the government has stopped funding Sing Up. Under the current economic climate, we understand Sing Up has to do something to keep them going. We encourage schools to sign up the new Sing Up membership as this will help them keep their journeys going and be beneficial to the children's musicality.
As a Platinum award school, we will be supporting Sing Up to carry on. We are very delighted to be a new member of the Sing Up scheme. We know that school budgets are very tight at the moment. However, if we all support each other, we will overcome this hurdle and ensure that singing is at the heart of our children's lives in the future.
Mr Mann Report this comment
Posted 5th Feb 2012 12:50
Well what a mess - we've just got children singing and now I'm guessing most schools will not be in a position to afford your membership. I've just got the school, including the teachers who tend to be the sticking point, engaged with singing through using Sing Up, and now we are going to have to stop. Children have been using the site at home to learn the songs as well , what are they going to do.
I understand the reasons, but do you understand the effects? Well it's back to singing from backing tracks from Youtube in the wrong keys now.
Mrs Merriman Report this comment
Posted 1st Feb 2012 09:34
I appreciate you have to cover your costs, but you must see that there needs to be a greater variety of membership package options. I rarely download sheet music from singup as I can learn the songs quickly by ear. Couldn't there be a cheaper option for just streaming the songs? (By the way, is there a limit to how many songs we can stream until april?) As to the membership cost of £250, I could buy 316 songs on itunes for that price!! I don't need unlimited access - I listen to maybe 50 songs max per year on singup. I would therefore expect to spend no more than £40 on membership costs.
Mrs Owen Report this comment
Posted 1st Feb 2012 09:09
This is indeed a sad state of affairs...There is not money available in a primary school music budget to buy into a service which may or may not be used...I too am only interested in the backing tracks and lyrics as never have time to read the magazine. I would be willing to pay for individual downloads.
Miss Levine Report this comment
Posted 1st Feb 2012 06:18
I am self employed and continually use this resource. It has been absolutely fantastic but unfortunately I really cannot afford it anymore. What a shame. Could you not reconsider and have special prices for single uses. Mrs Lorraine Levine
Show more
Mrs Pitt Report this comment
Posted 31st Jan 2012 08:56
I appreciate that this is not the wish of Singup which I feel has been a truly brilliant resource. The problem for us is that the school music budget in the present situation just won't pay for that level of subscription. I think we could have managed about £40. It's a real pity since we've had training and the resource has encouraged non-specialists in our school to be more confident and deliver a much wider variety of lessons. As a music specialist I find that the ability to transpose is particularly useful. now I see though, that if I choose the wrong key first off and want to try another key, I will lose a precious credit. Who could we write to, to ask the government to think again about this?
Mrs Gadd Report this comment
Posted 31st Jan 2012 07:20
After having just got a school choir off the ground, singing songs the children want to sing using primarily the sing-up website, the news that you will be charging for the site is a huge disappointment and a major step backwards. All you will do is consign music, and singing in particular, back to the bottom of the primary school curriculum. Schools are already financially stretched; this situation will get far worse before things improve and I already know what my headteacher's response will be. It looks like it's goodbye Sing-Up as I attempt to 'go it alone'. What a huge mistake you are making and how sad for my children.
Ms Cockburn Report this comment
Posted 31st Jan 2012 03:31
I am a freelancer who works (as a volunteer sing up champion) for a local infant school and I have been the main user of Sing Up! I have found it very helpful and am keen to be able to continue using the material.
Having spoken to the head teacher today I think it unlikely that she would sign up unless I persuaded the PTA to pay. Not all schools will be in the fortunate position to be able to dip into the PTA's funds (if they have some).
The school is an infant school and has under 50 pupils (and has been known to go down to 35) so could benefit from an additional small school discount.
Will your individual membership rates reflect parents like me, helping schools out on a voluntary basis?
I don't envy you lot sorting all this out. Good luck.
Ms Partridge Report this comment
Posted 31st Jan 2012 05:37
Having read through all the comments here, Singup refuses to accept that a Music Budget is a thing of the past. WE HAVE NO MONEY to spend on yearly memberships. Harping on about Early Bird Discount is no incentive; we fall into the £200 bracket PLUS VAT = £240. It's just a no go from the beginning. I shudder to think what the price will be after the first year.
