Entrepreneur the Arts

Failing your way to BLOOMIN’ success or the little engine that could

Lisa Canning — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:29 +0000

Failing your way to success. Yup. That’s how it’s done. It takes a LOT of support and a pretty great attitude too. That’s hard to do on your own. Kind of like weight loss I think. Best done with a herding mentality. That’s why Weight Watchers has been so successful. They understood the power of a “herd” early on.

But since I began 6 years ago- reinventing myself from my spare bedroom blogging to an audience of none- to where I am now? I have to say it has been littered with set backs and disappointments that I could have allowed to loom larger than life and stop me cold in my tracks. AFTER ALL THIS TIME I really never thought that the IAE WOULD STILL NOT HAVE the funding resources we need to achieve the grand plan. Love is blind! Thank God for my clarinet customers who are supporting me. Every customer who buys an instrument from me is donating $50.00 bucks to my school. Last year Lisa’s Clarinet Shop donated $27,500 to the IAE and my husband and I and a few others donated again 2 times that sum.

Lisa’s Clarinet Shop is the little engine that could. My husband has been out of work- downsized from one of those big corporate jobs- for over a year and my clarinet customers just keep coming and coming to support IAE. It’s like a miracle. Really.

This is the power of small business. Of passionate purpose driven living. ANYTHING IS possible. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN if you know who you are and what you simply MUST express with your time on this earth. ANYTHING is possible but you have to have the ability and DESIRE to sustain your effort and to never EVER give up.

And I believe the future is bright. Not just because I am an optimistic person, but because so many people around me are increasingly excited to see what is happening with our students at the IAE.

Every rose began hidden under the mud before it revealed itself and BLOOMED. My dream to realize the IAE does not get to skip any of the steps to Bloomin’ Success. We are walking the walk just like our students and I am searching for another little steam engine to help me over the hill…

THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD
(Watty Piper)

A little steam engine had a long train of cars to pull.

She went along very well till she came to a steep hill. But then, no matter how hard she tried, she could not move the long train of cars.

She pulled and she pulled. She puffed and she puffed. She backed and started off again. Choo! Choo!

But no! the cars would not go up the hill.

At last she left the train and started up the track alone. Do you think she had stopped working? No, indeed! She was going for help.

“Surely I can find someone to help me,” she thought.

Over the hill and up the track went the little steam engine. Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo!

Pretty soon she saw a big steam engine standing on a side track. He looked very big and strong. Running alongside, she looked up and said:

“Will you help me over the hill with my train of cars? It is so long and heavy I can’t get it over.”

The big steam engine looked down at the little steam engine. The he said:

“Don’t you see that I am through my day’s work? I have been rubbed and scoured ready for my next run. No, I cannot help you,”

The little steam engine was sorry, but she went on, Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo!

Soon she came to a second big steam engine standing on a side track. He was puffing and puffing, as if he were tired.

“That big steam engine may help me,” thought the little steam engine. She ran alongside and asked:

“Will you help me bring my train of cars over the hill? It is so long and so heavy that I can’t get it over.”

The second big steam engine answered:

“I have just come in from a long, long run. Don’t you see how tired I am? Can’t you get some other engine to help you this time?

“I’ll try,” said the little steam engine, and off she went. Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo!

After a while she came to a little steam engine just like herself. She ran alongside and said:

“Will you help me over the hill with my train of cars? It is so long and so heavy that I can’t get it over.”

“Yes, indeed!” said this little steam engine. “I’ll be glad to help you, if I can.”

So the little steam engines started back to where the train of cars had been standing. Both little steam engines went to the head of the train, one behind the other.

Puff, puff! Chug, choo! Off they started!

Slowly the cars began to move. Slowly they climbed the steep hill. As they climbed, each little steam engine began to sing:

“I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I think I can – I think I can – I think I can I think I can–”

And they did! Very soon they were over the hill and going down the other side.

Now they were on the plain again; and the little steam engine could pull her train herself. So she thanked the little engine who had come to help her, and said good-by.

And she went merrily on her way, singing:

“I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I thought i could – I thought I could – I thought I could – I thought I could – I thought I could – I thought I could I thought I could –”

Conversation, Collaboration and Creative Self-Employment

Lisa Canning — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:32:44 +0000

IAE students Nancy Plummer with Nicole Pfeifer work our table at the event

January was a month of running hard for me. From the USASBE conference in New Orleans to PNB-NAPEO in Morocco, teaching and the clarinet shop wedged in between, January was full of exciting conversations, opportunities for collaboration and a continuous flow of conversation about creativity ways to become self-employed.

January came to and end with WBEZ: Front and Center in Chicago throwing a self-employment party/mini training session at a very cool meeting place called Catalyst Ranch in Chicago. The IAE was invited to participate. We hosted 2 sessions: Entrepreneurship 101 and a mini pitching session we call: Create. Innovate. Repeat. (Which, by the way, if you live in Chicago, we have another one you can attend or pitch at, and its free, on Feb 16th.)

4 IAE student were selected to share with the audience what a great pitch looks. What a hard time it was deciding who should pitch. All of our students have been working so hard on their pitches.

Image Consultant Nancy Plummer from FineThreadsChicago delivered a wonderful pitch about how she can help individuals look their best. Positive Aging Dance Instructor Brenda Starr Woods showed us how chair tap dancing can help us live longer. Actor Osiris Khepera, OSirisHisName.com shared with us how he can create an amazing party by creating a special moment we could all share together. And Fashion Designer Stacie Randall, StacieRandall.com, shared with us an amazing story about how she transforms vintage clothing into collectables because of the secret stories they hold from their past.

Stacie Randall (red head) and Brenda Starr Woods (top hat), along with Nancy Plummer and Osiris Khepera, delivered a great pitch to almost 100 people. Did I mention that there were 300 more that could not even get in the door?

We love our No More Starving Artist Button and so did the attendees at the WBEZ event

Nicole Pfeifer held down the fort while students pitched, mingled and made connections. What a great job she did. We have 3 pages of names signed up on our list and over night 100 people signed up for our blog

The Mistake that Topples Careers and Industries

David Cutler — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:00:29 +0000

During the second half of the 19^th Century, rail transportation in the United States was a booming enterprise. Expanding to every corner of the land, this lucrative growth industry seemed unstoppable. Yet within 70 years of its heyday, rail companies tumbled. And today, their impact of is negligible (beyond Amtrak and lines of Thomas the Tank Engine toys). What on Earth happened?

Well, the world changed. The advent of automobiles, trucks, buses, and airplanes simply made trains less necessary. Less relevant. So they faded away.

But what if these companies had maintained a broader vision? What if they hadn’t been here simply to support railway systems, but rather to solve transportation needs of all sorts? Had that been the case, these businesses might still be major players in air, land, and sea travel today.

The mistake of overspecialization has plagued virtually every industry, large or small. We’ve seen this sad tale play out time and time again.

In the arts, for example, consider record labels. So massive was their influence and power just 15 short years ago that the top handful of multi-billion dollar corporations were oft referred to as the “music industry.” But make no mistake. That’s not how they approached the game. Instead, they were the “sound-reproduced-on-physical-products-industry.” Which explains why the move from records to CDs worked so seamlessly. Yet when digital reproduction and distribution became reality, the consequences were devastating. Imagine how differently history might have been written had these companies truly seen themselves as the backbone of a comprehensive and ever evolving music business.

