Published: Nov. 8, 2011
THIS WEEK ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEDNESDAYS:
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Aakash Mittal and the launching of his quartet
Our series of guest alums continues to jazz musician Aakash Mittal, founder and leader of the Aakash Mittal Quartet. Whether you’re a jazz musician or not, this will be an informative session about the journey of starting your own performing group and how to use entrepreneurship to leverage your efforts!

5:00-6:30 in C-113. As always, Free Pizza & Drinks. Convo credit available for this week!

AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!! Grammy-winning Maria Schneider talks about her entrepreneurial career, including the first-ever independently distributed album to win a Grammy. Wednesday, Nov. 16, 5:00 in C-199.

THE NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE IS HERE: Time for Pitch Night!

The New Venture Challenge Music Track will receive entries in the areas of musical performance, education, technology, outreach and advocacy. Compete for the $3,000 Music Prize, as well as nearly $10,000 in other prizes through the university-wide competition. “Pitch Night” is an opportunity to make a very brief (under 1 minute) capsulation of your idea and get feedback from a panel of accomplished entrepreneurs. It’s fun, informative, and a great way to jump into the NVC waters! Also, it’s a chance to find fellow students who might be able to join your team, and to network with potential mentors. (Note: if you can’t make pitch night, you can still participate: there are no MUSTs with the NVC until it comes time to actually submit your plan! But this is a great way to get started and begin to take advantage of the many resources available to you.)

If you’re thinking of entering the NVC, please come see me so we can get you connected with a mentor and begin the process of putting your plan together!

PITCH NIGHT: Tuesday, Nov. 8, 5:30 in the Wolf Law Building Courtroom.

For more information on the New Venture Challenge, visit www.cunvc.org

Spring ECM Courses:

The Entrepreneurial Musician (TMUS 4493) returns! After great feedback last year, this introduction to the principles of entrepreneurship and how it applies to music and the arts is back.  Team-taught with entrepreneurship scholar Frank Moyes and ECM Director Nytch. Note: see Amy Larsen for the TMUS registration form; you won’t find this online. (Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45am – 3 credits)

Community Performances (MUS 4958): Learn to program music for a variety of audiences, gain confidence speaking about your work, and gain the skills needed to put on a concert “from A to Z.” Your final project is to actually present a concert at a local venue of your choosing. A great way to test out your recital rep. or get an additional performance of it! (Mon/Wed 10:00-10:50am – 2 credits)

Principles of Business for Entrepreneurs (ESBM 3200). Gives students a basic understanding of the business principles required to launch and sustain an entrepreneurial venture. Intended for non-business majors.  (Tues/Thurs 11:00am-12:15pm or 3:30-4:45pm -3 credits)

Articles of the Week

•    Interview with Colorado Symphony Interim CEO: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_19209631

•    Classical Music’s new entrepreneurs: another MUST-READ, gang! http://createquity.com/2011/11/emerging-ideas-classical-musics-new-entrepreneurs.html

•    How do Musicians Make money? An interesting study looking for participants: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2011/10/04/141061716/how-do-jazz-musicians-make-money?sc=nl&cc=sod-20111005

•    Go and read that second article.

Entrepreneurial Thought of the Week: What needs are there in the marketplace?

This week we continue our series on the entrepreneurial process with Step Two: evaluating the needs of the marketplace.

1. What do I/we [i.e, your group or organization] have to offer?

2. What needs are there in the marketplace that I can address?

3. What is a creative solution to meet that need?

4. Is my solution financially and logistically feasible?

5. How shall I implement my solution?

6. Deliver with an unwavering commitment to excellence.

Once you have a sense of what you have to offer, the question remains: how will you translate what you have to offer to a marketplace that wants what you have – and is willing to support it with their money, their attendance, their commitment? Part of answering that question is to gain an understanding of the market you wish to reach: Who are they? Where do they reside? What are their characteristics? But while this information is useful when it comes to strategies, it’s meaningless without also understanding what they want.