I have already started using other materials and now don't think about Sing Up in my planning; very sad.
Your arguement about royalties is a poor one in todays climate; most production companies now insist on buying out the rights when they pay for the music in the first place - no residuals. Maybe Singup should have been a bit more on the ball with regard to copyright in the first place.
Mrs Gaze Report this comment
Posted 30th Jan 2012 10:03
What a massive disappointment. We have no budget for music this year as we are fighting a deficit - with only 83 children it will be impossible to justify such an expense. I agree with others - most only use the songs and the arrangements - can do without the training.
Mrs Smith Report this comment
Posted 30th Jan 2012 05:57
Much cheaper for schools to get together and buy in songbooks with backing tracks and share them around. As a part time teacher who is also a qualified vocal coach it saddens me to see how we all have been lured in and thoroughly enjoyed sing up only to have it removed by unrealistic charging policies. Please think again and lower the price.
Mr Milligan Report this comment
Posted 30th Jan 2012 03:34
I completely understand that government cuts in relation to the Sing Up budget are taking place and was saddened to hear this as the project really has changed school, children and teachers attitudes to singing for the better enabling so many schools to become 'singing schools' and applaud all at Sing Up for doing this. The songs, resources and training provided have been fantastic but unfortunately it is pretty unrealistic to expect schools to be able to find and allocate the stated amounts of money to further subscribe to this service when they are (more than ever) having to tighten the purse strings from a budget that was already pretty limited.
Mrs Evans Report this comment
Posted 29th Jan 2012 12:25
We will also not be able to afford to subsrcibe as our Music budget has never been more that £100. Could you not have a subscription that just allows access to the songbank. It is such a useful resource even if it still does not always work properly!! I too have plugged it for use by colleagues who are not music specialists. What a pity to undo all the good work that has been done over the last 5 years.
Mrs Richmond Report this comment
Posted 27th Jan 2012 11:14
The proposed minimum charge of £125 is too high. I receive a good allowance from my school, but am not prepared to pay so much on a yearly basis for singing material. If you set a more realistic fee of £50 I'm sure many schools would subscribe. I do not want a magazine or training events, just the opportunity to find 10-20 backing tracks for my choir to sing along to.
To reduce costs you could stop adding to the Songbank.
Many thanks for your wonderful service. The selection of songs and quality of performance have been outstanding. I now will have to browse other perfomance sources or play the piano and conduct at the same time!
Mr Williams Report this comment
Posted 27th Jan 2012 04:50
Our music budget stands at £100 yearly; we will therefore not be subscribing. I have been trying to 'sell' Sing-Up as a fantastic method of engaging the children in learning, improving behaviour and saving staff time. If I'm honest it has been a hard slog to get staff to use the website and, because of previous problems in using the system and the poor quality of certain recordings and activities in the song bank, take-up hasn't been great. This high subscription rate seems rather a gamble for us now; I can see areas where our budget would make more of an impact. I know that if we were to purchase a subscription, we would not be in any position to purchase further download credits: music is an important part of every child's education but it is just that - a *part* of it.
The truth of the matter is that the potential outlay of £100 is better used to purchase commercial backing tracks and sheet music books. To say I am disappointed is an understatement; I understand that funds are tight, both in government and schools, but in these times we must prioritise. If Sing-Up is to become a subscription-only service, many users and champions of singing in school will fall by the wayside. If the subscriptions are to be as high as they are currently set (even with the early-bird discount which is nothing new in education subscriptions) Sing-Up may well be no more.
We, as professionals, must just make certain that those of us with a passion for music and singing continue to empower other staff members to sing with their classes and keep music in the classroom. Teachers, turn out your cupboards and look to see what is there! You may be surprised...
Mrs Newcombe Report this comment
Posted 26th Jan 2012 11:03
Why not let us build our own Digital Songbook of 100 songs rather than the ones you have selected for us? You say you couldn't better the offer of 136 songs for £150 on a 'downloads only' package, which kind of hints that you could equal it..... I know what I would prefer! I'm sure the Digital Songbook is lovely, but it hardly seems fair to charge us for songs we may not use.
