The New Musician

In today’s rapidly changing music landscape, entrepreneurship is a natural interest for people who pursue a creative blend of music and business. My book’s subtitle, The Art of Entrepreneurship in Today’s Music Business, explains my unique approach: I see entrepreneurship as an art just as vital as musicianship—an art I want to help musicians to master. This is why many chapters in the book are devoted to the personal successes and challenges of musicians and other creatives who are also highly successful entrepreneurs.

There are a multitude of books written on musical techniques and many on business matters and the mindset of entrepreneurs, but I found very few written by musicians or music business leaders themselves, world-class artists who could share invaluable insights on their careers. So, I sought out artists and other professionals to provide insight and answers from every career angle and in a variety of voices. I share conversations about leadership and business, always asking the questions I think are uppermost in musicians’ minds. I interview legendary working musicians as well as industry leaders such as record executive Mike Curb, former Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher, and former Secretary of Education Richard Riley.

I think the book’s most unique features—setting it apart from all other music business texts—are these extensive interviews, which give readers a chance to consider a range of creative solutions to the problems they encounter and learn from others’ experiences.