Or how about orchestras? These organizations boast a rich and glorious tradition. But even so, American orchestras today are declaring bankruptcy at an alarming rate. What business are they in? Serving as a cultural and creative hub? Transforming communities through music? Celebrating the unique artistic identity of a region? Not even close. Instead it’s much more narrowly defined: “Large ensemble music featuring a combination of strings, winds, and percussion performing primarily Western classical music by dead Europeans.” Hmmm…During this tumultuous time of disruptive change, couldn’t these ensembles rescue themselves from extinction by thinking wider and re-imagining core purpose?

What about your own career? Do you just do that one very specific thing (i.e. play classical oboe, choreograph ballet, paint landscape murals)? Or is your mission open and flexible, ensuring that your work will remain necessary, valuable, and valued no matter how much the world evolves, in any direction?

True, you can’t be all things to all people. True, there are tremendous benefits to addressing a particular niche. Just be sure that the positioning you choose is broad enough to ensure there will always be demand for your art.

15 things successful CEOs want you to know

Guest Blogger — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:21:50 +0000

By Peter Corbett, iStrategyLabs Jan. 28, 2012, 12:01am PT 23 Comments

As a young CEO of a growing company, I find that the most valuable insight I’m gaining these days has been from other CEOs. Certainly this realization isn’t revolutionary – YPO, EO, Mindshare and a host of other organizations are set up just for this kind of knowledge exchange.

But who has time for that? This is a social media world. We’re live in 140-character sound bites. So I decided to ping my favorite CEOs via Twitter to see what kind of wisdom they could drop on me. Here’s the great advice they shared.

Daniel Ek, CEO, Spotify

Figure out what the top five most important stuff is, focus relentlessly on that and keep iterating. Less is more.

Dennis Crowley, CEO, FourSquare

Don’t let people tell you your ideas won’t work. If you have a hunch that something will work, go build it. Ignore the haters.

Sarah Prevette, Founder, Sprouter

Just do it. Get it out there, absorb the feedback, adjust accordingly, hustle like hell, persevere and never lose your swagger.

Sarah Lacy, CEO, PandoDaily

Follow your gut. it may be wrong, but you won’t regret it if you fail. You’ll regret it if you ignore your gut and fail.

Craig Newmark, Founder, Craigslist

Treat people like you want to be treated. Apply to customer service.

Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO, VaynerMedia

Do work for your customers, not for press or VCs. The end user is what matters long term.

Matt Mullenweg, CEO, Automattic

Only reinvent the wheels you need to get rolling.

Jason Goldberg, CEO, Fab.com

Pick one thing and do that one thing — and only that one thing — better than anyone else ever could.

Alexis Ohanian, CEO, Reddit

Make something people want. Then give more damns than anyone else about it and you’ll make something they love.

Chris Brogan, President, Human Business Works

Buy @ericries’s book. Beyond that? Build a platform. This is the big year.

Matt Howard, CEO, ZoomSafer

Startup wisdom: The number one job of a CEO is to not run out of money.

Brian Wong, CEO, Kiip

Always be learning from others. Whenever you meet someone, you don’t want something from them, you want to learn from them.

Seth Priebatsch, Chief Ninja, SCVNGR and LevelUp

Something my dad taught me: Ask forgiveness, not permission!

Hooman Radfar, Founder, Clearspring

Give away the wins, own the loses. Your job is to curate greatness.

Alexa Hirschfeld, CEO, Paperless Post

Users and employees are key predictive indicators of a company’s success; press and investors generally months behind.

Got some other great wisdom for your fellow CEOs? Leave me a comment!

Peter Corbett (@corbett3000) is the CEO of the creative agency iStrategyLabs, and is the founding organizer of DC Tech Meetup.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Search Engine People Blog.

F Failure- How about “Let’s (creative thinkers) Bloom”

Lisa Canning — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:37:19 +0000

Failure Club is inspiring. One of the core tenants The IAE teaches is how to rebound from repeatedly failing and to fail often in super small ways. Failure Club is pretty cool but the overarching message is wrong. It’s how to BLOOM guys- to do so you fail along the way A LOT.

That’s why it helps to have a group working together to BLOOM, but it takes more than just hanging together. You need to learn how to learn from others.

You need to learn how to think.

You gotta learn to train your elephant. Yah. At last.

That’s what we do at the IAE. God knows there are a lot of smart creatives in the world who simply don’t know how to get their ideas to be taken seriously enough to become real.. enough. I hear you. I have felt your pain. At IAE you will find a home if you are a self defined creative and feeling kind of, well, IGNORED.

episode-13-ignacio-28032806.html

If Artists Are Saving Us, We’re F@#ked

Guest Blogger — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:53:30 +0000

Written by Colin Darke Posted on Huffington Post on 1/25/12

Sorry for that language.

I love artists. I’ve been an artist my entire life. And I love myself. Most artists love themselves.

Three out of hundreds and hundreds of my self portraits.

The New York Times knows that artists can save the world. Artists can lift the spirit so that everyone feels better, so everyone hugs one another, so every place is filled with rainbows (not real rainbows, maybe graffiti rainbows or rainbows made out of discarded car parts). True story: a carjacker jumped into the back of my car, put a gun to my head, and told me to drive. I said, “Miss, please don’t hurt me. I am an artist. You can take a photograph I took of the abandoned rail road station that is in my portfolio that takes up the whole backseat next to you. No questions asked.” She shuffled through my portfolio, and then she said abruptly, “stop the car.” She jumped out and ran. She was no doubt running home to show her significant other my beautiful photograph. This, no doubt, was the first step that would change her from a carjacker to a social worker.

For every doctor, police officer, fire fighter, social worker, priest, nun, or public defender, I can make you a painting of a doctor, police officer, fire fighter, social worker, priest, nun, or public defender. In return, most of them cannot even draw a straight line with a ruler (this is likely the fault of an education focused on math and science rather than art). Most of these people would also likely see a painting at a gallery and merely say, “I like that.” Really! Really! You “like” that . . . how juvenile and misinformed and narcissistic! Can you really talk about art without saying “didactic” or Duchamp or contrived or outsider or derivative? But it’s not their fault. Rather, it is society’s fault for not forcing people to understand and support the arts.

We need rules! We need legislation that requires every household with a non-artist to at least board an artist. We need to increase taxes on everything to pay for art school education. We need to allow artists to pay for everything with doodles and sketches instead of money (didn’t Picasso do that?).

The above sarcasm was my initial reaction to headlines about a new report that artists have a huge economic impact on Michigan. It is more of a reaction to how certain artists chose to interpret the initial data. No offense to “artists” or artists, I just do not think that individual artists have a direct impact on the overall economic makeup of a city. They may have an indirect impact through strengthening the culture of an area and making it more livable. And they have the direct impact of making life better by inspiring us and creating awe inspiring images, performances, etc. – that is why I am involved with TheDetroiter.com. The arts and artists inspire me. I like to be inspired. So I try to support other artists as much as I can – very selfish.

But back to that new report, I needed more facts. ArtServe Michigan released a new report, Creative State Michigan, to show that nonprofit arts and cultural organization have a huge economic impact (in a good way) to the State of Michigan. The Huffington Post has already covered the initial release, but I wanted to flesh out some of the facts and the overall takeaway. So I reached out to Jennifer Goulet, President and CEO of ArtServe Michigan, for some answers — and I posted them below. If you are a cynic (like me), I think you will still have trouble arguing with Ms. Goulet (like I did). This is an important survey, and the state (and all states) should give it a lot of weight. To see it for yourself, go here: www.CreativeStateMI.org.
What are the take-aways from this survey?

