Client in the Spotlight
Tunedough®, founded by songwriter and “musicpreneur” Sarah Clanton, is an educational platform for independent songwriters seeking to own the rights to their work outright. Tunedough® provides online learning resources and community support to help “musicpreneurs” learn how to register their music, manage their live performance royalties, and ultimately achieve full independence and success in the music industry.
Sarah’s mission is to transform the “starving artist” narrative by empowering songwriters to own their creative output without relying on traditional industry gatekeepers like labels and publishers.
As of July 2025, the Tunedough® site built by BIPi is no longer live. Sarah has shifted her business model from a membership model to 1:1 consulting. This case study remains as a record of the collaborative work that laid the foundation for that transition.
Spotlight On:
website rescue + redesign
Storybrand workshop
membership management
The Challenge
In late 2023, Sarah was at a crossroads. Tunedough®’s website, managed entirely by a business partner, had become a significant obstacle rather than an asset. Sarah had no access to the backend of her site and lacked the technical knowledge to make changes or troubleshoot issues. Worse, after sinking thousands of dollars into social media advertising campaigns, Sarah discovered that the website’s checkout system was broken, resulting in zero sales and — what’s worse — zero leads captured. The site had failed to collect valuable customer information, leaving Sarah without a way to follow up with thousands of potential buyers.
During our initial assessment, we uncovered several alarming issues:
- Ownership: The site was hosted on a shared server owned by the site developer, with no service agreement in place and no admin or cPanel access granted to Sarah or her business partner.
- Security Risks: Minimal security measures put both the business and customer data at risk.
- Technical Bloat: The site relied on a cumbersome tech stack (WooCommerce and LearnDash) that slowed performance, created inefficiencies, and drove up costs.
- User Experience Issues: UX testing revealed that users struggled to navigate the site and track their progress within the course modules, impacting engagement and retention.
The Solution
Berry Interesting jumped in to address Tunedough®’s challenges, starting with an immediate fix to the broken checkout functionality. From there, we developed a phased plan to transform Tunedough®’s website from a liability into a powerful asset.
Phase 1: Gaining Control and Ownership
To provide Sarah with full control of her website and eliminate security concerns, we migrated the site to our hosting environment as part of a Greenhouse Support Agreement. This move:
- Gave Sarah full ownership of the site and its infrastructure.
- Improved site speed and security.
- Set the foundation for ongoing support and future development.
We also organized Sarah’s tech stack, ensuring she had complete transparency and documentation of her web properties and the tools that underpin them.
Phase 2: Storybrand Messaging and UX Improvements
Before diving into the redesign, we conducted a Storybrand Workshop with Sarah to refine her messaging and identify her Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Tunedough®’s ICP is independent songwriters—predominantly women—at any stage of their music careers who want to own their creative work and learn the business side of music without feeling overwhelmed. This clarity allowed us to craft home page copy that immediately resonates with her audience.
Phase 3: Website Redesign and Tech Optimization
In this case, we did not do a full brand refresh. Between time and budget constraints, and because the existing logo was already well-established on socials, a brand refresh has been pushed to the future.
Using the existing brand assets and a color palette derived from the logo, we completely redesigned the site itself, streamlining its functionality for both users and administrators and modernizing its look and feel to better match Sarah’s energy and her audience’s expectations.
Key improvements included:
- Switching Tech Stacks: We replaced WooCommerce and LearnDash with Gravity Forms (for payment processing) and WPComplete (for online course management). This reduced technical bloat, lowered ongoing licensing costs, and provided greater customization.
- Enhanced User Experience: Users can now easily track their progress in course modules, and Sarah has the ability to update course content to keep it fresh and engaging.
- Transition to a Membership Model: We helped Sarah launch a membership offering that provides recurring revenue while delivering additional value to her customers. Members now have access to:
- The original course content (continuously updated).
- A Tunedough® community chat on Discord for real-time engagement.
- Monthly webinars, live Q&A calls, and one-on-one coaching sessions.
- Tools to manage their own accounts and track their learning journey.
Phase 4: Supporting Future Growth
We created video documentation and provided operational guidance so that Sarah and her operations manager can confidently manage the site. Additionally, we’re supporting Sarah as she pilots a “Do It For Me” (DIFM) service that handles the technical work of registering songs and performances on behalf of songwriters. This service is expected to integrate fully into the membership platform by Q2 2025.
The Results
The transformation of Tunedough® has been remarkable.
- From Zero Sales to Recurring Revenue: Prior to working with Berry Interesting, Tunedough® had made zero sales. Since fixing the checkout issue, sales of the original course trickled in, and the launch of the membership model has added a steady stream of recurring revenue. Sarah has enrolled 12 new members since the launch, with plans to scale membership growth to 5 per week.
- A Thriving Community: Community engagement has shifted from passive Instagram comments to active conversations on Discord. Members can now connect with one another in real-time, participate in live events, and directly engage with Sarah.
Simplified Tech Stack: By eliminating unnecessary plugins and tools, we reduced Sarah’s operating costs while improving site performance. - Future Scalability: The new website and membership platform have set Sarah up for long-term success. As her business grows, the DIFM service and the membership model will allow her to scale operations and support additional team members.
What Makes This Work Notable
Tunedough®’s success story highlights Berry Interesting’s ability to go beyond technical fixes and create a foundation for sustainable growth.
Key achievements include:
Rescuing a Website
Empowering the Client
Strategic Problem-Solving
Community Building
Looking Ahead
With the new membership site in place, Sarah is on track to grow her business exponentially. The DIFM service, currently in beta testing, will provide an additional revenue stream while making it even easier for songwriters to take control of their work. By Q2 2025, DIFM will be fully integrated into the membership platform, offering exclusive benefits to members and creating a seamless ecosystem of education, community, and support.
UPDATE JULY 1, 2025: Following the successful launch of the membership platform, Sarah has since chosen to shift Tunedough®’s focus toward 1:1 consulting. The site we built is no longer live, but the foundational work we did—rebuilding the tech stack, reworking the UX, and helping stabilize her digital operations—paved the way for this next chapter of her business.
If you’re feeling inspired by Tunedough®’s journey and want a similarly fruitful evolution for your business, we’d love to chat. Drop us a line or book a consultation directly with our fearless leader, D’nelle. You can also sign up to get emails from Berry Interesting, and we’ll keep you in the loop about what’s new, what’s next, and how we can help you bring your vision to life.
You might be interested to know that this post was created with the help of generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Find out more here.