Why is entrepreneurship training for music majors garnering so much attention?
It’s no secret that fewer traditional jobs await even the most proficient musicians when they graduate from music school. Combine that with the number of highly-trained musicians and you’ll find some serious supply and demand issues.
Thanks to innovative programs focusing on but not limited to educating students on how to self-start their careers, i.e., “entrepreneurship training,” students are discovering new ways to gear up for working as musicians and in music-related fields. “At the core of entrepreneurship is an ability to create value out of opportunity,” says Alain Barker, director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Career Development at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. “My sense is that if you give students the tools to unlock their inner entrepreneurial spirit, there’s no limit to what they can do.”
Music schools vary markedly in what they offer along these lines: from entrepreneurship-related degrees, minors, and certificate programs, to courses, presentations, internships, summer intensives, and cross-campus programs often in collaboration with business schools. Most of what’s out there engages students at their level of interest, so students must seek out these programs to benefit.
Entrepreneurship Training for Freshmen
Some schools are integrating entrepreneurship training for music majors into the curriculum as early as freshman year. Students at Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the Arts take a class called “FACE” (First-Year Arts Community Experience), where they’re introduced to entrepreneurial skills and other important tools for their careers. Each student leaves their first year with a self-created video, elevator pitch and website. This helps them develop their network, as well as their online presence and digital portfolio, says Jim Hart, Director of Arts Entrepreneurship. Students are taught “how to choose an audience they wish to serve, to play a leadership role, and create for and market to the needs of their audience,” he adds.
Freshmen at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music “meet individually with the entrepreneurship team to identify their reasons for pursuing musical careers and optimize their learning experiences to meet their professional goals,” says Monique Mead, who runs the Music Entrepreneurship Program. “In the courses, students will develop business plans, create marketing portfolios, practice stage presence and professional etiquette, learn how to engage current audiences, and build audiences for the future.”
Gabe Pollack had the wisdom as well as the ability to create his own “Jazz Entrepreneurship” major at Oberlin Conservatory. “Entrepreneurship programs add some practicality to a performance degree,” he says. “I loved studying jazz trumpet, but I knew that I was not going to be a professional touring musician. The entrepreneurship program at Oberlin allowed me to pursue my passion for music but also take courses that would help create the lifestyle that I wanted. Even if a student wants to become a professional musician, I think that in today’s times, he/she needs to think of him/herself as an individual business. An artist needs to be creative with marketing, booking, publicizing, and presenting music. Entrepreneurship helps people think creatively about these issues.”
Keane Southard agrees. He received his MM in composition from the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music and his BM in Composition and Theory from Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory, agrees. “Students should take advantage of entrepreneurship programs because mastering your craft is only half the equation of making a career in music,” he says. “Musicians are by nature creative people, and they should also apply that creativity to the business side of their profession and not just the artistic side. Doing so can lead to more opportunities to fulfill yourself as a musician and connect your music with more people, and I believe every musician wants that.” Using his entrepreneurship training, Southard is in the process of planning to hike the New England portion of the Appalachian Trail, compose a large orchestral work inspired by his hiking experiences, and bring several orchestras on board to perform his work.
What Do Students Gain?
Entrepreneurship programs help students learn how to find and create opportunities for their music to be performed. They also learn how to think about creating opportunities where they can apply their musical training and the transferable skills they’ve gained in music school.
Other skills and capabilities students and recent music school alumni report as a result of music entrepreneurship classes and programs:
- writing grant applications
- filling out tax forms
- creating websites and bios
- budgeting
- confidence and increased comfort in public speaking
- creating viable business pitches
- creating business plans
- collaboration
- balancing business savvy with creativity and artistic skills
Why Take Advantage of Entrepreneurship Programs for Music Majors?
Daniel Hickey’s senior year internship at DePauw University School of Music continues to influence his career plans. By managing performances and concert series (including his own) on and off campus, he came away convinced that, “The skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur – organization, communication, creativity, some technology know-how, dedication, outreach, and more – are not only useful to musicians, but are transferable to almost any career. A person who excels in these areas is marketable, reliable, and attractive in every field.”