211 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations contributed nearly half a billion dollars in expenditures alone to the economy of Michigan in 2009.
Of the462 million in annual expenditures by these 211 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in 2009,152 million was paid out in salaries for 15,560 jobs.
There is a significant impact of state dollars invested in the arts and culture nonprofit sector: For every1 invested by the state, these arts and culture nonprofit sector contributed51 into the Michigan economy.
From 2006 to 2010, the number of arts-related jobs increased by 4 percent in Michigan, while arts-related businesses increased by 43 percent.
Arts education conducted by Michigan nonprofits aligns with school programs to promote creative problem solving and build skills in design, arts and crafts. In 2009, the 211 organizations hosted 1,841,368 schoolchildren in their facilities and offered 797 programs in schools.

Does the survey show that the state should invest in more nonprofit art organizations that focus on the arts community?

Absolutely! The survey demonstrates the arts and culture nonprofits impact on Michigan’s economy and its reach in serving audiences in communities of all sizes across the state. In Michigan’s economic recovery and restructuring, there are important roles and opportunities for collaboration for nonprofits, businesses and government. The state must invest in all essential infrastructures — from transportation to education to health care to the arts — needed to strengthen and sustain healthy and vibrant communities that attract the talent, business investment and economic activity for Michigan’s reinvention. The creative sector has always had great stories to share about how arts and cultural experiences transform us individually or as a society. But, with the growing set of data coming from the Michigan Cultural Data Project, we also can demonstrate our significance in economic impact or audience reach information. We can make a stronger case for rebuilding investment in the arts and cultural sector as part of state economic development strategies.

Arts and culture nonprofits have long known that inspiring works of art and innovative designs have the power to transform people’s lives and to create vibrant communities. Its leaders have also known that, as businesses, they directly contribute to the economy as they purchase materials and services in their communities and pay workers who in turn buy goods and services. But until recently, they have not been able to “back-up” their stories with hard facts that demonstrate their combined impact. Now, with data collected through the Michigan Cultural Data Project and other new sources, the sector can fully illustrate its impact in Michigan with annual standardized, reliable information.

Should the state invest more in artists?

Yes. On a simple level, artists are an essential asset providing the foundation enabling and enriching the work of Michigan’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. Artists and the professionals comprising the creative industries are a widely diverse population — from the visual artist exhibiting in a local gallery to the dancer or musician teaching classes at a local school or performing at a downtown theater to the writer lending time and talent with youth in an afterschool program to the graphic designer lending creativity to branding campaigns to the emerging talent with a great idea and desire to be an entrepreneur. Across this spectrum, there is a tremendous opportunity for Michigan’s artistic sector to be engaged in efforts to build sustainable communities, stimulate local and state economies and be innovative and creative problem-solvers and community connectors. There’s valuable opportunity to invest in artists as entrepreneurs that are contributing individually and collectively to Michigan’s reinvention aims. And in embracing opportunities where others might just see risks like setting up a studio or gallery in vacant, underutilized urban spaces or opening temporary pop-up retail in areas lacking customers. Both bring attention, audiences, activity and the promise of change to areas facing urban decline.

By investing in artists, wealth is created from ideas — Detroit is rich with young and old who have great ideas and the creative spirit to bring them to fruition.

How do these art organizations bring money to the overall economy apart from hiring individuals within the specific organization?

In FY 2009, this group of organizations spent nearly half a billion dollars to support creative programs and operations. While $152 million supported jobs in local communities, more than $300 million was invested to support program and operational costs — such as maintenance of buildings, purchasing materials like office supplies or computers, contracting for services like graphic design or accounting or fees to contract musicians for concert performances, as well as overhead costs such as space rental, utilities and even taxes. These costs range widely — from reupholstering seats in an auditorium to buying office supplies to licensing software to manage ticket sales or ordering clay for students to learn pottery.

Do these organizations add to the overall cultural and “livability” to areas, so a company may list a vibrant art community as a factor to moving to one area over another?

Without a doubt, arts and cultural organizations contribute richly to the vibrancy and livability of Michigan’s communities, making them places where talent want to land and where businesses want to invest and bring their employees. Arts and cultural programs and events are destinations in our communities that significantly add to the quality of life. Their presence signals a community environment where innovations, creative expression, learning and shared experience are important — important to talent and businesses alike. And, as demonstrated by this report, the arts are an economic driver contributing jobs and spending across our state.

With Michigan Cultural Data Project data, we know that in 2009 the 211 organizations hosted more than 12 million visitors and that 52% of those visits were free — important measures of accessibility for people of all ages and at a time when the economy forced many to make difficult decisions on how to allocate resources. Another measure of livability and vitality is the number of members, subscribers and board directors supporting these institutions and events — 331,416. Community members are strong supporters of our nonprofit organizations whether serving on a board or committee, attending events or sharing skills as a volunteer. These figures collectively are snapshots in time, as it represents about 10% of all of the arts and culture organizations in Michigan in one year. With more than 600 organizations registered now in the Michigan Cultural Data Project, and as more organizations enter their data into the system, the measure of the creative impact will only grow.

About Colin Darke
Colin Darke is an artist, writer, and attorney based in Detroit, Michigan.
The Detroit News described Colin’s paintings as employing “a bold, colorful style reminiscent of the German Expressionists.” He regularly shows his work throughout Detroit, and in 2010 Colin was juried into the 18th Annual National Juried Exhibition (Juror: Rackstraw Downes (2009 MacArthur Fellow)) at the Bowery Gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York, New York. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Detroit cultural blog www.TheDetroiter.com (est. 2002), and he is a regular contributor to the Brooklyn based art criticism blog www.Hyperallergic.com.

Follow Colin Darke on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@colindarke

Our ‘divided brain’ and how it has profoundly altered human behavior

Lisa Canning — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:38:57 +0000

In this new RSAnimate, renowned psychiatrist and writer Iain McGilchrist explains how our ‘divided brain’ has profoundly altered human behaviour, culture and society. To view the full lecture, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbUHxC4wiWk

The Art and Design Legacy of the Apple CEO

Guest Blogger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:08:25 +0000

Written by John M. Eger appeared on Huffington Post, January 18th, 2012

The book by Walter Isaacson about Steve Jobs, former CEO and founder of Apple Computer, has now sold over one million copies.

After talking with many of Steve’s colleagues, Issacson discovered that to Steve, “You were either [a shithead or a hero], one or the other, sometimes on the same day.” Clearly he was not a guy everybody loved. Yet he did “revolutionize six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. You might even add a seventh: retail stores, which Jobs did not quite revolutionize, but he did re-imagine.”

Isaacson also discovered that in all Apple’s products “technology would be married to great design, elegance, human touches, and even romance.” On a personal note, Isaacson added, “The creativity that can occur when a feel for both the humanities and the sciences combine in one strong personality was the topic that most interested me in my biographies of Franklin and Einstein, and I believe … will be a key to creating innovative economies in the twenty-first century.”

