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I’ll get this out of the way at the very top:

I have used Everand (formerly called Scribd) as a sheet music subscription service for years.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much money it has saved me not only as a musician, but as a private music teacher. That being said, let’s jump in!

*Quick note: Everand recently went through a re-branding. They split their company into two apps: Scribd, for documents, and Everand, for books, sheet music, and podcasts. All the information in this post is up to date after the rebrand!

How much does Everand cost?

$11.99 a month.

That’s it! No other fees for certain books or features, just a flat $12 a month. Plus, you can try it for free for 30 days to see if it’s for you!

Everand Sheet Music Library

In a relatively new feature (at the time of writing this), Everand has put an entire Sheet Music section on their site and app. The Everand sheet music library boasts over 70,000 pieces of sheet music, all accessible when you have a subscription.

As a private music teacher and musician, I always liked hard copies of my music. Of course, that was before digital copies of music was really a thing. My instructor in college had an office with wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookshelves stuffed to the brim with repertoire books, and I always thought that my office would be the same.

Fast forward to having my private music teacher office in my home, and the dream of having thousands of books in my library seemed like a pipe dream. Not only do I not have the room, but all those books get expensive. Plus, did you know that the average American uses seven trees worth of paper every year? Not only is paper music expensive, but it certainly doesn’t help with our deforestation problem.

My students would purchase the books they needed for lessons, but I just couldn’t afford to have all the books I could possibly need on-hand. That, as you may have guessed, is when I found Everand!

Now, all I need to bring my library with me is my laptop, my ipad, or – in a pinch – my phone (their mobile apps are quite good). If a student forgets his book, or we want to look for some supplemental material, Everand is the first place I look.

Other ways Everand has helped my private music teacher business

Another beautiful thing: Everand is far from just a sheet music subscription. In fact, it didn’t start with that goal in mind!

They host books, audiobooks, podcasts, magazines, and documents (of all kinds) for anyone who has a subscription to access.

I’m a huge fan of podcasts and audiobooks while I’m working around the house, driving, or rocking my baby to sleep, and I’m a fan of reading. I have read many books that have helped my private music teacher business on Everand, as well as leisure books, all included in my Everand membership.

They have books on business, even specifically Music Business, books on lesson planning, books on teaching methods and philosophies – if you have a subject that you want to read about, they have it on there.

Cons

Now, we all know that nothing is perfect, and Everand, especially as a sheet music subscription, is no exception. In my case, the pros far outweigh the cons, but I would be doing you all a disservice by not discussing them; some of the functionality of Everand can greatly impact the way you approach your lesson music! This way, you will be able to make a fully formed decision when choosing your sheet music subscription!

Printed Music

If you are a die-hard printed music fan (which I totally get), Everand might not be for you. Everand is a sheet music subscription in the sense that Netflix is a TV subscription; you gain access to their entire library as long as your sheet music subscription is active. When you stop your subscription, your access ends.

Some of the music you can download and print (the sheet music found in the documents section in the Scribd app are saved as PDF files) or download and annotate, but the vast majority of the quality music is accessible in-app only.

If you are good with accessing it in the app only, it is available on whatever device you have! I personally have an ipad pro, and I love reading my music on it.

Sharing with Students

Because most of the music is not printable, sharing the music with students isn’t as easy as printing them a copy. While this isn’t a huge con – students should be buying their repertoire – it can cause some hiccups in finding the correct version or key of a song.

Sheet Music Quality and Variety

Because anyone can upload documents, it can lead to quality issues. I have run into scores that don’t have the complete song, movement, or even work. However, I have found this to be true only in the Documents section of the site. The sheet music, book, and podcast side more strictly combed for quality and accuracy.

You may also find that they don’t have certain pieces or even pieces in certain keys that you might want. However, this is the case with any sheet music subscription – just like a tv subscription won’t have all tv titles, no sheet music subscription will have all the pieces in all the keys.

There you have it: that’s why I’ve used Everand as a sheet music subscription for years, and the small issues I have run into.

I really am amazed that not more of my musician friends have used, or even heard of, Everand. I find new rep (and save my students when they forget their books), learn about my business, and read for pleasure all on one app, and it just costs $12 a month! And, of course, you can try it for free for your first month to see if it lives up to all this hype I’m giving it.

As always: if you have any questions, my inbox is open!