Mrs Crabbe Report this comment
Posted 26th Jan 2012 08:21
Mrs Cope
I am also very saddened by the charging. We are a small primary school who will not be able to afford to register so will not have access to the amazing resources you offer. I hope, as so many people have already said, that you are able to rethink and offer a more financially accessible package.
Mrs Glineur Report this comment
Posted 26th Jan 2012 07:34
Sing up is absolutely brilliant but I'm not surprised that with all the cuts it is now going to be charged for. However the amount being asked for membership is huge. Would it not be better to charge less so more of us can join rather than so much only a few can?
Ms Conway Report this comment
Posted 25th Jan 2012 11:16
I too am disappointed to hear about singup charging for the songs. I have used lots of singup songs in the past at the school I teach at and they have been a fantastic resource. However, we also have a limited music budget and I don't think I would download as many as 100 songs per year. Could there not be a reduced membership with same terms for 50 songs per year to make it more viable for smaller schools?
Ms Weston Report this comment
Posted 25th Jan 2012 02:40
I am a HLTA who teaches music in a rural primary school. I encourage all the pupils to sing and listen to as many styles of music as possible and we use the Sing up site periodically. As other comments have mentioned, I also usually only use the performance and backing tracks. There is no way my school can afford the membership costs and I don't feel it would be value for money either for the number of times I use the site. I am very disappointed with this news, it will really affect my lessons and the pupils enjoyment.
Mrs Collins Report this comment
Posted 24th Jan 2012 05:59
I am so disappointed with the charging structure. I run a choir in a small primary school although I am not employed by them. The SingUp site is brilliant for this and I am now thinking that I will not be able to use it any longer. Realistically, I would think that most people will not download enough during the year to make the subscription viable. Please re-think!
Sing Up Team Report this comment
Posted 24th Jan 2012 04:07
Dear all,
If you buy our Early Bird Discount, in year 1 of your membership you will get 136 songs for £150 (if you’re a medium sized school), this works out at £1.10 per song – before you’ve taken account of anything else you get in the membership package. If we were to offer a ‘downloads only’ package we probably couldn’t better that offer.
These songs are yours to download, and you will then own them permanently – you are free to burn them to CD, put them on your iPods, print out the sheet music etc. Even if you decide not to re-subscribe, you will still have had the opportunity to use the 136 songs in these ways
We hope this has helped. Don't forget - if you would like to take advantage of the Early Bird Discount, please register your interest with us. And if you have any questions please get in touch.
Miss Thomas Report this comment
Posted 24th Jan 2012 08:57
I logged on today during my Music Subject leader time, and was extremely dissapointed to read about these proposed changed. I have an extremely small music budget, which will not stretch to paying for this service. I have always been a huge fan of the service, and have encourages other staff members to use, such a shame.
Mrs Black Report this comment
Posted 23rd Jan 2012 11:10
I agree with other comments that this is far too expensive. And surely, as the songs on the website have already been 'paid for' by government funding, why can't we continue to stream and even download those for free? £5 per song is very expensive when you can buy books with 20 songs and a backing CD for about £15. I don't want a magazine, CD, training courses or activity packs. I just want easy access to lyrics and backing tracks and to be able to easily download them to use when I don't have access to the internet. I think it's very unlikely that my school will be able to subscribe at this cost, even with the 'early bird discount'. Tracks are available elsewhere for a lot less but the organisation of sing up is excellent. How many schools have already signed up? What will happen to sing up if schools dont subscribe? Please please please rethink the costs, schools cannot afford it and once again music will suffer
Mrs Mills Report this comment
Posted 23rd Jan 2012 10:01
I am really upset to see these changes. I regularly use your site to dip into to enhance my music lessons. I also encourage the children in my classes to do the same... which they do and they like to share your songs with me and their peers. Sing up really brings singing alive. Sadly, I can just see that this is not going to happen anymore. With schools being on a tight budget, I can see this scheme not being a high enough priority to pay into. Personally I look forward to receiving my magazine and disc, but if I'm honest, I find the disc and music the most valuable....couldn't a cheaper, thinner copy still be provided to schools? I know that my non-musical colleagues feel more confident when using your discs.
I am really saddened that this free service is being taken away....please please please think of a much cheaper/free basic package allowing schools and children to still use your site.