Maybe it takes the tragic death of an icon or another earth-shattering event to get our attention. Leonard Shlain, author of Art and Physics: Parallel Visions of Space, Time and Light (1993), early on noted the symbiotic relationship only now becoming commonplace. Maybe Jobs even read Shlain’s book.

There is now more talk, more awareness of the importance of art and design. And there is a greater recognition that our schools, our communities, our attitudes must change.

This new awareness, new recognition is vital. One might say understanding the challenge of the new global economy is even critical. It demands that we renew and reinvent ourselves to better understand and appreciate the arts (and of course the sciences) and importantly, the esthetic makeup of the places where we live and work. There is no alternative short of letting our cities and our communities atrophy and die, and with it, the great experiment in freedom and free enterprise we so highly value.

We created the pen-based computer, the silicon chip and the Internet itself, now the vehicle for every nation, every city, and every community worldwide to compete with every other. We can be proud of what we have accomplished, but we must be mindful that a new — truly global –economy has been unleashed.

This intersection of art and technology is the future for America. Creativity and innovation will be the hallmark of our greatest corporations, our workplace, and our most enterprising communities.

Does all creativity come from the arts and so-called creative communities? Of course not, but the chances of nurturing creativity through arts based training is a no brainier.

Today, as Sandra Rupert, President of Art Education Partnership observed,

Arts learning experiences play a vital role in developing students’ capacities for critical thinking, creativity, imagination, and innovation. These capacities are increasingly recognized as core skills and competencies all students need as part of a high-quality and complete 21st-century education.

This of course is why STEAM — the idea that the arts are as important as science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) — is so important. It is also why cities and regions must have creative people by nurturing its young people and, reinventing a system of education that engenders the new thinking skills to meet the challenges of the new economy.

Government has a vital role too. Promoting accessible broadband and encouraging land use policies that encourage development of creative economic clusters including art districts, public art and art and cultural institutions such as museums. Governments can also embrace green initiatives, which encourage private sector initiatives and foster the concept of sustainability. And they can use technology to improve productivity, foster new, more efficient delivery of government services and encourage business and the non-profit sector to use technology as well.

Involvement by the whole community will be needed to make meaningful changes and civic collaboration or engagement is critical. New and existing organizations responsible for planning and development and for weaving the fabric of the new community demand that all institutions and individuals become owners of the new agenda which must include: public art, art integration, graffiti parks, art districts, museums, regional collaboration, civic engagement and robust information infrastructures. All are important to the region of the future, to development of a creative community.

A truly creative community can nurture, attract and retain the talent we need to succeed let alone survive in the new economy.

About John M. Eger
John M. Eger, Van Deerlin Endowed Professor of Communications and Public Policy and Director of the Creative Economy Initiative at San Diego State University teaches in the School of Journalism and Media Studies, and the SDSU Honors Program.

He is an author and lecturer on the subjects of creativity and innovation, education and economic development, and also serves as President of The World Foundation for Smart Communities, a research and educational organization dedicated to helping local communities connect to the global economy. http://www.smartcommunities.org/

A former Adviser to two Presidents and Director of the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy he helped spearhead the restructuring of America’s telecom Industry and was Senior Vice President of CBS responsible for worldwide enterprises, which opened China to commercial television.

Business of Arts + Culture, Washington, DC April 12-13, 2012

Lisa Canning — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:00:16 +0000

Strategic Marketing

Many cultural leaders worry that becoming more “market-oriented” requires compromising mission, and they struggle to find participation strategies that can win support while advancing their vision. In this environment, new marketing approaches are needed that can help you position your organization for different communities, make the most effective programming decisions and deeply engage your community.

Faculty

John Gourville, Ph.D.

Harvard Business School
Jill Avery

School of Management, Simmons College

Seminar Director

Jim Rosenberg

National Arts Strategies

How you will benefit

In Strategic Marketing you explore systematic approaches for understanding customers, planning marketing strategies and creating value for your community. Whether you present programs directly to the public or work with partners such as schools and social service organizations, Strategic Marketing will give you new tools to:

Understand the needs and interests of your current – and potential – stakeholders
Identify the best target-customer segments for your organization
Create differentiation and positioning that attract, serve and keep participants and customers
Recognize and systematically respond to changes in your community
Advance your mission through a sharp focus on customers and markets

What to expect

This exciting two-day seminar engages your team in a series of class discussions, team-based activities and case studies to help your team develop an integrated view of marketing and customer relationships. See a detailed description of the seminar sessions »

Who should attend

Good marketing is more than just advertising and public relations. It is a vital senior-level management function that helps create, capture and sustain value for the diverse stakeholders of an organization, from institutional funders and individual donors to employees and consumers. Strategic Marketing takes an integrated approach that incorporates program, development, customer service, operations and communications decisions. We strongly recommend that you consider a senior-level team of three or more for this seminar that includes:

Your senior-level program, management and board leadership
The directors for your marketing, development and outreach teams

What past participants have to say

“The seminar made us rethink our positioning. The work challenged one of our basic beliefs and at first I recoiled from the result, but by the end of the seminar I realized that we had captured a key new idea about who we are and who we serve. The framework we learned for defining a positioning statement will continue to be a very valuable tool for us.”
Edward Walker, Executive Director, Oklahoma City Philharmonic

“I want to tell you again what a HUGE success I thought the Strategic Marketing seminar was. Rather than being academic and professorial, our two presenters were hands-on, engaging, stimulating and just overall quite excellent.”
Joanie Flatt, Board President, Childsplay

Interested in Applying?

Attendance at Business of Arts and Culture seminars is limited to organizations delivering arts and cultural content and activities, including producing, presenting, education and collections. Consulting organizations are not eligible to attend. Priority will be given to organizations with full time staff of six or more people, where leaders must coordinate solutions across multiple departments, perspectives and internal and external stakeholders.

The application consists of three pages, each of which must be fully completed for your application to be considered:

Information about your organization and needs
Proposed team members and contact information
Tuition, travel support and commitment to attend

Apply Here: Application deadline January 20th, 2012

About National Arts Strategies
NAS has been working with leaders in arts and culture for over twenty-five years. We’ve seen that a dynamic, sustainable arts community comes from the vision and effort of skilled professionals. In our organizational leadership programs arts leaders explore the toughest challenges facing organizations today, and learn from some of the leading business school faculty in the United States. The experience is always interactive and engaging, respectful but demanding. And it brings the best thinking from outside the arts sector into the community, challenging arts and cultural leaders to take a fresh look at their organizations.

20 Rules for Starting Your Art Licensing Business

Guest Blogger — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:22 +0000

Written by Art Licensing Coach J’net Smith

Rule #5 Understanding Copyrights and Trademarks

You own the copyright to your artwork the moment you create them. I encourage you to register your copyrights when you create them, or at least when you begin to use them in business.

As you build your Art Licensing business, you may also need to look into securing trademarks for your brand, art collections and characters. This blog won’t go into the detail about how to do this, but I want to be clear about telling you that the registration of your copyrights and trademarks is the only thing that provides legal ‘teeth’ to pursue and win an infringement case, should you ever need to.

The law is written in a way that states that you must protect and defend your copyrights and trademarks. It’s never done for you. Once you have registered them, it’s really your privilege and obligation, to protect and defend them.

Without registering them, you really won’t have a foot to stand on in court. It’s a very important point to understand.

