.Build Your Vision Board: lay out concrete strategies for your dreams

During this process, dreaming and planning come together to lay out expansive, but also concrete visions for your creative endeavors and professional path. It’s taking the time to develop strategies that serve your day-to-day, and years ahead.

Cultivate Your Brand: find and refine what’s unique to you.

Through studying other artists’ style and asserting their own voice, the goal here is to work towards building the different elements to a press kit (bio, artist statement, photos, etc…)

. Expand Your Network: from collaborators to funders, nurture connections to carry out your vision and empower your community.

Successful entrepreneurs know how to be resourceful and also outsource the skills needed for a project. Rich, innovative and captivating projects often take a village to bring to life. Navigating the different dynamics in building and leading a team plays a big part in how successful and enjoyable the realization of the project is going to be.

. Meet Your Mentor: hear directly from entrepreneurs in the industry.

Being able to exchange directly with successful, yet relatable model figures is inspiring. The conversations around their experience and perspective on/in the industry can feel very eye opening and tangible. These real-life connections add a huge boost to the learning curve.

. Develop Your Project Proposal: put it down on paper.

Whether it’s to pitch a project for funding or booking, organizing all the necessary information on paper is turning a fun idea into a viable project. With the effort of writing all the elements from the elevator pitch to the budget proposal, proof of concept, or market research, comes clarity, efficiency and productivity.

Class Structure

Class will be structured in different ways from a conventional lecture format, to small group activities, to guest panelists. This will allow for students to explore modes of expression and increase confidence with public speaking and participation. Class will be supplemented with material that will engage the students’ attention and scaffold their learning when introducing new concepts, such as graphic organizers, media clips and visuals. I believe that the dynamic switch in teaching approaches and materials will maintain the attention and interest of the students.

 I aim for the classroom to be a safe space to exchange and discuss ideas. The ability to debate ideas with an open mind, respect and integrity is an essential skill which I believe can positively affect all aspects of our society. It is imperative for our students to learn how to listen with intent and to seek understanding.

Goals of Class

At the center of my teaching philosophy is the development of critical thinking and creativity. Being persistent and resourceful are traits that contribute to a successful professional and personal life. Since my interest is in teaching young artists about entrepreneurial thinking, it is fundamental to relate the necessary technical skills to execute concrete projects. It is in doing and sometimes failing that some lessons are the best learned, but most importantly, it is the direct connection to a real project which can ignite true creativity and dedication. As a student myself, the contexts in which I have become the most resourceful were the ones in which I was directly investing in my own vision. 

That being said, it can also be very inspiring and eye-opening to learn from other people’s experience. Some students, especially at a younger stage of their development, might not have a clear vision of what their professional artistic choices and career can be. To see and exchange with entrepreneurs, artists, and activists of their generation can be truly stimulating and relatable. With constantly evolving business, I believe that it is crucial to cultivate a community in which peers learn from each other. While there are lessons to be learned from long lasting established institutions, the newer techniques entrepreneurs of our time are developing are the ones our students can refer to in their current pursuit.

Guiding Questions

This leads me into my course description. While there are business music courses offered I believe that these can be improved by putting the emphasis on two questions: How is this course relevant within the context of a constantly evolving industry? How engaging is the material for the student?

From my own experience, being a successful entrepreneur requires the same passion and involvement as being an artist. Creativity, dedication and resilience are at the core of it. In this introductory course to music business, students will learn from young, successful artists who are fully building a career that suits their own vision and interests.

The panel of guests will feature young, successful artists and entrepreneurs based in NYC, but also from around the world. Each guest has their own personal path, but the common denominator is how relatable and up-to-date the techniques they use are to students. As the students learn about different, often self-made, pathways within the art industry, they will also develop a personal project in which they will get to practice being both the artist and the entrepreneur. Not every student will necessarily find interest in being an entrepreneur or activist, as well as an artist, but in learning about their soon-to-be peers, and leading a project of their own, they’ll discover and refine the path they each want to pursue.

. Meet Your Mentor: hear directly from entrepreneurs in the industry.

Being able to exchange directly with successful, yet relatable model figures is inspiring. The conversations around their experience and perspective on/in the industry can feel very eye opening and tangible. These real-life connections add a huge boost to the learning curve.

. Develop Your Project Proposal: put it down on paper.

Whether it’s to pitch a project for funding or booking, organizing all the necessary information on paper is turning a fun idea into a viable project. With the effort of writing all the elements from the elevator pitch to the budget proposal, proof of concept, or market research, comes clarity, efficiency and productivity.