You see, every one of us is a bundle of needs. Some of them are universal: the need for food, clothing, and shelter. Some of them are very particular to us as individuals (my continued quest for good Bar-b-Que outside the state of Texas, for instance). Others – like the human need for connection, community, and engaging with things that take us outside ourselves (like art) – are more abstract and can be difficult to pin down. But whatever we’re talking about, we have needs. Oftentimes, there are lots of folks with the same need – and that’s all a market is: a group of individuals with similar tastes and desires. Once you’ve got a market and insight into what it wants, you can begin to match that want with what you have to offer. This process of connecting what you have (your artistic product) with a market is where creativity comes in: how will you make that connection in a way that is unique and valuable to that market? We’ll talk more about that next week.

 
And without further adieu…

The Video of the Week!

This is really interesting! To my ears, the rough tone is the perfect evocation of the theme, bringing out the folk inflections and evoking that stark Finnish landscape… Thanks to Lina Bahn for submitting!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ukVXHZyfs&feature=related

 

Send me your videos! I’m running out!!

 

The Entrepreneurship Center for Music • Jeffrey Nytch, DMA, Director

Email: jeff.nytch@colorado.edu •  Office Hours: T/Th: 9-11 a.m.  W: 2-4 p.m. – or by appointment

Entrepreneurship Wednesdays: 5-6:30 p.m., C-113  •  Follow us on Facebook

OPPORTUNITY UPBEAT November 8, 2011

SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS has posted a job for a Web Production and Education Specialist:

http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/docs/folkways/jobs/Web-Production-Education-Specialist.pdf

“Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is looking for a talented, creative, experienced, and proactive person with ethnomusicology, web technology, writing, and interpersonal skills to serve as Web Production and Education Specialist to create, solicit, coordinate, and edit content for its websites and to coordinate its educational programs.”

DR. NOIZE INC. expanding again and hiring a full time Education Outreach Director! Are you passionate about inspiring and educating kids? Do you think teachers are the coolest adults in the world? Wanna make a difference? Then join our Band. Email brian@doctornoize.com (a former teacher himself) with your interest. You’ll help us accomplish our Mission Statement: Doctor Noize inspires creativity, curiosity and character through music, art and words. In the next 18 months, we’re releasing a dazzling array of multimedia products and curriculums aimed to do just that. Our enhanced commitment to education reflects both the former schoolteacher in me and the big dreams of my wonderful partners at Dream CortexYou’ll be offering amazing fundraising deals, curriculums and opportunities to teachers and schools across the country to enrich the creative experiences of their students. We view teachers as our peers and partners here at Doctor Noize Inc., and your main job is to communicate that to them. Experience in education and sales are a plus, but the only essential trait for this and any other job with us is that you are scrappy and passionate, take full ownership of your roles and results, and are super fun to work with. If you’re nice, we’ll let you meet our bass playing hippo(Warning: He might hit on you.)

EL SISTEMA COLORADO, a new venture in Denver, is seeking teaching artists and beginning strings specialists to begin Jan. 9th, 2012. Deadline for applications is Nov. 4th. See the ECM bulletin board for more information.

C4C GIGS AVAILABLE!  The C4C is now sponsoring special “Food Weeks” that feature different cuisines from around the world. They’re interested in having CU musicians play for the dinner hour on selected nights, and they’re paying $100 plus dinner. A fun and tasty opportunity to test out some repertoire in a relaxed setting. Contact CU GIGS Coordinator Nathan Hall to sign up: nathanalanhall@gmail.com

INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER: As you start thinking about your spring schedule, consider doing in internship at a local music business or non-profit. We have a wide range of internship opportunities that can be great learning experiences and valuable additions to your resume. Internships can be done for academic or not, and the choice is pretty much up to you. Stop by the ECM Office for more information! For instance, here’s two to check out right away:

INTERNSHIP at PARLANDO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS Parlando is looking for an intern who can work in the Development/Fundraising area of one of Boulder’s leading community music schools. Hours flexible, but 10 hrs/week is a minimum. Available for academic credit. For more information, contact Travis LaBerge, Executive Director: labergemusic@gmail.com

COLORADO MUSIC FESTIVAL is looking for a Developing & Marketing intern for the Spring semester. For more information, contact Brandi Numedahl, Marketing Director: numedahl@coloradomusicfest.org