Music Business Entrepreneurship

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Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
Presented by Leena Sowambur
© Leena Sowambur and Positively Music. All Rights reserved 2013

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@positivelymusic
@leenasowambur
Hashtag!
Tweet It! Facebook It!
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

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Contents
• Purpose
• Your Tasks
• About Me
• Definitions
• The Bigger Picture
• Music Business Application and Trends
• How To Be A Music Industry Entrepreneur
• Case Study
• Summary
• Homework

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Purpose
• To clarify the concept for you.
• To equip you with some theory for bigger
picture thinking.
• To stimulate your thinking.
• To help you work out what it means to you.
• To give to some take away actions points to
get started.
• To re-charge your entrepreneurial spirit.

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1. Write down any insights, ideas and action points
during this session.
2. Make sure you schedule (date and time) , review and
act on your points!
3. You will be given mini exercises during the session.
4. You will be given “homework” please tweet and
Facebook to us your progress over the next fortnight
using the tags provided.
Music Business Entrepreneurship
Your Tasks For This Discussion
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

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Why is this the best time
in history to be in the
music business?
Question For Your Consideration
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

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• Started out when I was just 4 years old!
• Chose Education Pathway – primary and secondary school and
university.
• Now I have over professional 12 years in the music business,
starting off in digital and progressing through to
entrepreneurship.
• Worked for Sony, and with Warner, EMI and Universal. I directed
numerous international, European and national digital marketing
and PR campaigns for superstar artists from Beyoncé to Take
That.
• “Positively Music,” dedicated to entrepreneurship and digital
business training to the music industry.
A Bit About Me
Hi, I’m Leena!

8© Leena Sowambur and Positively Music. All Rights reserved 2013
Definitions - Entrepreneur
Exercise #1 - Your Thoughts?
What is an
Entrepreneur?

Definitions - Entrepreneur
What is it?
(Entrepreneur) someone who
organizes a business venture and
assumes the risk for it.
(Source. Princeton.edu)

Definitions - Entrepreneurship
What is it?
Entrepreneurship is the act and art of
being an entrepreneur or one who
undertakes innovations or introducing new
things, finance and business acumen, in
an effort to transform innovations into
economic goods.
(Source. Wikipedia.)

What is it?
(Source. Anon.)

Key Words
KEY
WORDS
FINANCE
BUSINESS
RISK
INNOVATION
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

Exercise #2 – Your Thoughts?
FINANCE

Help Is At Hand!
KEY
WORDS
FINANCE
BUSINESS
RISK
INNOVATION
More Later

The Bigger Picture
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
Importance – General Landscape
• Important for economic growth, productivity,
innovation and employment.
• Entrepreneurship is the solution to faster global
PESTAL change and challenges.
• High income and high human development countries
have made entrepreneurship a priority due to the
recent Depression.

The Bigger Picture
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
• In every previous downturn, new SMEs have pulled
the economy out of recession.
• Job creation is typically located in small businesses
and new businesses rather than in bigger companies.
• Innovation typically comes from newer, smaller, more
agile businesses with access to little to no cost
infrastructure.

• Creating jobs.
• Promoting regional balance e.g. setting up businesses in
regeneration areas.
• Reducing the concentration of economic power.
• Stimulates equitable distribution and creation of wealth.
• Improving the standard of living - providing new products
at a lower cost – e.g. the internet.
• Enabling export trade with other countries.
The Bigger Picture

To Sum up
(Source. Sir Richard Branson. The Telegraph
2011- http://bit.ly/eZkrLl)
“Building a dynamic entrepreneurial
culture is one of the key
characteristics of a healthy
economy. A society which
encourages new business and
recognises the importance of start-
ups and small firms will be
successful on the global stage.
Firing up a new generation of
entrepreneurs will be a crucial part
of our recovery and essential for
creating sustainable growth in
Britain over the next decade and
beyond.”
The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
Music Business

Exercise #3 – Your Thoughts
Where are we right now?
Typical
Industry
Lifecycle
reflecting
music
industry

Music Industry Lifecycle
Where are we right now?
Typical
Industry
Lifecycle
reflecting
music
industry
OVERLAP

Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
The Current State Of The Music Industry
• Music Industry has been in recession for over a decade.
• Recording, publishers and touring whilst resilient are still
challenged.
• The Music Industry doesn’t make as much money as it
used to.
• Technology has changed the way fans consumer music
and therefore the status quo.

