FAQ

Email

What if I don't receive my registration confirmation email?

If you haven't received an email after 10minutes, check your spam/junk folder in your email to see if the email was incorrectly filtered. If you do not receive a confirmation email you can reset your password to receive a reset link which will also activate your account, just visit this page to reset your password. You can add "[email protected]" to your address book to help mark emails from us as ones you want.

Subscriptions

How do I update my card details and billing details?

For Club Members: At this point, the only way to update your card details is to cancel your current subscription and set up a new one. You can't pause it in this instance. Cancelling a subscription does not affect your current term if it has started. Cancelling a subscription does not remove your access to your current and past groups. To cancel your subscription, go to the Account tab in the top menu. Click on the left hand menu called 'Billing'. Select the pink 'Manage' button on your current subscription. On the next page you can click 'Cancel'. Then go back to the tab 'The Club' and click within the blue Subscription box to resubscribe, using your new card details.

For Level Up Club Members: To change your card details, click here and follow the prompts to update your billing. You will need to use the email address that is registered on the IHSC member site.

What if I don't have a credit card?

You can also use a debit card. Banks will often provide customers with a debit card to access their account from ATMs. These cards usually have debit card written on them and have a Visa or Mastercard logo. Debit cards can be offered as part of the account type at no extra cost to replace ATM cards. If you do not have a credit or debit card talk to you bank to see if they will provide you with a debit card.

Can I use a debit card?

Yes, you can use a credit or debit card. Just be sure that there is sufficient funds available to be charged in either case.

What card types can I use?

Visa, Mastercard and American Express are accepted.

When will my card be charged?

Your card will be charged at one of our scheduled charge times prior to group assignment. We have multiple scheduled charge times each week to give any users whose card charge fails a chance to correct the problem before the next grouping time so they don't miss out.

What if I don't want to do another term?

You can avoid having your card charged and subsequently being put into a new term by cancelling or pausing your subscription. You can pause or cancel your subscription at any time by visiting your account page. To avoid creating a gap between a current term and the next term, our system automatically processes subscriptions for new terms in the last week of your current term. If you wish to pause or cancel your subscription, you need to ensure you make any necessary changes are made to do so before the last week starts for your current term, and specifically before the Saturday of your Week 10.

When will I be assigned a group?

Once you have an active subscription and your card is successfully charged you will be put into a list of people to be grouped in the next group assignment. Each Thursday groups users starting a new term will be assigned to a group by our system.

Will pausing or cancelling my subscription stop my current term?

No. Charges are made before terms to provide access for the entire term and you will be required to continue participating in your current group as agreed when signing up.

What if my card is charged and I cancel my subscription before being assigned to a group?

Charges are made per term prior to the start of the term, so once a charge has been successful you will be put into a group regardless of the status of your subscription. You can avoid having your card charged and subsequently being put into a new term by cancelling or pausing your subscription.

How to I cancel my active subscription

Log into our site https://share.iheartsongwritingclub.com/login. Go to the Account tab in the top menu. Click on the left hand menu called 'Billing'. Select the pink 'Manage' button on your current subscription. On the next page you can click 'Cancel'. You will be sent an email to your stored email address in our site to confirm your subscription cancellation. If you are mid-way through a term, you will continue to have access to your group and will be required to continue participation til the end of the term as per the terms of your membership. 

How to I cancel or pause my active subscription

Participation

Do I have to be able to play an instrument?

It can help, but it's not necessary. A song at its core is melody and lyrics (and with the melody is an implied harmony). Be prepared to write a melody and lyrics at a minimum and sing your ideas to share them with us. If you play piano or guitar (even just a few chords is fine) that will help you discover and bring to light the harmony you want behind this melody. Remember a cracker song can be written with just 2 or 3 simple chords, a famous example is "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac. You may be interested to know that many members have learnt to play instruments whilst songwriting as part of I Heart Songwriting Club. So you don’t need to be proficient or 'good' at anything. Just be ready to have a go and have a few basic skills under your belt.

Do I have to be a good singer?

No. Have you heard Leonard Cohen sing? The man can write a brilliant song, but singing wasn’t his forte. This isn’t a singing club – it’s a songwriting club and if you’re reading this I’m guessing you’re wanting to improve your songwriting. You’ll need to share your voice to demonstrate your melody and lyrics. And if it's a long-held belief that you can't sing, perhaps it's time to challenge those old beliefs about your singing. If you can speak, you can sing!

Do my songs have to be good?

No. Do you want to get better? You’re only going to feel better about your songs by doing something about it. There are many different pathways you can take to becoming a better songwriter, I Heart Songwriting Club is only one option and may not suit you.

What does writing a "finished" song mean?

You've written your lyrics and melody from beginning to end. What's the lowest barrier to "done"? For me, finished means I've sung it (and maybe played my guitar) into my phone voice memos from start to end. It's still rough, no doubt, but it's a work tape. When you write 52 songs a year, not all of them are going to get into the studio or have arrangement.

Do I have to write each week?

Yes. By joining I Heart Songwriting Club you are making a commitment to your songwriting practice for 10 weeks at a time. After you complete your 10-week term, you can choose whether you continue or not in the next 10-week term. We get that life is busy. Keep in mind it’s a 1-hour exercise per week, which can make a huge difference to your songwriting output. And what you chose to do beyond the 1-hour and beyond the club is up to you. If you're away from your usual writing space or sick, work outside of the box and ask what CAN do you in 1-hour? Members write on the beach, in hotel rooms, in aeroplanes - songwriting has no defined 'look'.

Do I have to give feedback?

Yes. The listening component of the club takes about 30-60 minutes per week. You don’t need to give critique when offering feedback, but you can. What to say might become more obvious when getting to know the songs and writing styles of other members. You might like to start by commenting on the parts of the song that you liked most. If you feel comfortable and it's relevant, you could share a part of the song that doesn’t sit well with you, in your opinion. Often times your comments encourage songwriters to go back and listen to the songs written and see them in a different light. Don't be scared to be constructive and creative with your criticism, as long as it's done with sensitivity. It's really important for us to grow as writers and that can be enabled in this space.

Do I have to have recording equipment?

No, but something basic to record audio on like a voice memo app on your phone is sufficient and encouraged. When you have finished writing your song, simply record it on your phone (or use a computer program if you wish) and upload it to our site. Many members of I Heart Songwriting Club find recording their ideas during the songwriting process can also be helpful to remembering their ideas. Having something simple to record with can be very useful to your songwriting development.

Do we meet in person?

Technical Troubleshooting

How to use the site from my iPhone?

Currently, Apple iOS doesn't allow a direct upload from Voice Memos on the iPhone to any website. To get around this you'll need a Google Drive account or Dropbox account on your phone to use to help you submit your song on our site. In order to upload your song directly from your iPhone to our site, do these following steps: