Til
Til is a live online marketplace connecting individual guitar and bass learners with 50+ professional musicians for private and group lessons via video chat, serving students across 67 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Til does
Til, operated by Pickup Music Inc., is an online two-sided marketplace for live, instructor-led guitar and bass lessons. The platform connects individual learners with 50+ professional musicians — including touring artists, session players, and Berklee-trained instructors — for one-on-one private lessons and small group classes delivered via live video chat. Students browse teachers by style, skill level, and goals, then book and pay through the platform. The company is incorporated in California with a reported headquarters in Los Angeles, operates globally in 67 countries, and serves a long-tail consumer base with no disclosed enterprise customers.
The underlying technology is a web-based live video lesson platform that bundles scheduling, payment processing, messaging, and lesson recording. Every session is recorded and persisted in the student's chat for later review, and a private teacher chat is available between lessons for follow-up questions and playing videos. Til integrates YouTube API Services for video delivery and analytics, and the platform is device-agnostic across desktop and mobile browsers. There is no native mobile app, and no AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.
The business model is a marketplace take on teacher-set per-lesson pricing, with students paying for individual or package lessons. The company claims lessons are roughly 50% less expensive than in-person instruction. Go-to-market is self-serve and product-led: students discover the platform through SEO-optimized city landing pages (e.g., /guitar/new-york, /guitar/los-angeles), free chord and theory content, and word-of-mouth driven by teacher reputation. The platform reported a 4.93 average class rating across its lesson base.
Til firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Til
- Legal name
- Pickup Music Inc.
- Website
- https://www.til.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Til is a live online marketplace connecting individual guitar and bass learners with 50+ professional musicians for private and group lessons via video chat, serving students across 67 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Til industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Music Education
- NAICS
- All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), All Other Miscellaneous Schools and Instruction (611699)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Online / Virtual Music Instruction & Platforms (EDAMANAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Private Music Lessons (Instrumental) (EDAMANAA), Cohort-Based Courses & Live Bootcamps (MPACALAC), Group & Class-Based Live Tutoring Platforms (EDANAGAB)
Keywords
Where Til is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Til business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Online Guitar/Bass Lessons: Students pay for individual live online lessons with expert guitar and bass teachers. The platform connects students with teachers for private and small group lessons, handling transaction processing through the marketplace.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Flexible per-lesson pricing with teacher-specific rates |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Til product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Til operates an online marketplace that connects individual guitar and bass students with world-class professional musicians for live, instructor-led video lessons. Lessons are offered as private one-on-one sessions or small group classes, with each session automatically recorded and archived in a private student-teacher chat for later review. The platform handles discovery, scheduling, payment, and delivery, and positions itself as roughly 50% less expensive than in-person instruction.
Product overview
Til is an online music education platform offering live, instructor-led guitar and bass lessons via video chat. The platform operates as a marketplace connecting students with world-class professional musicians for private one-on-one lessons and small group classes. Key product components include: (1) Live Online Guitar and Bass Lessons as the core offering with Private Lessons and Group Lessons variants; (2) Lesson Recordings feature allowing students to rewatch saved lessons anytime; (3) Private Chat with Teacher for ongoing feedback and questions; (4) a Teacher Marketplace for browsing and booking instructors; and (5) Til Guarantee for booking protection. The platform also provides free Chord Tutorials as supplemental instructional content. All lessons are conducted through online video chats with scheduling, payment processing, and lesson recording handled through the platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Live Online Guitar and Bass Lessons Live, instructor-led guitar and bass lessons conducted via video chat with world-class professional musicians, offered as private one-on-one sessions or small group classes, with integrated scheduling, payment processing, lesson recording, and chat functionality. Targeted at individual guitar and bass learners of all skill levels.
- Private Lessons One-on-one personalized guitar and bass lessons with expert teachers, tailored to the student's style, skill level, and musical goals.
- Group Lessons Small group live guitar and bass lessons with expert teachers, providing a collaborative learning environment alongside other musicians.
- Teacher Marketplace Online marketplace connecting students with world-class guitarists and bassists, featuring browsing and filtering by skill level, style, and musical goals, and serving as the discovery and booking layer for all lessons.
- Chord Tutorials Free instructional content including chord diagrams, finger placement guides, common chord progressions, practice drills, and song recommendations for various chord types (e.g., F major seventh).
Quantifiable outcome
- Average 4.93 class rating across all lessons
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Til
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Til technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Til partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- YouTubesupportingTil integrates YouTube API Services to provide video and analytics functionality on its platform, enabling video lesson delivery and related features.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Til competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Fender Play: Subscription-based online guitar lessons platform from Fender, focused on video-based structured curricula for guitar and bass. Direct competitor for guitar/bass learners, though Til differentiates with live rather than asynchronous instruction.
- Yousician: App-based interactive music learning platform spanning guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, and vocals with structured curricula. Competes for the same learner segments, particularly beginners, through mobile-first delivery.
- Lessonface: Online music lessons marketplace connecting students with teachers for live private and group sessions across multiple instruments. Direct overlap with Til's core offering in live online music instruction.
- ArtistWorks: Online music school delivering pre-recorded video lessons and feedback exchanges with world-class musicians across multiple instruments. Shares Til's emphasis on world-class teacher credentials as a positioning pillar.
- JamPlay: Subscription-based online guitar lessons platform with video courses, live workshops, and on-demand instruction for guitar and bass. Closely comparable in instrument focus and consumer target.
- TrueFire: Online guitar education platform featuring video courses taught by notable professional guitarists. Overlaps with Til's teacher-talent-led positioning in guitar instruction, though delivered as pre-recorded content.
- TakeLessons: Largest U.S. marketplace for private music, language, and academic lessons, with both in-person and online delivery. Operates a similar two-sided marketplace model with comparable teacher discovery, scheduling, and payment infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- Wyzant: Long-standing online and in-person tutoring marketplace covering academic subjects, languages, and music. Comparable marketplace mechanics for music instruction though with broader category focus and U.S.-centric scale.
- MasterClass: Premium online learning platform featuring courses taught by celebrity experts across creative and professional categories, including music. Comparable teacher-reputation-led positioning but with recorded rather than live instruction.
- Preply: Global online tutoring marketplace spanning languages, academic subjects, and music. Operates a similar marketplace infrastructure at much larger scale and broader category scope.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Til social profiles
Digital presenceTil financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Til leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Til funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Til M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Til
What does Til do?
Til operates an online marketplace that connects individual guitar and bass students with world-class professional musicians for live, instructor-led video lessons. Lessons are offered as private one-on-one sessions or small group classes, with each session automatically recorded and archived in a private student-teacher chat for later review. The platform handles discovery, scheduling, payment, and delivery, and positions itself as roughly 50% less expensive than in-person instruction.
Is Til a public or private company?
Til is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Til founded?
Til was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Til based?
Til is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Til make money?
One revenue line is on record: online Guitar/Bass Lessons.
Who are Til's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Fender Play, Yousician, Lessonface, ArtistWorks, JamPlay, TrueFire and TakeLessons. Broad incumbents are Wyzant, MasterClass and Preply.
Does Til have an API?
No public API is recorded for Til.
What industry is Til in?
Til's product category is Online Music Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMANAI, Online / Virtual Music Instruction & Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAMANAA, Private Music Lessons (Instrumental). Its NAICS code is 61169 and its SIC code is 8200.