Note: If you are interested you can check out three phenomenal classes covering Copyrights, Trademarks and Contract Language, which I teach with Attorney Elizabeth Russell. You’ll appreciate the simple terminology of the Legal Ease 3-class series, yet they incorporate full explanations and thoughtful presentations designed specifically for artists looking to license their artwork. We even teach you how to economize on the paperwork and cost so you can maximize the process of protecting your art.

Visit our website to purchase and download these classes.

About J’net Smith

Jeanette Smith is the consummate art licensing coach—she is passionate about helping you achieve a level of success beyond imagining and definitely knows how to do it! In just six short years, J’net turned Dilbert™ from a relatively unknown syndication-based comic strip into a 200 million dollar a year global brand. Then in 2000, J’net translated and expanded on her extensive experience to train, advise and license all types of creators. She has helped hundreds of artists, graphic designers, painters, photographers, authors, illustrators, design firms, fine artists, creative companies, non-profits and agents to maximize the power of their brands and talents.

J’net is best described by her combination of specialties—she is one of those very rare people who possess a balanced combination of creative sensibility and extraordinary business acumen. It is this combination that has served J’net over the span of a very impressive career,and has garnered her equally impressive press and testimonials!

From her early days in New York building new divisions for such corporate giants as Official Airline Guides, MacMillan Publishing, Paramount Communications, and VIACOM International, to her six years of work at United Media spearheading the astronomical growth of Dilbert, Jeanette has compiled a long list of satisfied clients and has gained an enormous amount of respect and experience in marketing, licensing, advertising, PR, agenting, negotiating, and much more.

2011 Best Reads for Artists and Leaders

David Cutler — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:31 +0000

Successful artists, leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators have the most interesting ideas. Not just because they’re somehow magically smarter or more creative. Part of the formula is that these individuals are voracious readers, impacted dramatically by the perspectives of thought leaders. They’re also experts at synthesizing information—taking something intended to address one situation and adopting it to another. Reading the right books challenges how you think, expands your horizons, and helps you imagine new possibilities for your art.

Below are 10 of the most influential books I read in 2011. This year, my reading list focused around the topics of institutional change, education, leadership, business models, and marketing. Notice that not one of the titles on this year’s list is written specifically for artists. But all are deeply relevant to the challenges faced by this sector in our quickly changing world. I hope you’ll find some of these helpful and beneficial to your own evolution.

1) There’s a Customer Born Every Minute: P.T. Barnum’s Secrets to Business Success. By Joe Vitale. The world may be changing at a breakneck tempo, but what it takes to get noticed has not. This book examines the life and practices of the greatest arts entrepreneur of all times, circus mastermind P.T. Barnum. With engaging and powerful prose, this biographical account introduces ten “Rings of Power” that are spot on today for artists who hope to attract maximum attention. A great read!

2) The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. By Michael Gerber. While several points addressed here probably aren’t the right approach for artists running the small business of their career (he often points to the fast food McDonalds model), I learned a ton from this book and so will you. Gerber explains how to methodically create a business model and life that works for you, rather than being overwhelmed by the frantic antics practiced by most artists and small business owners. This will alter your approach to creating a career in the arts.

3) Linchpin: Are You Indispensible? By Seth Godin. When reading this, I was delighted to learn that “Our economy now rewards artists far more than any other economy in history ever has.” Wow!!! As someone who has devoted much life energy to helping artists maximize professional and personal success, this assertion definitely caught my attention. But just because you’re involved with the arts doesn’t make you an artist. So are you indispensible? (Find more thoughts HERE.)

4) Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson. This short 94-page book takes literally less than an hour to read. It tells the story of two mice and two littlepeople who live off cheese in a maze. When their supply runs out, the mice immediate move on in search of new riches. But the smarter and more complex littlepeople have a much harder time adapting to their new circumstances. Throughout the evolutionary process, many valuable lessons are learned. Inspirational and vital words, especially during our industry’s current metamorphosis.

5) Buy In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down. By John P. Kotter. Let’s face it. No matter how good your idea, there will be scores of doubters and naysayers eager to tear it to shreds. Kotter urges that advocates of change initiatives welcome all feedback, even by the fiercest critics. He then outlines the four most common categories of idea squashing (fear mongering, delay, confusion, ridicule), and suggests appropriate and potent responses to the 24 most common attacks.

6) Change the Culture, Change the Game: The Breakthrough Strategy for Energizing Your Organization and Creating Accountability for Results. By Roger Connors and Tom Smith. Though the writing style of this book is a little dry and academic, it offers specific and actionable steps for changing institutional culture. To do this, the entire results pyramid must be altered—from bottom to top—Experiences, Beliefs, Actions, Results. A must read for any leader hoping to help evolve an arts organization or institution.

7) Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization. By Yong Zhao. Claiming that America’s pre-college education system is broken is about the least controversial claim one can make. For evidence, just consider our pathetic standardized test scores when compared with other first world nations. However, Zhao points out that China, South Korea, and other high scoring societies understand that their education system is also broken. Innovation, creativity, and leadership in these nations are disturbingly low. As they increasingly try to emulate aspects of American education, such as creativity and individualism, we ironically embrace ineffective measures that will not serve us well. A fascinating perspective, and one that suggests (among other things) the true potential of arts education.

8) In Defense of Elitism. By William Henry. After hearing a provocative talk by Norman Lebrecht suggesting that classical music become more elitist (my reflections HERE), a colleague suggested I read this. Without a doubt, it is the most controversial text I’ve read in years. Henry, the late NY Times reporter, argues that America has made a clear decision to embrace egalitarianism (the notion that everyone and every idea should be equal) over elitism (celebrating excellence) across the board. In terms of art, he argues that classical music is simply superior to pop music, end of story—a position far away from the egalitarian view I tend to espouse. Addressing everything from educaction to the job market, many of his points didn’t sit right with me, but others were quite compelling. If you want to be challenged, this book won’t disappoint.

9) Start Something that Matters. By Blake Mycoskie. The founder of the for-profit company TOMS, whose business donates a pair of shoes to poverty stricken children for every pair they sell, argues that giving is good business. “If you incorporate giving into your business and life, you will see greater returns and rewards than you ever imagined. So many good things happen to you when giving is integrated into your business—and I’m not even talking about the wonderful results of the giving itself…I’m talking about the business.” Inspirational, and a great position for artists.

10) The 29% Solution: 52 Networking Success Strategies. Though not particularly high-level or groundbreaking, this book provides many helpful networking strategies. It reminds us just how important word-of-mouth marketing is, and urges that hours each week be devoted to this practice. He also stresses that it’s not “net-SITting” or “net-EATing” but “net-WORKing.”

210 Social Innovation Funding Sources

Lisa Canning — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:15:37 +0000

Social Entrepreneur, Social Enterprise and Social Innovation Sources of Funding

Here is a list of 210 social entrepreneur, social enterprise and social innovation funding sources (#socent) that a group member in Impact Entrepreneur posted on Linkedin. This is the most comprehensive list anywhere as far as I know. If you see something missing, you can go to ned.com, join, and then be able to edit the page.

