TAG: Music Entrepreneurs

Cultivating Optimism for Music Entrepreneurs: 5 Questions to Help You Manage Uncertainty

My coaching groups at Yale are off to a great start this semester!  Students meet with me on a bi-weekly basis to share their successes and challenges in creating successful careers as musicians and artists.  Through honest, trusting and confidential sharing, they open up about their vulnerabilities and we explore how to manage the many challenges associated with a music …

Top Tips for Managing Your Portfolio Career: Embrace the 4 P’s of the Entrepreneurial Mindset

I have been collaborating with iCadenza, a fantastic resource that helps musicians think like business people and grow as artists. I am honored to have been included in iCadenza’s most recent blog post on “How to Manage a Portfolio Career: 7 Arts Entrepreneurs Share Their Tips.” My advice to successfully manage your music portfolio career? Start with adopting the mindset …

Ideas into Action: How Music Entrepreneurs Create and Innovate

One of my favorite aspects of teaching my Innovation and Collaboration class at Yale is the project whereby the students take on a critical problem in the classical music field and work in collaborative groups to create and implement new solutions to these problems.  It was fascinating to see how we were able to take the spark of an idea …

New Digital Media: Opportunities and Pitfalls of the New Digital World: Part II

Last time, we discussed Sean Hickey’s advice to students at the Yale School of Music on how today’s musicians can leverage new digital media and  work with a label to promote your recording.   Now, let’s hear Sean’s insights on how today’s artists can proactively shape their careers, generate new revenue streams and gain greater exposure using the new tools of …

New Digital Media: Opportunities and Pitfalls of the New Digital World: Part I

Recently, we were delighted to welcome to Yale Sean Hickey, an award-winning composer and the VP Sales and Business Development of Naxos of America in charge of all physical sales for in North America and digital sales throughout the world.  With these impressive credentials, Sean spoke to our students about new digital media and how today’s musicians can navigate the digital world. …

Flow Passion and Purpose: The Keys to Inspired Leadership

Last spring, I was honored to have been selected by the students of the Yale School of Music to speak at Inspiring Yale, a one-day campus-wide event showcasing the work of thought leaders from the 13 graduate and professional schools at Yale. While my work at Yale centers on launching the brilliant and talented musicians and arts leaders at the …

Creativity for Music Entrepreneurs: Leave Time for Incubation

Have you ever found yourself grappling with a challenging problem and then leaving your desk in disgust and frustration, only to find the answer when you wake up the next morning or when you are out for a nice walk? Welcome to incubation, one of the magical elements of the creativity process, where you work hard on a problem, give …

Taming the Fixed Mindset: 4 Steps to Lasting Growth and Change

Over my years at the Yale School of Music, I have introduced my students to the growth mindset, the belief that you can develop your talents and intelligence through hard work, smart strategies and input from others. This concept has become very popular ever since Dr. Carol Dweck, the brilliant psychologist who developed and researched the concept, published her findings …

Share Your Big Goals: How SMART Goals Set You Up for Success

One of the highlights of my summer is teaching the Art of Career Planning at the So Percussion Summer Institute, the wonderful program for budding percussionists founded by my buddies at So Percussion.  In our session, I help these aspiring musicians to gain greater clarity on their career goals. And this year, one of our students surprised everyone by sharing …