Mrs Newcombe Report this comment
Posted 23rd Jan 2012 09:09
I really believe that you should offer a 'BASIC' package that is for downloads only. As an individual who works in more than one school, that is all I need. And I never use the slow track or the sheet music. Just a performance and backing track. No magazine, CDs, resources or courses either...I just don't use them. Streaming is too dependant on your site functioning properly or on the internet running smoothly. So in order to get the whole place singing, that really is all I need. If it's all so expensive, then get back to basics.
Mind you, I really don't get this royalties argument in order to justify a £5 per download pricing. Itunes only charge 99p per song at most. If it's such a problem, put more songs on the site that are 'in the public domain' such as old traditional songs or folk songs. There are hundreds of those out there and royalties will not be payable. Having said that, I can get them from karaoke websites for a pound.
Can you let me know if there will be a downloads only package? And how much it will be?
Finally, I also think you should offer a Children's package. There are children who like to access the site at home too. What about them? Will you be addressing their needs?
Seriously, if you persist with this scheme as it is, there will be few takers. And then Sing Up will no longer be viable and will close.
Sing Up Team Report this comment
Posted 23rd Jan 2012 04:41
Dear Ms Carty,
Sing Up membership gives you:
• Full unrestricted access to download and stream 100 Songbank songs (via the Digital Songbook)
• A further 30 new songs per year – yours to download and stream, with the Sing Up Magazine
• Another 6 downloads (for Early Bird buyers)
• 800 – 1000 streams per year (depending on school size).
The 100 Digital Songbook songs, the 30 new magazine songs and the 6 Early Bird downloads will all be available for you including their expert resources - you can print the sheet music, teaching resources and download any of those tracks to your i-pod or PC or burn to CD (remember you get 4 tracks for each song too, not just one). So that works out at about 11 songs per month!
If you want to make the most of our fabulous resources plus grab your 6 extra download credits, register now for your Early Bird Discount.
Sing Up Team Report this comment
Posted 23rd Jan 2012 04:33
Dear Mrs Anderson-Brown,
Please sit tight - we are still finalising details but there will be a membership package designed especially for freelancers and individuals. Keep your eyes on the website for more info, coming soon!
Sing Up Team Report this comment
Posted 23rd Jan 2012 04:26
Dear All,
Thanks for all of your comments.
Regarding the on-going costs of song usage - the funding Sing Up has received until now hasn't only paid for the one-off costs of content creation. Every song on the Songbank costs something each time it is streamed (played live) or downloaded because as with all music, the creators, writers, publishers and performers get paid a royalty each time it is used. So although the government has been paying these costs until now, they will still need paying for in the future. These on-going costs are one of the reasons we cannot simply host the existing Song Bank for free – because each and every time a user wants to play a song, it costs money.
We are, however, giving you a catalogue of 100 songs in our Digital Song Book with unlimited offline usage as part of our membership package.
If you're interested in this and all the other great resources up for grabs, please register your interest with us.
Miss Swift Report this comment
Posted 22nd Jan 2012 09:27
I can't believe the system of charging you £10 per magazine and 'top ups'. It's not a mobile phone deal ! Mrs Barretto is quite right. This resource should stay free for teachers. This is a resource which is benefitting all areas of the curriculum after all, and is therefore saving schools money. As for charging to download tracks that are already there - well that's just taking money (a lot of money !)for doing nothing. Most primary schools will not be able to afford this which is a real shame.
Miss Knight Report this comment
Posted 22nd Jan 2012 06:59
I agree with other comments that this is far too expensive. And surely, as the songs on the website have already been 'paid for' by government funding, why can't we continue to stream and even download those for free? Surely we should only have to pay to access the new songs and resources that haven't already been created. £5 per song is very expensive when you can buy books with 20 songs and a backing CD for about £15. I don't want a magazine, CD, training courses or activity packs. I just want easy access to lyrics and backing tracks and to be able to easily download them to use when I don't have access to the internet. I think it's very unlikely that my school will be able to subscribe at this cost, even with the 'early bird discount'. We could only consider it if subscription was about a third of the cost and downloads were less than £2 per song.