Venture philanthropy, seed stage investing for social entrepreneurs, early stage investing for social innovation

Crowdsourced Funding, Crowdfunding, and Peer-to-Peer Microfinance

Social Entrepreneur & Innovation Friendly Foundations

Top SE College Programs

Social Entrepreneur & Innovation Prize/Awards

Search Tools for Grant Funding

Crowdsourced Funding for Musicians & Bands

Business Model You

Lisa Canning — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:07:05 +0000

I am sitting here with coffee in hand, writing to you all from the French Quarter in beautiful New Orleans. I am at the U.S Association for. Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference (USASBE). Today my colleague from University of Illinois, Joyce Thomas, and I present a paper on our learning model for The IAE.

One of the underpinnings of The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship’s education model is how we use the Business Model Canvas. The Business Model Canvas is an analytical tool described in Business Model Generation. It is a visual template preformatted with the nine blocks of a business model, allowing users to diagram existing business models or conceive new ones. Check out the Canvas as it is used for organizations and for individuals.

In our model we have adapted the Canvas to be a Personal Canvas specifically designed to intuitively and emotionally address all 9 segments allowing creatives to understand business development from right to left. It is slightly different than the personal canvas that is about to be released in Business Model You.

If you are curious to know more, a 79-page, 9.3 MB preview of Business Model You is now available for download.

DOWNLOAD PREVIEW

How the Unconscious Mind Boosts Creative Output

Guest Blogger — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:20:54 +0000

New research finds we’re better able to identify genuinely creative ideas when they’ve emerged from the unconscious mind.

Written By Tom Jacobs

(Hemera/iStockphoto)

Truly creative ideas are both highly prized and, for most of us, maddeningly elusive. If our best efforts produce nothing brilliant, we’re often advised to put aside the issue at hand and give our unconscious minds a chance to work.

Newly published research suggests that is indeed a good idea — but not for the reason you might think.

A study from the Netherlands finds allowing ideas to incubate in the back of the mind is, in a narrow sense, overrated. People who let their unconscious minds take a crack at a problem were no more adept at coming up with innovative solutions than those who consciously deliberated over the dilemma.

But they did perform better on the vital second step of this process: determining which of their ideas was the most creative. That realization provides essential information; without it, how do you decide which solution you should actually try to implement?

Given the value of discerning truly fresh ideas, “we can conclude that the unconscious mind plays a vital role in creative performance,” a research team led by Simone Ritter of the Radboud University Behavioral Science Institute writes in the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity.

In the first of two experiments, 112 university students were given two minutes to come up with creative ideas to an everyday problem: how to make the time spent waiting in line at a cash register more bearable. Half the participants went at it immediately, while the others first spent two minutes performing a distracting task — clicking on circles that appeared on a computer screen. This allowed time for ideas to percolate outside their conscious awareness.

After writing down as many ideas as they could think of, they were asked to choose which of their notions was the most creative. Participants were scored by the number of ideas they came up with, the creativity level of those ideas (as measured by trained raters), and whether their perception of their most innovative idea coincided with that of the raters.

The two groups scored evenly on both the number of ideas generated and the average creativity of those ideas. But those who had been distracted, and thus had ideas spring from their unconscious minds, were better at selecting their most creative concept.

The second experiment, which featured 68 students, was similarly structured. Participants were given a different assignment (“Come up with as many ideas as possible on how students can earn some extra money”); at the end, they were asked to identify both their most and least creative ideas.

The results replicated those of the first experiment. Those who had employed their unconscious minds were better at selecting both their most and least-innovative ideas.

The researchers aren’t sure how to explain their results; they suggest a “spontaneous tagging process” takes place when an idea is generated unconsciously, alerting us to its level of creativity. While admitting this theory is speculative, they note that — whatever its cause — this sort of discernment is “vitally important for everyday creativity.”

True enough. Knowing which ideas belong in the trash bin, and which deserve to be fleshed out further, is a real gift—one that, according to this research, your unconscious mind is poised to provide.

What are the aims of direct subsidies to artists?

Guest Blogger — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:29:13 +0000

Appeared on Jumper on January 8, 2012. Written By Diane Ragsdale

Polly Carl has posted a new piece on HowlRound, A Virtual Theater Movement, in which she remarks on a recent trend in arts philanthropy: increased direct support for artists. This philanthropic trend prompts me to ask, “What are funders hoping to achieve by providing direct subsidies to individual artists?” and to raise the ideas of a colleague from Erasmus, artist/economist Hans Abbing, who wrote a book in 2002 called Why Are Artists Poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts, an excellent summary of the chapters therein you can read here.

Abbing crafts a well structured rationale to which I cannot do justice in this post; however, I will mention a few key points. Abbing suggests that the poverty of artists is structural and relates this to a number of factors, including:

The social construction of ‘art’as something holy, a notion which is contradictory to the notion of commerce and monetary exchange. He writes: “Although the arts earn approximately half of their income in the market, the arts can only maintain their sacred status when people associate the arts with the values of the gift sphere rather than the market sphere.”
While artists do care about money, they tend to care more (than other professionals) about rewards such as personal satisfaction, recognition, and status. He says that most artists have been socialized to this preference and that it is ‘hardly a virtue’. As a manifestation of these preferences, he says that (for example) most artists will work their day jobs only long enough to earn sufficient income to go back to creating artistic work.
Given that artists tend to exchange money for rewards such as personal satisfaction, direct subsidies do not lead to higher incomes for artists. Instead, they may simply provide incentives to more people to become artists, thereby increasing competition, and making it more difficult for any to make a living. As Abbing writes, “Subsidization increases the number of poor artists per hundred thousand inhabitants and thus increases poverty.”

So, what is achieved through subsidies to artists? Here are my own reflections:

Direct grants to artists may make it possible for an artist, at a particular point in his or her career, to make (better or more ambitious) work (by removing the necessity to maintain a day job). Funds may be used to help an artist acquire a critical resource or asset that has longer term returns (a marketable artistic output, knowledge and skills, marketing and promotion, staff, representation, a piece of equipment, a studio, a car, etc.). And often direct grants (particularly if competitve or associated with awards) send a signal to other gatekeepers (funders, donors, producers, press, intermediaries, curators, etc.) that a particular artist is worthy of time and support and may result in more resources and attention flowing to that artist. (It may be worth noting, however, that this ‘signaling’ effect can contribute to the ‘winner-take-all’ phenomenon that sometimes exists in the arts and make it even more difficult for new entrants to emerge and find resources.)

However, it seems to me that direct grants to artists are unlikely to (1) solve the longer-term systemic issue (which Polly also points out in her post) that funding to arts organizations in the US seems to increase flows not to artists but rather to buildings and administrations; and (2) (if we agree with Abbing’s point about subsidies providing incentives more more people to become artists) improve the structural poverty of artists.

It seems that these two issues will require a re-thinking of some of the bedrock ideas of the arts and culture sector in the US, among them: (1) to be legitimate you need grants and to get grants you need nonprofit status and administrators; and (2) aesthetic value and market value are at odds. There are others …

And it perhaps goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) subsidies (grants, gifts, or other forms of support) may not only lead to an increase in the number of people who want to be artists but also the number people who want to form arts organizations. We have incentivized the exponential growth of the arts and culture sector in the US and, despite significant resources (government and private) flowing into the sector on an annual basis, we now find that both artists and the large majority of organizations are poor. There’s a lesson there.

