Entrepreneurs in Music — and Don’t Forget about Mozart!

Factoid:
According to the US Census Bureau, a daily average of 2,356 people went into business for themselves in 2005. Individual proprietorships or businesses without employees, known in the business industry as “lone wolves,” had receipts of $951 billion and make up approximately 78% of the nation’s 26 million-plus firms.
Preparing to Become an Entrepreneur
Music students training for orchestral careers are often SO focused on audition preparation, that not much else is of real consequence. Similar to training for the Olympics, the years of work that go into training to win a position with a top orchestra can make for tunnel vision.
Even after winning a position, or while freelancing with multiple ensembles, other questions begin to arise: How can one maintain or sustain an interesting and rewarding career? How does one lead a fully three-dimensional life?
For many musicians, the answers are found in entrepreneurial projects.
Recipe for an Entrepreneur
There are certain entrepreneurial characteristics, personality traits and skills that successful musicians often possess – beyond their musical skills. Not every successful musician has all these, but they often have a high percentage.
Skills for Managing a Music Career
Interpersonal skills
Writing skills
Public speaking / presentation skills
Negotiation skills
Budget/finance skills
Teaching skills and experience
Research skills
Publicity skills
Computer skills
Personal Qualities for Success
Determination
Ability to handle rejection
Imagination, creativity
Flexibility, openness to new ideas
Personal integrity
Intellectual curiosity
Ability to learn from one’s mistakes
Conscientiousness, reliability
Good follow-through, detail-oriented
Willingness to extend oneself
Optimism
Part of the process of moving forward in a music career involves fine-tuning goals, assessing strengths and discovering and exploring new opportunities. The kind of musician who puts these approaches and processes into action can be described as an entrepreneur. Cultivate your entrepreneurial skills and you cultivate your career!
Key Educational Experience: The Project
Whether or not a school has a formal entrepreneurship or career program, there’s still a key experience that can make all the difference in the world to a potential music entrepreneur. It is this: the experience of taking on a challenging project, something that ignites a student’s imagination and motivation. A project might be launching a concert series, writing a grant proposal for a new initiative, organizing a benefit concert, commissioning a new work, or organizing an off-campus after-school lesson program. Projects that have impact are those that demand the best of students, that put to the test their assumptions and world views. In the best cases, these projects involve working closely with a group of other students and with one or more faculty members. Ideal projects are conducted both on and off campus, connecting a student’s learning to the community and future opportunities.
Some music schools require community service, internships, or substantial course projects. Other schools have a designated portion of the year specifically devoted to student projects. At Oberlin Conservatory, for example, during the January “winter term,” there are no classes so that students can focus on self-initiated projects for academic credit.
The most important aspect of any student project is that it be fueled by the student’s initiative. With a student taking responsibility for a project, he or she becomes an active, invested learner. Projects serve as catalysts; they promote the development of a range of skills: analytical, interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills. Ultimately, projects allow students to discover their missions and their strengths.
It’s often through working with a mentor or collaborators that musicians learn how to manage projects. Not all projects succeed but all projects offer rich learning experiences. And ultimately, project management skills are crucial for today’s musicians because most music careers are project-driven.
Developing Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship has been a staple of US college business degree programs for more than 10 years and it’s just now finally reaching music schools. Some schools offer music career development courses, workshops, certificate programs, advising, and other resources. There are also degree programs and courses available at some schools in music business/industry and arts administration. And at more and more schools these days, there are music career centers offering a range of entrepreneurial project support, advising, and resources. For example, the University of Michigan has the Arts Enterprise Club (www.artsenterprisemi.com), an impressive student-initiated effort linking the School of Business and the School of Music, Theater, and Dance. The Brevard Conference on Music Entrepreneurship (www.bcome.org ) sponsors an annual summer conference at the Brevard summer festival in North Carolina, where music faculty participants focus on skills and resources relevant to music entrepreneurship. In addition, the program has provided training and workshops at music schools across the US. There is also music entrepreneur programming at the Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, and the University of Colorado, Boulder, which houses the Entrepreneurship Center for Music.
Music Entrepreneurship Training often includes:
* overviews of the music industry
* case studies of music ventures
* social entrepreneurial projects (non-profit projects to benefit communities)
* feasibility studies
* business plan creation
* group projects
plus traditional music career development coursework such as
* creating promotion and marketing materials
* interviews with alumni/music entrepreneurs
* case studies in audience development
* fundraising
* grant writing
* and developing and delivering project presentations
Though more music schools are providing practical career development and entrepreneurial assistance these days, it’s still the norm for musicians to graduate without gaining “real world” business-related experience or training. Whether or not a school can or should be expected to provide all of these on top of excellent music training is a big topic that many schools are grappling with!