Ms Anstice Report this comment
Posted 22nd Jan 2012 06:00
I do feel this is far too expensive.When I knew Sing Up was going to be membership only I thought it would be £30-£50. Resources which have already been paid for under govt funding should remain free. Like many people on here I don't use the magazine or the CDs at all and normally just play directly on the website. I do doubt that schools will pay this much indeed many curriculum budgets are only £100-200 a year if that. Music teachers would end up having to pay themselves, just like when we buy our own music books. The difference being that once you buy a book you don't have to buy the same thing again next year. Perhaps you could release some Sing Up Books so we can buy those instead with your top songs. £1 a download is far more reasonable just like on Itunes etc. Pity I haven't been downloading songs for the last few years. Please rethink this idea. At a time when music is under threat in our education system this is the last thing we need.
Miss Body Report this comment
Posted 22nd Jan 2012 03:18
so can I just buy the magazine at £10 per issue giving me 30 songs for £30?
Mrs Anderson-Brown Report this comment
Posted 20th Jan 2012 10:39
I am a freelance music teacher who has worked for Sing-Up in the past, as well as offering Music lessons during PPA. This means I cannot charge anything to a school, or benefit from a school subscription. Where do I go for resources? In the past, Sing-Up has directed me to books such as Singing Sherlock which contain a number of excellent resources. I shall be returning to the publications, as the website will have priced itself out of the market.
Mrs Kelly Report this comment
Posted 20th Jan 2012 11:12
I am very grateful for the last 5 years during which Sing-up has provided a fabulous service. Thank you. I have also known for a while that the government funding for it was going to be cut, but I am shocked by the proposed charges. Like so many others who have commented, I am not interested in courses or others additions. For me it is all about the songs and being able to print the sheet music off. I could probably succeed in persuading my head to pay a membership fee but it needs to be all inclusive. £5.00 for a download is exorbitant and beyond the pocket of most of us, I am sure. Sadly, if I have to manage without Sing-up I will as I am a specialist musician and can play the piano and accompany my children, but I know many of colleagues rely on your recorded accompaniments to make singing accessable to them. Please reconsider your membership package
Mrs Wilson Report this comment
Posted 20th Jan 2012 09:24
We are also a large primary school and would have to pay the higher end of your scale which is noy going to be easy to find - £5.00 a credit is absolutely ridiculous - mostly we just want to show children the score or print out sheet music to accompany thwe children and you can do thast fopr a lot less on digital music sites on the internet
I agree that we don't want or need wprkshops and fancy magazine printedd in full colour and cd's of songs already on the site - just the songbank and the words and tracks thanks!
Please reconsider your proposals for costing -
Ms Carty Report this comment
Posted 19th Jan 2012 10:29
I am really understanding this correctly - full membership includes just 6 free songs? £5 a song after that is absolutely ridiculous.
Can you please explain what this "digital library" means? If I can download them for offline usage then what is the difference between that and downloading songs for £5? Does this mean that I can't print sheet music or download to an ipod for instance?
Ipod usage is essential for me as your website can be slow at the best of times, and if my school internet is playing up...forget it! I often learn songs I'm planning to teach by listening to them whilst travelling etc...streaming or this dubious offline library will not help. I don't mind paying £125 for a year's membership, but like the others have said, I'm not interested in magazines, workshops or any fancy extras that are only affordable by those schools with good budgets. For £125 a year I would expect at least 8 downloads a month - to cover one song per class.
And what does
Mrs Kirkham Report this comment
Posted 19th Jan 2012 10:20
Hi
Can I too comment on the cost of £5 a download. This is too expensive! I think you have costed this price at far too much. I know you get lots of bits and pieces with it but esentially it's still one song.
You could visit Ameritz when it's one of their 24 p days. I am a huge fan of yours and we too are a Platinum school. I have even worked as a trainer for you as well. I don't think anyone minds the paying for yearly membership, but it's so limiting. I also think the 100 songs you put into the library will be great but probably ones that have been around forever and that most of us have on CD's or sing without. I just feel so sad that the site cannot continue to be one where schools are free to experiment with lots of songs whenever they wanted. i wonder how well the site will work if everyone's using the site directly more for singing. I've found it better to download first and use the songs off line. How will this effect trainee teachers in Universitys??? Will they be able to access this wonderful resource for teaching practices etc??