About Diane Ragsdale

Diane is currently attending Erasmus University in Rotterdam (in the Netherlands), where she is researching the impact of economic forces on US nonprofit regional theaters since the 80′s and working towards a PhD in cultural economics. [Read More …]

CHICAGO: Join the IAE and WBEZ @ Catalyst Ranch to Celebrate Self Employment

Lisa Canning — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:20:00 +0000

On Thursday January 26th The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship (IAE) will be teaming up with WBEZ’s new project Front & Center to host a resource fair for the self employed, small businesses, start-ups, and freelancers.

Mini seminars and presentations will run through out the evening at the fabulous Catalyst Ranch located at 656 W Randolph St # 3W in the Polka Room.

Mini Seminar Topics Include:

Entrepreneurship 101
Presented by Institute For Arts Entrepreneurship

Receiving small loans as an independent worker
Presented Accion Micro Lending

Doing your taxes as a freelancer, small business owner, or independent
Presented by Center for Economic Progress

Create. Innovate. Repeat: featuring 4 fabulous presenters, 7 slides and just 5 minutes each to pitch their most innovative business idea to you.
Presented by Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship.

Partial List of Participants Include:

Co-Lab Evanston providers of shared office spaces.

Northside Freelancers Network who can help you connect to the growing Chicago self-employed community. Make sure to ask them about their weekly “freelancers soup” lunch.

Accion will be on hand to discuss how to get a micro-loans to jump start your own business.

Northside Community Bank can help you find funding for your small, local project.

IndieMade is itself a small business. They create websites for independents, artist, small businesses, and start-up projects.

Rockstar CPA offers CPA services specifically geared towards the self-employed, with a specialty in creative projects.

The Law Project offer affordable legal resources for freelancers, independents, and small businesses, such as creating contracts, negotiating pay, etc.

Chicago! Come on out and celebrate self-employment with us! We hope to see you on January 26th.

Fair begins at 6pm @ Catalyst Ranch 656 W Randolph St # 3W, in the Polka Room

Why 2012 will be year of the artist-entrepreneur

Guest Blogger — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:31:27 +0000

By Michael Wolf Dec. 29, 2011, Appeared on GigaOM

While 2011 was a big year for political unrest, another uprising was afoot in the world of content creators and artists. Everywhere you look, artists are taking more control over their own economic well being, in large part because the Internet has enabled them to do so. You see it in all forms of content, from books, to video to music.

A few examples from this year:

e-books: Probably the most active area in large part because there is huge shifts taking place in digital publishing. From former mid-list writers like Barry Eisler to superstars like JK Rowling, writers are increasingly making waves in digital publishing.

Video: The story of the year for artists-as-entrepreneur came at the tail-end, with Louis CK saying no thank you to corporate middlemen and putting his new concert video online for $5 a pop.

Radio/Music: All sorts of independent entrepreneurs are putting audio entertainment online, from the rise of podcast kings like Leo Laporte to a huge number of independents like Adam Carolla and Marc Maron. Music artists are being given freedom too, through new platforms to create and share their music like Soundcloud.

So what is driving this movement towards the artist-entrepreneur that will give it huge momentum in 2012? Here are a few underlying trends:

The distribution chain is collapsing across content verticals

The middleman is under attack on all fronts, whether its in video, music/audio and e-books. As devices like TVs become connected, as books become e-readers and tablets, and music is now digital, the storefront is fast-becoming the entire distribution chain. With e-books it’s Amazon or Apple, with radio it’s iTunes, with video it’s Google/YouTube, Netflix and other upstarts who are investing in original content, or simply direct-to-consumer efforts using web-payment platforms like Paypal.

Louis CK, who created his own site, paid for bandwidth, and used Paypal for payment, captured how many artists are beginning to think when he said in an interview with Bill Simmons that he “didn’t want to cut out the middleman, I just didn’t need one. There wasn’t any reason to have someone there. I just thought make this thing and put it up.”

Content production, distribution and monetization tools are becoming democratized through the web

In e-books, distribution and storefronts have already collapsed into one, but managing distribution across multiple channels is difficult since storefronts are still siloed (Amazon is separate from Apple iBooks, which is walled off from Barnes&Noble, etc). However, companies like Smashwords enable creation and distribution across multiple storefronts, while Vook, post-pivot, is working on SaaS tools to create e-books and manage their distribution, complete with reporting and management dashboards.

In music, artists are starting to embrace sites like Soundcloud to create music and share it, while others direct-to-fan sites like Topspin Media are enabling artists to create commerce sites to sell music in turnkey fashion. And it’s not just music sales, but actual concert tickets. The Pixies used Topspin to sell tickets for a recent concert, utilizing email campaigns and to notify fans and processed the tickets using an iOS app at the door.

With video, big middlemen still dominate, but that is changing as video creation and distribution costs come down in a world of connected devices. As Ryan Lawler wrote in a piece for GigaOM Pro:

“independent content creators stand to gain the most through massive reductions in the cost of recording equipment and editing software, as well as the greater availability of streaming video service on connected devices. They gain new distribution opportunities for their content and greater possibility for monetization. Consider any of the top YouTube video channels, which probably wouldn’t be able to survive in the pay-TV universe but have created thriving businesses due to the cost structure online.”

Generational shifts towards technology savvy-artists

As Matt Mullenweg put in in his New Year’s resolution on GigaOM:

“For a year now, I’ve said scripting is the new literacy. That’s something I strongly believe. In Douglas Rushkoff’s latest book, he talks about “program or be programmed.” That is, if you’re not in control of your inputs, you’re not really in control of your outputs either. You’re just a reactionary force.”

Matt is right, in that scripting is the new literacy, and a growing form of artistic expression. Tech-savvy artists are creating apps and developing sites to put their art into the world. Whether its Matt Inmann creating his work and coding his site at The Oatmeal or young app developers like Robert Nay, artists are becoming coders and vice versa, since, as Mullenweg states, scripting is “new literacy”.

No doubt, the vast majority of economic wealth is still distributed through large corporate media, but as new technologies enable artists to reach consumers directly through push-button creation and distribution, there is a movement afoot. Expect this movement to expand in 2012 as more artists take control of their own economic destinies and become part of the artist-entrepreneur generation.

What can Duke Ellington and Miles Davis teach entrepreneurs?

Guest Blogger — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:12:59 +0000

Written by Chris Arnot

Appeared in guardian.co.uk, Monday 2 January 2012

Duke Ellington leading his band in the 1930s. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Art Blakey are widely recognized as three of the greatest jazz band leaders of the 20th century. But did you ever consider they might be role models for entrepreneurs? In fact, each one of them has lessons to offer on how to inspire creativity and innovation within an established structure, according to Deniz Ucbasaran, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Warwick Business School.

Ucbasaran has been the lead academic on a paper, currently being peer reviewed, entitled Leading Entrepreneurial Teams: Insights from Jazz. It won an award for best paper at the Institute for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship conference in November.

Entrepreneurs are like jazz band leaders, Ucbasaran argues, insofar as they have to “build creative tension and give individuals their heads” while working within the framework of a collective. They have to harness the “disparate egos of highly talented people” and somehow keep them working towards the same goal. “To the uninitiated, jazz seems like chaos, whereas the reality is that it’s very ordered,” she says. “Underpinning the structure is a long tradition of education and practice.”

Like any business, jazz bands have products (concerts, gigs, recordings, etc) that must be marketed and sold, and have a range of stakeholders to satisfy (customers, audiences, peers, critics, etc), says Ucbasaran. “Further, like entrepreneurial managers, the leaders of musical groups must identify and exploit commercial opportunities to survive.”