• The music industry is down 64% from its peak in 1999.
• The music industry is actually down 45% from where it
was in 1973.
• 10 years ago the average American spent almost 3 times
as much on recorded music products as they do today.
• 26 years ago they spent almost twice as much as they do
today.
(Source. Business Insider - http://read.bi/gSSbLi)

(Source. Business Insider - http://read.bi/gSSbLi)

(Worth $168 Billion – 2011)

TREND!

Music Industry Historical Trends

Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
The Music Industry is
an example of
Creative ___?___

DESTRUCTION

Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
Joseph Schumpeter 101
• Joseph Schumpeter, an Australian economist in the
1930s.
• Economic growth happens in waves.
• These waves are extended periods of technological
revolution.
• These waves mean old industries e.g. cassette tapes
are destroyed and replaced by new industries e.g.
CDs
• Economic activity increases = more jobs = more
purchases = more demand = more jobs.

To Sum Up
Entrepreneurship is a key
driver of economic growth
Where the opportunistic
entrepreneur can engage in
new tech to disrupt the status
quo and get an edge on the
major players. E.g. Sean Parker

• Creating employment in the music industry.
• Promoting regional balance e.g. setting up music businesses in
regeneration areas.
• Reducing the concentration of economic power – so music
industry power agencies have less control.
• Stimulates equitable distribution and creation of wealth.
• Improving the standard of living - providing new products at a
lower cost – e.g. access to online music education.
• Enabling export music business trade with other countries.
To Sum Up

To Sum Up
CALL FOR
ENTREPRENEURS!

To Sum Up
• Took a step in promoting entrepreneurship as
a centrepiece of economic growth and stability
around the world.
• Helping entrepreneurs launch and grow
startups that eradicate poverty, generate
wealth and improve lives.
• Foster entrepreneurship worldwide as a tool
for development.
• Education is the first step toward empowering
the citizens of the world through
entrepreneurship.
(Source. Kauffman http://bit.ly/17SDuje 01/07/13)

Getting Started
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

Is It For You?
1. Can You Take Risks?
2. Can You Make Decisions On Your Own?
3. Can You Take Rejection?
4. Can You Negotiate And Persuade?
5. Can You Solve Problems Creatively?
6. Can You Ask For Help?

What habits do you think you need
to succeed as an entrepreneur in the
music industry?
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

10 Habits For Success

When And Where?
START NOW
SO YOU ARE
READY FOR
RECOVERY

When And Where?

Pre-empting Problems
KEY
WORDS
FINANCE
BUSINESS
RISK
INNOVATION
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
FINANCE
BUSINESS

Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
INNOVATION

Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
RISK

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• Get A Vision That Is Bigger Than You
• Set S.M.A.R.T Goals
• Business Plan – 3 years to 10 years
• Get Learning
• Get Help
• Fail as fast as you can
Actions

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http://vimeo.com/40068650
Case Study – Jamal Edwards

• Started with a £200 camcorder
filming his friends rapping on
YouTube.
• Started 8 years ago
• YouTube was only a year old at
the time (Timing is everything)
• Acted alone for 3 years
• Travelled all over London to get
rap footage and interviews.
• All times of day and night
• All weather conditions.

• Estimated fortune of up to £8m,
• He appeared in the Sunday
Times young power and rich
lists
• Signed a deal with Sony RCA
to run his own record label.
• Verified Twitter A/C = 130K plus
followers

• Columns in RWD, The Observer, The
Guardian, The Independent, Dazed &
Confused, the Sunday Times Style
magazine
• Assistant production credits with the
BBC, Tiger Aspect Productions
• The Google Chrome Advert crashed
the SB.TV website due to searches
for “Jamal Edwards”
• Quote “Have a niche, create a unique
selling point. Be creative and chase
your dreams, don’t stop. Don’t accept
any knock backs.”

Personal Benefits
Exciting : High risk and lots of adventure
Independence: Be Your Own Boss
Flexible: Your time is your own
Money: “You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for
the value you bring to the hour.” – Jim Rohn
Exit: You can plan your way out and your next project

Personal Benefits
Freedom!
Work whenever you want, wherever you want, and however
you want.

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Why is this the best time in
history to be in the music
business?
Question
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship

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Why is this the best time in history to be in the
music business?
Music
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship
Answer:-
Now YOU can be
part of leading it
and shaping it

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Your Homework
@positivelymusic
@leenasowambur

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THANK YOU!
Where To Find Me
www.positivelymusic.co.uk
www.facebook.com/positivelymusic
www.twitter.com/positivelymusic
www.facebook.com/leena.sowambur
leena@positivelymusic.co.uk

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