If you’ve been paying attention to any news sources over the past year, you will have certainly seen content about artificial intelligence and its potential impact on humanity. Those of us who teach have long worried about AI and how students will use it to “save time” in their studies. I’ve found many articles and watched plenty of YouTube videos about how teachers have used AI, and I have been experimenting with it for courses, the podcast, and in general.  In fact, Andy and I started using AI this year to help us with transcripts and show notes. While it’s been quite efficient, it’s not always accurate nor does it understand context at this time.  Therefore we do have to proofread and edit any text before we post.  

While preparing courses for the upcoming semester, I found a survey from a few years ago that was part of a presentation I gave to an arts organization. The survey was given to a few dozen arts entrepreneurs working in various fields in the music industry. Most of the respondents owned ventures with more than 1 employee, and only a few of the respondents were performers with no full-time employees. The questions focused on a variety of topics, from the industry landscape over the years, to changes in the field, requisite skills, and so on

​Once again, Andy and I are pleased to announce that our podcast is a strategic partner with Kent State University College of the Arts’ annual Art Without Limits event. If you’re interested in learning from other arts entrepreneurs, and developing an entrepreneurial mindset in the arts, join us on the Kent campus of Kent State University for this free event on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 from 9am to 5pm. 

When to hire help is often a topic of discussion among entrepreneurs, and it came up a few times in interviews Andy and I recorded for release this summer. In one example, fashion designer Jevon Terance, whose episodes will air this June, spoke about how he sews all of his pieces to insure high quality and consistency. After all, that’s what earned notoriety for him and his fashion brand. When I asked if hiring someone to sew would free him up to focus more on design and other activities to expand his business, he did say it was something he had been considering. 

In a previous post, I mentioned that I had been working with student finalists in the annual pitch competition hosted by the John S. and Marlene J. Brinzo Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation at Kent State. A small group of faculty, staff, and donors mentored the finalists for 4-5 weeks leading up to the event to help them hone their financials, slide decks, and overall presentations. Because we had a lot of positive feedback from the students, I thought I’d share some of what we discussed in this blog post. 

A few weeks ago, I was part of a small group of faculty and donors who presented a workshop for student finalists in the annual pitch competition hosted by the entrepreneurship center in the college of business. Since the finalists are from a variety of disciplines, and have different experiences in business and public speaking, the workshop was designed to offer guidance on what they should include in their slide decks, tips on public speaking, stage presence, and so on. 

In part two of our interview with textile artist Janice Lessman-Moss (episode #211), we noted the substantial volume of artwork she created over her lengthy career. That prompted Andy to ask how she keeps track of her work—does she catalogue it, photograph it, and so on. She responded with her approach to documenting her artwork, and how it has changed over the years to keep pace with technology.  Here’s a summary of the data Janice keeps on each piece of art:

​When speaking with friends recently, we recalled a few comments we received from arts teachers over the years that centered on assumptions and misperceptions about arts entrepreneurship courses. They included:

• Course content would detract from what students learn in their applied lessons or studio classes. 
• Concerns that arts entrepreneurship relegates art to knickknacks. 
• Students would be encouraged to measure their success by the profit they generate.  
• Arts entrepreneurship instructors can’t be specialists in all fields, so they might inadvertently promote unconventional sales channels to students that would result in the devaluation of their art, and themselves as creatives.  

There’s a lot to unpack in these comments, and because it’s likely those who teach arts entrepreneurship might participate in similar conversations, I thought it’d be worthwhile to address each of them: 

Last month, Andy and I interviewed Colin Currie for a podcast episode that will air in early 2023. He’s the most dynamic and sought-after percussion soloist and performer working today. Beyond playing concerti with orchestras and solo recitals around the world, he’s busy working in other ventures he created: a mixed chamber ensemble, a percussion quartet, and a record label. I know people who have careers in each of these fields, but for one person to build a portfolio career that encompasses all four, and from scratch, is rare. In my opinion, Colin is a serial entrepreneur in the genre of music.  
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Interestingly though, when I asked if he sees himself as an entrepreneur he said “no.” At first, his response took me by surprise, because I wondered how someone who earns a living and employs people in several arts organizations he created, couldn’t see himself as an entrepreneur. But as the dialogue continued, it became apparent that the artist management companies with which he works look after most of his back-end activities, from arranging performances, accounts receivable, travel, and so on. That would assuredly free up his time to allow him to focus mainly on the activities integral to being a musical artist: practicing, rehearsing, performing and recording.  So from that vantage point, I can appreciate how he might not see himself as an entrepreneur. 

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that my posts are sometimes inspired by classroom discussions. This month’s post was prompted by a statement my wife Diane made last week when she was speaking in my Music Career Development and Entrepreneurship class about career development and future employment as an administrator at an academic institution.  

She was telling the class that when she was a piano professor, she would encourage her students to “reverse engineer” their paths to achieve their professional goals. Essentially, they should start with the end in mind for a better understanding of what a successful path to attain a college teaching position might look like. One exercise  Diane said was particularly effective was to have her students review past and present job postings to note the requirements for each, and cite any patterns and anomalies:  e.g., Which experiences were preferred? Which hard and soft skills were they looking for?  In recognizing this, the students could better chart a path that would help them take the requisite courses, pursue various teaching and performing activities, take on leadership roles, and so on.