Ms Partridge Report this comment
Posted 19th Jan 2012 07:48
I'm glad I'm not the only one concerned about this 'new' development. It's obviously been in the pipeline for ages. To reiterate, this was a government funded project which should remain free for the taxpayers that paid for it. I have no music budget at all. I am self employed and am lucky to keep the 4 hours a week I get. It will be a massive impact on my teaching not to have Sing Up let alone the ICT resource which the children can easily access from home with their parents. Please think again.
Mrs Barretto Report this comment
Posted 19th Jan 2012 05:48
Am I right in thinking that the government funded the last five years worth of sing up? If so all the resources so far should remain free to us all. Forget the training, the awards, the freebies. Wouldn't it be a compromise to keep the existing 'government funded stuff' free for those who it was intended for?
Sing Up Team Report this comment
Posted 19th Jan 2012 12:50
Dear All,
Again, thank you for your on-going feedback regarding our changes. We understand that this has thrown up a lot of questions as, in order to continue our service, we have to move to a membership model to cover our costs. The Sing Up website will continue to be free until 1 April 2012 when our funding ends, so all memberships that are purchased up until then will officially start on 1 April. This is why we are offering a fantastic Early Bird Discount of up to 30%.
As explained, we are still developing the packages for Individuals (including Supply Teachers), Organisations and Families and we intend them to be both affordable and flexible. Please sit tight, as the details are coming soon! We are currently doing research in this area, so please get in touch if you'd like to take part.
We understand that our changes and terminology may take some getting used to, and for this reason we’re working on some ‘How to’ videos to help you use your Sing Up Libraries, downloads and streams.
Streaming is where you play a song live from our website by clicking the ‘play’ or ‘preview’ button next to a song. This will not use a download credit, but it will count as one ‘stream’. The number of ‘streams’ you have used is displayed in your My Sing Up area.
What we are calling our ‘Digital Songbook’, will be immediately available in all members’ Libraries when memberships begin on 1 April. This actually means that with the Membership package, users will receive free access to download 100 favourite songs from our Song Bank, like 'My name is Joe (Button Factory)', 'Baby one, two, three' and 'the Gospel medley'. This includes unlocking the sheet music, teaching notes and all audio tracks for unlimited offline usage. We’ve taken great care in developing this selection of songs and we know it’s a fantastic resource.
Downloads in addition to this will have a cost associated with them, but please bear in mind you will be able to stream the whole Song Bank into your classrooms as before. Each download credit will unlock a wealth of content that we’ve specifically created for that song. You will unlock: all audio tracks (including performance, backing, echo and slowed-down echo track), all sheet music, song sheets and instrumental parts and all other resources, including, where available, our unique Accessible Learning Resources (braille song sheets, BSL and Makaton signed videos, Clicker 5 and Voca files and more). All members will also still have full access to our innovative song-specific activity ideas and lesson plans including curriculum links. Comparing these fantastic resources with what’s available on the market, we know this is incredibly good value.
We are still dedicated to providing you with everything you need to make your schools singing schools, and to continue with your work as expert singing leaders. All your comments are incredibly useful to us and we understand the time that it takes to acclimatise to our changes. Please note that whilst we want to reply to comments in a timely fashion, we work regular office hours and will respond during that time.
Don’t forget to drop us a line if you want to be the first to know when we open our virtual doors.
More information surrounding the packages will be coming soon!
Kind regards,
The Sing Up Team
Miss Rhodes Report this comment
Posted 19th Jan 2012 11:24
Hi,
Is this definitely set in stone? Up to now we have been encouraging all members of staff and others from local schools to be using your services as they have ben so good. I understand that charges have to be made sue to the government slashing their funding. However, they're doing that to us too. If we're paying to be members but still can only download a few tracks, that doesn't seem to be very fair, particularly as £5 for additional downloads is incredibly expensive. You can buy whole cds for that amount. We won't be allowed to do that with our budget. Although our school is reasonably large, that means we'll already be paying more to become members but won't be getting any more in return. Is there no way schools could choose whether to opt out of having the magazine and have more songs instead?
