Entrepreneurship in Music

So the other reason I'm on Cloud Twelve and a Half is that tonight was the kickoff for a conference on Entrepreneurship and Music. About fifty students and faculty/deans from various conservatories around the US are here to talk about how to incorporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking into the conservatory curricula. In today's ever-shifting world, it is increasingly important that musicians have a conception of business. Not only do we need to create our own opportunities in many instances, but some of us will want careers that combine business and music. Many people in the arts administration world are former performers who ended up doing marketing, development, programming, PR, or management. Most then are forced to learn on the fly the requisite skills. Of course, learning on the fly isn't always the easiest way to go, particularly when your colleagues are those who have also learned on the fly. This often leads to inefficiencies or serious issues in nonprofit arts organizations. That means conservatories are starting to consider whether they need to teach some of these business skills while students are in school.

To me, and to many of my professors, the problem is beyond simple "how do I do fundraising?" questions. Yes, there are a fundamental set of skills that all artists ought to have. (How do I create a press kit and resume? How do I do my taxes? How do I get health insurance? How do I create a budget?) However, there's also a mindset shift that needs to happen. People who want to be full-time performers, not arts administrators, need to think about how to create opportunities for themselves to perform. They need to carve their own niche in the entertainment market. Jobs with orchestras and symphonies or opera companies are hard to come by and, for singers especially, rarely steady work. Teaching should not be the only other option. The other key need, I think, is empathy. Artists too often view business people as "those people who handle the dirty money." "Revenue" and "profit" are Horrible Words. Business people, on the other hand, too often view artists as flighty, chaotic, and irresponsible. Both of these viewpoints are stereotypes that need to change. Empathy must be engendered on both sides of the table for a workable partnership and therefore a healthy cultural community to exist.

Enough of my soapbox. Now you have a glimpse of the point of the conference. A business professor from Babson College, Heidi Neck, is here to facilitate workshops with us. This evening was a meet and greet. We had a brief introduction from the conference organizer, a short film, and then wandered around a museum that had been reserved for us. We munched on wonderful pasta and crudite, hand-carved turkey with cranberry sauce or beef with horseradish sauce, crabcakes with a remoulade sauce on the side, chicken wellington, shrimp cocktail, wine and other beverages, and, most importantly, chocolate desserts. A wonderful chocolate torte -- very dark, very smooth, very dense -- was on the buffet table. There was one piece left when I arrived at the dessert table, and I confess that I took it. Perhaps not polite, but oh so worth it.

What was really neat was the diversity of people. I thought I was a minority in the world of business meets music, but I'm less of a minority than I had realized. Most of the people here have either started a center for entrepreneurship at their conservatories or have created a course. Some are deans, some are faculty. One man was a drum performance major at Berklee, got an MBA, worked as an agent for a pop star, worked in a bank on both the commercial and investment sides, and now is running a center for entrepreneurship at a conservatory. He helps students who want to create a record company or other musical endeavor write a business plan and apply for funding. He also performs.

The students who are at the conference are passionate and highly committed. Many remind me of the people I encountered in business school. One guy was in the Marine Corps band and talked about the leadership challenges he encountered there. Talk about finding ways to manage from the back of the room. Others want to start outreach groups when they graduate or find ways to improve their conservatories. One woman is heading off next year to get a dual master's degree - one in public policy and the other in philanthropy. Incredible.

What strikes me most is the warmth in the room. So often in business conferences, the atmosphere is cordial but formal. There is a palpable wall, as if people are always in "presentation" or "meet and greet/networking" mode. Here, these people are musicians first. In music, there is a warmth, a soul, a heart that is by necessity towards the surface. To be an excellent performer, you must make yourself vulnerable. You must be willing to express and show a nuanced range of emotions, and you must show your heart. That means that your feelings and your heart, things that are often considered taboo or "too touchy-feely" in business, must be readily accessible and visible. The net result is that people recognize each other's humanity very quickly and connect with each other on a very personal level. The secondary boost to this warmth is that these people are either students, who have not yet been taught to be reserved, or educators, who care about students and therefore connect with me as a teacher-to-student. Many are also alums of my school, and they see me as a part of that larger family.

Tomorrow will be filled with workshops and conversations. I'm really excited about it. What an amazing time to be in music. I feel so grateful to be here and so thrilled that the years I spent in business will actually enable me to make a difference in the performance world.

~Hope