Pickup Music is a community of musicians, creators, and music lovers

Our story

In 2015 Sam Blakelock was living in New York trying to make a living as a jazz guitarist. In between gigs, teaching, and part-time jobs, he started the Instagram page @pickupjazz. The page quickly grew into a vibrant community of jazz musicians. It was a new way for musicians from New York, LA, and beyond to connect and share live performances online.

With the addition of the broader @pickupmusic page, the community expanded to include every genre and instrument. By 2016, the the online community spilled out into real life with live shows, meet-ups, and challenges.

By 2018, the Pickup Music had become one of the largest communities of musicians on social media – a supportive space that allowed a new generation of musicians to connect, learn and grow together.

That same year, Pickup Music launched its membership to help students improve at guitar. The platform gave members a way to learn directly from the best musicians on social media. Rather than focusing on traditional "dad-rock", the membership explored more modern guitar sounds that blend elements of neo soul, RnB and jazz.

Today, Pickup Music is a community of over 1 million musicians through its @pickupmusic, @pickupjazz, and @pickupbeats pages. The Pickup Music membership helps over 20,000 students worldwide get better at guitar through the best guitar lessons available online.

2015

Founded by independent musicians

20K +

Members

100 %

Independently owned

Our Team

We're a small-but-mighty team of musicians who love helping people get better at guitar and develop their unique musical voice.

Sam Blakelock

Co-founder, CEO

Cam Nolan

Co-founder

Kyle Sparkman

Head of Community

Karen Du

Video Editor

Jan Jakut

Lessons Team

Leigh Collins

Lessons Team

Sarah Riddle

Web Team

Jonathan Colman

Lessons Team

Harry Nicholson

Web Team

Julia Mahncke

Writer Team

Miguel Mendes

Lessons Team

Jack Handyside

Lessons Team

Dominik Meyer

Head of Growth Marketing

Karl Kerfoot

Head of Education

Our Artists

Here’s just a few of the incredible instructors we work with.