We generally have a prepay-and-"Use It or Lose It" policy. Our policy has been in place since 2010, and there are three simple reasons at its core.

1. Time is reserved with our teachers to the exclusion of other clients and other personal and professional plans.

2. Makeups would mean twice the reserved time for the price of one.

3. Other studios are tougher than we are. Some require entire semester payment upfront, and some do not offer credits, even when the teacher or studio cancels.

Now that COVID-19 is endemic and something we'll all regularly have to live with, we will not make any further exceptions for COVID-19 cases. Otherwise, we will not survive financially.

A link to our Prepayment & Attendance Policy is included with every digital studio notification, including invoices and receipts. By paying your first invoice, you acknowledge that you have read and accepted our policy.

Simple. We recommend Recurring/Weekly sessions. 30/30/30 rule of thumb: 30 minutes for $30, and we limit no more than 30 students per teaching artist, so each gets the attention they deserve. This option includes a FREE intro.

For those with a demanding schedule, we offer a DIY booking page for Occasional/Single sessions. These flexible, one-off appointments are scheduled individually and priced higher than weekly lessons, reflecting the added scheduling flexibility and limited availability.

*Any added tips are added to our Fried Weasel Fund.

Payment in full per month by the first of every month for that month is expected.

Invoices are sent on the last day of each month. We will not make changes to any invoice after they are sent.

We do not accept any bookings without prepayment, and they are non-refundable.

Please submit payment online via the link attached to your invoice upon receipt, mail payment to the studio address on the invoice/website, or bring payment with you to the first session of every month.

Credit cards and Apple Pay are accepted at the studio.

Any added tips are added to our Fried Weasel Fund.

Autopay is available. If you opt to save a card on file, you will automatically be charged for your session time at the beginning of each month for that month.

We do not accept cash.

For those with a daunting schedule, we offer a DIY, prepay-as-you-go option through our website. This requires online prepayment and the availability/approval of the instructor. These are non-refundable.

If you are owed a credit due to our fault, you must notify the studio; otherwise, the proverbial falling tree doesn't make a sound. If Hickory Arts must cancel a session/class, you may apply the amount paid as credit towards any other session. Credits will expire if unused/unclaimed after 30 days.

If payment is not received within a reasonable amount of time, you will be removed from the schedule. Folks don't get to walk out of a store without paying for a product.

When a developing artist registers for recurring sessions, it is understood that he or she will be in attendance weekly on the agreed day and time unless we hear otherwise before billing.

Make-ups and credits are generally not offered. It’s simply impossible to discern between who’s genuinely sick and who doesn’t feel like rolling out of bed. The ol’ “one bad apple spoils the barrel” cliché. Make-ups mean twice the booked time for the same cost. Time is reserved with prepayment at the beginning of every month for that month to the exclusion of other clients/appointments. Do we want you to show up sick? Of course not. But you will not receive a refund any more than you would if you bought a ticket to a performance you couldn't attend.

Punctual attendance is expected. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you are more than 10 minutes late for a session, it will be canceled, and you will be charged; if another session is scheduled immediately following yours, it can’t be pushed back.

Before billing, a notice is necessary to attempt a Reschedule. However, a Reschedule is not likely or guaranteed. Space is limited. Not unlike a subscription service, you are expected to pay for reserved time, whether or not you choose to or can use it.

Students must provide at least two weeks' notice to establish any leave of absence, vacation, or discontinuation; otherwise, it is our understanding at the top of each month that we are continuing to reserve your/our time, and you will be charged.

Sessions are first-come, first-served. If you take a leave of absence, we can not guarantee your session time will be available when you return unless you continue to pay for it.

The staff will make every effort to remain open during most periods of inclement weather; however, where extraordinary circumstances warrant, due to weather or other unforeseen business interruption, the company reserves the right to close the facility. If we're open, we're expecting you.

We operate independently of school systems and federal holidays. Please do not assume we're closed. Generally, we're only closed on Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve through New Year's Day.

Most of us have calendars and make plans ahead of time, so we feel all of this is very reasonable, so that we can consolidate and make other scheduling arrangements, or make time available to others in your absence.

Please direct all scheduling and billing changes to Hickory Arts at 828-270-9801 (textable) or info@hickoryarts.com. We will inform the instructor of the changes. This way, everyone is kept in the loop, and we are better able to maintain our calendar and enforce our policy fairly. Your instructor does not handle scheduling or billing.

We strive to keep everything simple, straightforward, and transparent, and make every effort to provide you with a lot of notifications.

- Yearly Policy Reminders via email

- COVID-19 Notices and Fundraisers via email, website, and social media

- General News, Updates, Blogs, and Events via social media and website

- Itemized Invoices with policy links via email

- Receipts via email

- No-Show, Scheduling, and Cancellation texts and emails

We have an open window, open door policy. All of our teachers must be able to pass criminal background checks. Each teaching room is equipped with big windows for optimal visibility, and all are armed with security cameras. Parents are welcome to sit in on sessions. We do not advise parents or guardians to leave the property during sessions and prefer they remain in the waiting room for the duration.

Until the AI landscape is settled legally and in the public eye, and in order to maintain artistic integrity and ensure clear ownership of recorded material, the studio will not record, produce, edit, or otherwise work with content generated by artificial intelligence. This includes, but is not limited to, AI-generated lyrics, melodies, compositions, demos, stems, backing tracks, or any derivative material created in whole or in part by AI systems. All material presented for recording and educational purposes must be original, human-created work.