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

As Ann explained on Day 1 in her introduction to this VDP, I came up with the subtitle for this discussion, “Don’t Forget about Mozart,” during a discussion with a young non-musician writer who asked me, “Who was the first entrepreneur in music?” Drawing on my music history knowledge of thirty years ago, I said Mozart. I followed up by saying that he was one of the first composers who did not have a church or court position. He was on his own, composing, performing and hustling gigs. Now, I’m sure my musicology friends could come up with numerous other examples dating back to the Greeks, but I was pretty proud of myself.
Back to the title of this VDP: “Don’t forget about Mozart.” The point is we have this buzzword going around now – entrepreneurship, and we’re talking about it like it is something new. It isn’t. Musicians have been entrepreneurial ever since they first decided to make their living as full-time musicians. In my view there is also a secondary subliminal message going on in that title. “Don’t forget about Mozart” also means, to me, that music should be at your core, front and center; and entrepreneurship (codeword for business person) should enhance that core. Combine some creativity and curiosity with solid playing and it will equal success.