Beth Rosbach, a professional cellist who was involved with an earlier incarnation of the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music’s Entrepreneurship Center for Music while she was a graduate student, urges students to dive into entrepreneurship programs at their schools. “The nature of the music business has changed drastically over the past 20 years,” she says. “You have to be able to promote yourself and create your own opportunities, because there are simply fewer companies and organizations that will just hand you a job upon graduation.”
Outcomes…
Projects emerging from entrepreneurship programs for music majors include successful student and professional concert series; collaborations with restaurants, clubs and galleries; websites for selling scores and parts for bands and orchestras; private teaching studios; K-12 music programs; and much more.
Specific programs that have emerged include:
Project Opera Camp
Tuition-free camps and programs founded by Kate McKinney and Brenton O’Hara, graduates of the University of South Carolina School of Music. For underserved, marginalized students who learn how to put together and perform an opera while taking classes that teach tangible skills for everyday life: leadership, financial literacy, resisting drugs, healthy communication.
Bridge the Gap
A chamber music initiative founded by current and former SMU Meadows School of the Arts students to make chamber music more accessible by bringing it into unexpected settings such as parks and nightclubs.
Bop Stop
Cleveland-based jazz club featuring public performances as well as music and arts instruction, music therapy, and early childhood arts education. Directed by Gabe Pollack, an Oberlin Conservatory graduate.
New Voices Opera
An opera company run by Indiana University Jacobs School of Music students, featuring next generation operatic composers with the intention of creating relevant opera for modern audiences.
Cezanne String Quartet
Dallas-based chamber music ensemble composed of four SMU Meadows music students and alumni. In residence at SMU from August 2015 – May 2017.
Kenari Quartet
An award-winning saxophone quartet formed by students and alumni of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, featuring music of various genres.
Sphere Ensemble
Colorado-based professional string quartet founded by Beth Rosbach, a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music.
South Dallas Strings Program
An offshoot of Bridge the Gap (see above), bringing music to underserved schools in the Dallas area through SMU Meadows School of the Arts students and resources.
What Else Can Students Do?
“I wish that I had simultaneously studied subjects outside of music more seriously. The more fields you are familiar with, the more you can integrate music into them and create meaningful and insightful experiences for yourself and your audience.”
— Daniel Hickey, 2015, Clarinet Performance, DePauw University School of Music
“I would have done a formal business plan…It creates set, obtainable goals, and leaves less to chance. I also would have more carefully researched certain aspects of managing a business –– finances, taxes, organizational structure, etc.”
— Beth Rosbach, Cello, ’04 MM, University of Colorado Boulder College of Music, ’01 University of Oklahoma School of Music
“My role models are musicians and ensembles that have gone out into the world with a firm conviction and pursued it fearlessly. I have learned the most by observing their successes and mistakes, and by analyzing my own.”
— Ben Roidl-Ward, Bassoon, ’17 Rice University Shepherd School of Music, ’15 Oberlin Conservatory
“Learn how to communicate –– to speak and write well…Most performers will end up teaching at some point in their careers. Pedagogy needs to be part of the curriculum for all music majors.”
— Michael Drapkin, clarinetist, entrepreneur, and business incubator specialist
Takeaways…
What are the most useful takeaways from music entrepreneurship programs?
Here’s what some current students and alumni say:
Most skills garnered from learning about entrepreneurship will translate into virtually any field. For example, a lot of it is just learning about people and how to successfully collaborate and communicate. A lot of it is also understanding business and finances, and a lot of it is understanding how to brand or market your idea. At the end of the day, a good entrepreneurship program will teach you how to execute your ideas effectively. That is something that will help you for the rest of your life, regardless of career choice!