When asked whether she is a jazz fan, Ucbasaran replies: “I am now.” Her two collaborators on this project have been fans for some time – around 45 years in the case of Professor Mike Humphreys, 62, from Nottingham University Business School. Andy Lockett, 39, professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Warwick, is keen, too. Like Ucbasaran, he recently moved across the Midlands from Nottingham, where this project had its roots.

It began when two master’s students came to see Humphreys and Lockett to ask advice on subjects for dissertations. Both were interested in researching knowledge management and leadership within the creative industries. Neither knew much about jazz, but they responded positively when their tutors suggested that the organization of bands was worth investigation. “It offered them the chance to do something a bit different,” says Lockett. “And they began by doing what we would never have thought of. They posted an advert on MySpace saying: ‘Jazz musicians wanted: apply within’.”

There was an immediate response, and soon the students were doing interviews with some of Britain’s top performers. Among them were trumpeter Guy Barker, pianist Jim Watson and band leader Wynton Marsalis who, it soon emerged, modeled his leadership style on Art Blakey. “Others would refer back to Duke Ellington or say ‘this was the way that Miles Davis did it’,” Lockett recalls.

He and Humphreys looked at the transcripts and became convinced that the subject was worthy of further investigation. So, in collaboration with Ucbasaran, they began looking at how three giants of jazz ran their bands and the lessons they offered for business leaders. “We used all sorts of archival data, including biographies, autobiographies, press cuttings and sleeve notes,” Lockett explains, “and came up with three distinctive styles of leadership.”

The paper that so impressed the conference of the Institute for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship is the second to emerge from that research. The first, Sensemaking and Sensegiving: Stories of Jazz Leadership, has already been published in a journal called Human Relations.

A recurring theme in stories about Ellington, it seems, was his talent for motivation and inspiration. But it was coupled with what the authors call “a laissez-faire attitude towards the behaviour of his musicians”. He saw their foibles as the price to be paid for having access to their talents. For Ucbasaran that raises questions for entrepreneurs. “If you have a creative process, you have to have talented employees. But talent is not always easy to manage. To what extent do you accommodate wayward behaviour? You have to give them freedom and space, but direct them in subtle ways so that the end result comes together harmoniously.”

Ellington’s laid-back approach meant that he kept a cadre of long-serving core musicians together over several decades. Davis, however, rarely chose musicians who knew each other. As the paper puts it, “he felt that prior relationships might lead to the development of routines which hampered innovation and improvisation”. So creative tension was his over-riding priority? Lockett nods. “He was less concerned about stability than the other leaders. If it worked, it would be brilliant. If not, he’d disband the team and start again.”

Blakey was much more of a father figure, he says. “His speciality was bringing on young musicians. And he was much more concerned about the decorum and behaviour of his team than the other two.” Which of the three offers the best guidance to the entrepreneurs of today? “It’s impossible to say. All three offer lessons that can be taken on board.”

In some businesses more than others, perhaps. Ucbasaran concedes that the insights from jazz are more pertinent in the cultural industries and “hi-tech businesses with a rapid pace of change”.

The kind of businesses, indeed, that have made it more likely that the great jazz music of the 20th century is listened to in the 21st century on iPods rather than on vinyl.

Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts

Lisa Canning — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:06:11 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

I am writing to let you know about an exciting new initiative and to ask that you forward this information to your professional networks. Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts (ISSN 2164-7747), the first ever peer-reviewed research journal in the field of arts entrepreneurship, will be published twice yearly beginning July 2012 in an online format.

The mission of Artivate is to disseminate new thinking and perspectives on arts entrepreneurship theory, practice, and pedagogy. The editors, Linda Essig, director of Arizona State University’s p.a.v.e program in arts entrepreneurship, and Gary Beckman of North Carolina State University’s program in entrepreneurial studies in the arts, are committed to publishing research-based articles and case studies of interest to scholars, artists, and students in the areas of entrepreneurship theory as applied to the arts; arts entrepreneurship education; arts management; arts and creative industries; public policy and the arts; the arts in community and economic development; nonprofit leadership; social entrepreneurship in or using the arts; evaluation and assessment; and public practice in the arts. Artivate’s diverse international editorial board includes Andrew Taylor (UW-Madison), Margaret Wyszomirski (OSU), Bill Gartner (Clemson), Lynn Book (Wake Forest), Christina Hong (Queensland University of Technology) , Ian David Moss (Fractured Atlas), Diane Ragsdale (Erasmus University), Paul van Zuilenberg (University of the Free State), Gordon Shockley (ASU) and others.

I paste below the call for submissions, due February 15. You may also visit the journal site at http://www.artivate.org Please forward this announcement to your professional networks, as appropriate.

Best wishes,

Professor Linda Essig
director, p.a.v.e program in arts entrepreneurship
Co-editor, Artivate.org
ASU School of Theatre and Film
PO Box 872002
Tempe AZ 85287
http://theatrefilm.asu.edu/initiatives/pave/

Call for Submissions

Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts is accepting submissions of articles for publication in its inaugural issue to be published July 2012. The first journal to focus on the emergent field of arts entrepreneurship, Artivate seeks works of original scholarship in the following areas: entrepreneurship theory as applied to the arts; arts entrepreneurship education; arts management; arts and creative industries; public policy and the arts; the arts in community and economic development; nonprofit leadership; social entrepreneurship in or using the arts; evaluation and assessment in and of the field; public practice in the arts. The editors are particularly interested in articles that actively link theory with practice in ways that will be of interest and impact to the broad cross-section of Artivate’s readership. Self-reflective studies from arts entrepreneurs and empirical research from scholars are equally welcome.

Artivate is a peer-reviewed online publication for an academic and practitioner audience. Editorial board members are affiliated with universities, foundations, and arts services organizations on three continents. The co-editors are Linda Essig, director of the p.a.v.e. program in arts entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, and Gary Beckman, director of entrepreneurial studies in the arts at North Carolina State University.
The editors are interested in supporting the growth of our nascent discipline and are committed to publishing at least one debut article from an emerging scholar in each issue. First-time authors are welcome to seek advice from the editors in advance of submission.

Submissions should be between 4,000 and 10,000 words in length. Articles must be submitted in a word format (doc or docx) with any figures or illustrations submitted either within the word document or as separate jpg files. Articles will be evaluated in a blind process so the articles themselves should include no identifying headers, footers, watermarks, or specific content (e.g. “at Jurassic University where I teach arts entrepreneurship”).

Submissions for consideration must be received via email no later than February 15, 2012. Email submissions simultaneously to linda.essig@asu.edu and gdbeckma@ncsu.edu

Happy 2012!

Lisa Canning — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:25:04 +0000

Dear Reader,

This blog has been an incredible labor of love. My labor has come from my deep desire to see the world of the arts evolve and change so that artists have a new voice and can develop and be recognized for their entrepreneurial talents by contribute their gifts in new ways.

As we begin our 7th year, I look back and realize that I have persevered relentlessly over the past 6 years because I believe so much in the power of artistry to change the world as we know it. I have invested a significant amount of my time and money into it, as a result, in hopes that the content here can develop shared language, create new meaning and be a useful resource for you to use in your entrepreneurial and creative development. I hope I am achieving my goal.

I wish you all a wonderful 2012 filled with hope, promise and prosperity.

Lisa Canning