Note to Editors: The final judging of student presentations on April 18 is not open to the public but reporters and photographers are welcome to attend. Presentations will be made from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Imig Music Building, room C125.
The University of Colorado at Boulder College of Music, home to one of the nation's few music entrepreneurship centers, is holding a contest in which music students can win $2,000 grants to explore or create an entrepreneurial opportunity.
The competition is designed to encourage students to articulate their career plans and sharpen their business skills. A panel of judges organized by the Entrepreneurship Center for Music will award six $2,000 grants following the competition's final round of student presentations April 18.
Center Director Catherine Fitterman said musicians often have difficulty realizing that in order to be experienced by an audience, art must go hand-in-hand with commerce.Ìý
"The old adage, 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice,' couldn't be more misleading. Talent is only the first of many skills a serious performer needs to possess today," she said.
To succeed, Fitterman said, musicians must understand that their industry relies heavily on business relationships.
"In addition to talent, a successful musician will understand how the music industry works, embrace self-promotion, use networking to build and sustain relationships, and have a well-developed ability to communicate with many kinds of audiences," she said.
To foster these kinds of business skills, the grant competition is modeled after business plan competitions that are common in college business schools around the country.
Competitors must persuade the judges that their proposal represents an entrepreneurial approach to their own career development. Any proposed student activity that recognizes an opportunity and creates value by filling a need in a marketplace will be considered entrepreneurial, Fitterman said.
Education and outreach activities, and participation in workshops, master classes and festivals are among the proposal ideas that students were encouraged to present.
The competition's inclusive judging guidelines were designed to make sure that business jargon wouldn't discourage musicians from entering. "I wanted as many students as possible to participate in the competition," Fitterman said.
Student projects must be completed before graduation, but the entrepreneurial opportunity does not have to be within the music industry.
Competitors were required to turn in an application and a detailed plan on March 21. Both individuals and teams of students were allowed to enter. After a semifinal round of presentations April 8, the finalists will present their proposals to a panel of judges on April 18.
The CU-Boulder College of Music is one of only a handful of music schools in the country that has a center dedicated to exploring how entrepreneurship applies to traditionally trained musicians, according to Fitterman.
"Our focus is helping students understand the concepts of opportunity recognition, market responsiveness, balancing risk and reward, and focusing passion for a purpose," she said.
Today's music industry is undergoing tremendous change and upheaval, she said, and that means opportunities for enterprising artists. "It's a fantastic environment for the entrepreneurial musician to generate ideas for a new venture and create value through change in the marketplace."
For information about the CU-Boulder Entrepreneurship Center for Music call (303) 735-1272.