Miss Ellis Report this comment
Posted 19th Jan 2012 08:26
Our school has just completed Silver and was going to start the Gold award but I'm now not sure it's worth doing. As others have mentioned I can't see my music budget stretching this far - even the cost to be a member!
Miss Goodman Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 10:27
£5.00 a credit is extortionate, and completely unrealistic for a school like mine, as we are a small Infant school that relies heavily on your website to keep us a 'singing school'. I understand the need for schools to pay a membership fee, and could possibly argue the point for our budget that would allow me to afford this. But, if I have to pay for downloads, on top of the membership fee, I feel that I may have to say goodbye to Sing Up. As a previous comment has stated, it would be cheaper to return to buying song books - a massive step backwards, as far as I'm concerned. Please, please think again about the package that you are offering to our schools - our music budget is miniscule and I'm constantly having to fight the musical corner. Your songbank is a massive resource for me, which I will no longer be able to afford.
Mr Law Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 10:19
As a large primary school being asked to pay top end of the payscale (£250) I would happily trade in the SingUp training events, AND probably the magazine (if able to be accessed and printed from the site) IF I could have access to the song bank to a higher degree. Please SingUp offer packages that could be customisable for each individual users needs!
Mrs Davies Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 09:28
it would be really useful if you could reply to some of these comments
Mrs Carpenter Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 08:47
Streams are when you play/listen to the song 'live' from the website. Downloads are when you download the mp3 and song sheets to your computer to keep to use when you like. I can understand downloads (although £5 seems a bit steep, when a music track on iTunes is 79pish!) But I'm not sure why we have to be limited in streaming? Does that cost?
Mrs Marsh Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 08:46
Hi
1. Do you reply to the above comments directly with the sender as there are no replies published?
2. I use the sheet music a huge amount, as well as the online words and tracks. Will it really cost me £5 per song to print out the music, as buying a book from the music shop would be cheaper?
3. What IS 'streaming'?
4. You could not get a bigger fan then me- I have led my school through silver, gold and platinum. Please don't reduce our access to this invaluable resource, even if we do have to pay an annual rate which I fully understand. But £5 a song is extortionate! Do you know what an average primary music budget is?- well this academic year so far £12!!! So after April we'll get 2 and 1/2 printed songs at that rate!!! :(
Yours slightly desperately and panicky!
Ms Olaniran Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 08:35
If you haven’t finalise the details, can I suggest that you keep the streaming free for families. Thanks
Ms Miller Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 08:26
Once this becomes a paid for scheme in April, will all the songs currently on line become unavailable? Or is it only the new songs that will be added. Like many of the other posts I would like further clarification as to what exactly is included in the basic package. I do understand though that we will now have to pay for this fantastic resource. Will it be possible just to buy the magazines?
Ms Olaniran Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 08:01
Dislike, grrrrrr, I have only just signed up on the recommendation that this is free. Can someone please clarify what the cost will be for families and also can i get access/add to my playlist.
Mrs Carpenter Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 08:00
From the info given, it seems we won't get any downloads included with the package. Is that correct? That is a great shame, if so, because to be able to burn the tracks to CD or upload them attached to a Smartboard page with lyrics is so useful. I'm not always able to access a large screen/laptop to stream the songs live, and if the internet is down, that's that! Perhaps the full subs, which are quite a lot, could include 50 downloads a year? Something like that? (Or unlimited even better...?) Also, I hope the freelance fee is relatively low... (Like no more than £50!) I know these things cost a lot of money to do, but it is a shame the format has to change so much.
Ms Stagg Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 07:48
Like a few other users, I don't understand streaming or streams. Could someone clarify (in very simple language!)?
Can I also ask, will the subscription need to paid as a yearly payment or could it be split into a monthly subscription? At present I don't have a music budget at all - so anything I buy comes out my own pocket.
Mrs Leach Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 07:35
Hi all,
It seems the main issue that everyone wants/ needs to know is how many songs we can use with the membership! If you read to the end, credits (for 1 song) cost £5. Is this in addition to the yearly membership? I do not understand what 'streaming' is?!
Mrs Cave Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 07:07
I was going to echo Mrs Skinner, what about those music leaders who subscribe separate from a school?