— Kate McKinney, ’14, Voice Performance, University of South Carolina School of Music
I used to think I knew where I needed to go and was very fearful/anxious about getting there; now I’m open to the fact that my skills and passion may take might me down any number of paths and I’m optimistic about where those paths might lead.
— Curtis Smith, Doctoral Candidate, Music Composition, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
When organizing an entrepreneurial endeavor, whether it be a business venture or an outreach initiative plan, no detail should go unconsidered. Plan in detail, practice that plan step-by-step, and maintain flexibility while the plan becomes reality…I use the skills daily at my current job as the Program Coordinator of an El Sistema-inspired youth orchestra program.
— Annie Darlin Gordon, ’14, flute, Carnegie Mellon University School of Music
It’s not enough to just play well anymore, we also must learn to engage with our audiences in a way that is meaningful in our ever-changing society. Studying entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to move toward this goal!
— Steven Banks, ’15, BM, Saxophone Performance, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
My most important takeaway from the program is that there are many more avenues for a successful career in the arts than I originally thought.
— Henry Attaway, ’14, Euphonium, Carnegie Mellon University School of Music
Many students have been able to start and/or strengthen their existing business. For example, a student might have a string quartet but had no idea how to market themselves; they gained that skill, thus gained more popularity. Or a soprano who offered services to sing for weddings, parties, etc. but didn’t have a strategic price point for her market –– now she does and is booking more and more events!”
— Maya Jones, ’16, Vocal Performance, SMU Meadows School of the Arts
Don’t try and do everything yourself! Build a team, and have some physical support. Yes, you will have to be your own marketing, design, or IT guy, and even CFO at some point in your journey, but you can’t do it all. You have to say yes most of the time, but there will come a time to say no; it’s just impossible to recognize for a while.
— Benjamin Smith, graduate student, DM Voice, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
What If Your School Doesn’t Offer an Entrepreneurship Program?
If your school doesn’t yet offer a defined program geared to helping students figure out how to self-start their music careers, you’ve got to work harder to find and create what you need for your future. Every school has excellent, professional musicians and role models in the music school as well as other areas on campus such as the business school or department, but it’s up to you to find the resources that will best serve you.
Angela Myles Beeching, author of “Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music” and director of the Center for Music Entrepreneurship at Manhattan School of Music, recommends that students:
1. “Look beyond the ‘traditional role models’ and learn how a range of musicians have created opportunities and handled challenges.”
2. Seek out “a true mentor: someone who sees more in you than you think possible and challenges you not just to be a better musician, but to be a better person. Surprisingly, true mentors are NOT always your studio teacher. Sometimes other faculty, coaches, or staff end up being especially helpful and important as you develop into the person you will become.”
3. Find “a challenging project that fully engages you, something you initiate or help lead. Such projects provide leadership and entrepreneurial experience, and often have off-campus ‘real world’ elements. These kinds of projects especially help students discover the creative paths they’d like to explore further in the professional world.”
Gerald Klickstein, who founded and directs the Music Entrepreneurship Center at the Peabody Conservatory and who authored “The Musician’s Way,” encourages music students to “develop communicative relationships with their teachers and career advisors as soon as they arrive on campus…ask questions about the opportunities available and the steps you can take to prepare to thrive in today’s music scene.”
Klickstein suggests that students “initiate small projects that enable them to gain experience doing what professionals do. For those majoring in performance, such projects might involve partnering with fellow music students and a local church to organize, promote and present a 50-minute concert. Following the event, students would evaluate the results based on predetermined criteria and then use that information to enhance their next projects. Such project-based learning is central to gaining entrepreneurial know-how.”
Photo Credits
Top: DePauw University
Top left: Bridge the Gap
Bottom left: Project Opera Camp
Seth
This is so true and I’m really thrilled to see that this is starting to catch on. The most beneficial skill I’ve learned since graduating is how to identify problems that others have and position myself as the solution to their problem. Whether that’s performing or combining on of your other skills with your knowledge of music there are tons of opportunities out there for those that are savvy enough to look to recognize those opportunities. Great post!