Introducing the News feature

Over the past little while, I’ve been working on a new feature in My Music Studio that tackles a problem most of us know too well: important information going out to families, and then trying to keep track of who’s actually seen it, let alone responded.

The News feature is my attempt to make that part of studio life easier, for both teachers and parents, and far less manual.

At its simplest, News lets you publish announcements to your students and families: things like performance details, weeks off, timetable changes, or policy updates. But the real win is that these aren’t just messages. They’re structured items that can collect responses and show you, at a glance, where everyone’s up to.

Why I built it

For many teachers, communication lives in a messy mix of email threads, messages, PDFs, consent forms, follow-ups, and mental notes like “I still need to hear back from three families.” It’s fragmented and annoying.

What I wanted was a single place where families receive clear, relevant information, and teachers can see, without digging, who has acknowledged, RSVP’d, or given consent.

That’s what News is designed to do.

How it works in practice

When you create a News item, you decide who it applies to (all students, or a specific group?) and what kind of response you need, if any.

A News item can be informational only, or it can ask for a specific action such as a simple acknowledgement, an RSVP, dietary requirements, or consent.

Families receive an email with a link to the item and respond directly there. No attachments, no separate forms.

Back on your side, you can see all responses in one place, track who hasn’t replied yet, and follow up without guessing.

Here’s how I would use it in my studio

One of the things I’ve been careful about is keeping this feature focused on real teaching situations, not turning it into a generic form builder. These are the kinds of problems I’d actually use it to solve.

Policy acknowledgement

Collecting acknowledgement of your studio policies is an obvious one. Every time a new family comes on board, you add them to a News item that contains your policy information. They get the notification, read the policy, and select “I acknowledge”. You now have a permanent record that they’ve seen and accepted it.

If you ever update your policies, you don’t need to create a whole new document or News item. You just click edit, update the policy details, tick the option that requires everyone to respond again, and hit save. All of your families get a notification about the updated policies and can acknowledge them again.

You can easily track all responses. Updating your policies (or prompting families to accept them again when a new year starts) becomes an absolute no-brainer. And it's much easier to defend those conversations with parents who have “forgotten” why one month costs more than another, or who ask again about a makeup lesson despite your no-makeup policy, when you update and send out your policy each year.

And it's so easy to do with the News feature - so you'll actually do it.

Performance info and RSVPs

Performances are another really practical use case. You’ve got a performance coming up and your side is organised, but you need to know which students are performing, whether they’re bringing family (so you know how many chairs to put out), and you want everyone to remember to wear something appropriate.

All the performance information already lives in the system, and the relevant students are already attached to it. From there, you just click “Create news item”. The performance details are pulled in automatically, the student list is pre-filled, and you choose whether you want families to RSVP, indicate guest numbers, or even provide dietary requirements if you’re planning supper afterwards.

You hit publish. Families get the notification and the information they need, and you check responses when it suits you later. You don't have to chase them, or send out separate emails, or keep track in your head who has responded.

These are just two examples of how the News feature can be used. There are plenty more, depending on how your studio runs.

What I hope it changes

My aim with News isn’t to add “one more feature”, but to remove an annoying (and honestly boring) ongoing source of cognitive load.

You don’t need to wonder who’s replied, chase consent across multiple message threads, or keep mental tallies after hours (or at 3am). You just check the News item and see the list of responses. If you want to, you can click one button to prompt everyone who hasn’t responded yet. Then go have a coffee.

The News feature gives you a clear record of what was sent, who it applied to, and where things stand now.

Hopefully it’ll give you back some control over studio communication and stop it from eating into your unpaid time, especially at those busy parts of the year.