Mrs Fryer Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 07:03
This is so sad. I have already had my hours cut from 8 to 2 and a half, but I use those 2 and a half hours to promote singing using singup as my main resource. Unfortunately it will be chaeaper for me to buy song by song from another source. I use my own money as I have no music budget and I can't afford £150.00 as that is my monthly wage. However, thank you for the last 5 years and at least I have the magazines from previous years and luckily I have downloaded quite a few songs. Sad news. :-(
Miss Kenyon Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 06:36
Hmm. Perhaps I was naive, bit I thought the download credits was only until the membership package came in. I thought we would then have access to everything we used to. It seems that we will be paying for the reduced service we get now. It will be hard to make varied CDs. So how many 'download credits' do we get with each package?
Ms Cutts Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 06:29
Can you give us an idea of how many 'streams' you will get? Our school has 210 pupils. Thanks.
Mrs Mead Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 06:22
can someone please clarify how many download credits come with the school package - and if we join as a school will all my staff with logins be able to access songs?
Mrs O'sullivan Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 06:18
Sorry, I'm probably being a bit thick, but is streaming the same as downloading. As I work in several locations I always burn the songs to CD and print off the sheet music. I don't always have computer access, in fact in one school I work in the hall so there is no computer access at all. Is streaming when you play it live from th website? If so, how many actual downloads will we allowed in the basic package? If it's not very many it won't be worth me doing it? I would be so upset to lose this resource - I use it all the time.
Sing Up Team Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 04:50
Hi Mrs Clark,
In the basic membership package streaming will now be limited and how many streams you are allocated will depend on the size of your school. You will still be able to access your playlists, these won't disappear at all. Thanks for your question!
Mrs Clark Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 02:24
It's not clear whether unlimited streaming is included in the basic package? If not then what is the limit? And it's not clear whether everyone will still have access to their own playlists - or will these disappear? Thanks
Sing Up Team Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 10:04
Dear All,
Thanks for your feedback. For clarification –
• The Early Bird discount only applies to schools. We will be launching this soon and if you are interested, please let us know so we can contact you when it opens.
• All users, including schools, organisations, individual freelancers and families at home can continue accessing the site for free until 1st April.
• From 1st April we will also be offering a subscription geared towards self-employed freelancers and families. Keep your eyes peeled for more information in the coming months.
Miss Holness Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 09:49
I have promoted this in my school as a free resource for teachers and for children and it's been an extremely useful resource. I echo the feelings of those above: I won't be able to take advantage of the early bird deal as I can't use my budget until April (and you haven't given enough details about this anyway) and this was always promoted as government funded. If it was going to change then surely you could have given us a bit more notice and information!
Mrs Skinner Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 09:21
Please make sure you take into account the fact that many co-ordinators have spent their budgets for this finacial year and so will not be able to take advantage of your early bird discount unless it is offered for an extended time over the next month or so. I think it is very confusing at the moment, couldn't you have written it as 'bundles' It is not clear exactly what you get for what? Luckilly, we are a large school...but what about self emplyed singing consultants?
Mr Vinten Report this comment
Posted 18th Jan 2012 08:30
Like the comment above I am also self- employed working in several schools with choirs and singing clubs.I Have been Involved with sing up from the start and have attended many of the training courses and workshops. I feel sad that I may no longer be able to use the resources.Please can you let us know what provisions are being made for vocal leaders who are self employed .Thanks Mrs Jenny Green
Ms Partridge Report this comment
Posted 17th Jan 2012 09:25
I'm upset that we will have to pay for SingUp in the future. This was a government funded project, paid for by the taxpayer, and we will have to pay for it again. I have used SingUp from the beginning, promoting it to children and parents, colleagues and local authority. Will the children still be able to access the website for free from home? It has been a fantastic ICT resource. :(
Mrs Peden Smith Report this comment
Posted 17th Jan 2012 08:13
I am a vocal leader, self-employed and working for the county music service or hub. I work in abour 8-10 schools on a regular basis, and have always used Sing Up resources, as well as promoting Sing Up where ever I go. I have done Sing Up training for children and adults, and have always been involved in Sing Up from the very start. Will there be any affordable means for individuals like myself to access the site?
Ms Presman Report this comment
Posted 17th Jan 2012 05:06
why haven't you said when this is happening, and when the early bird discount is for?