[MUSIC]
So in this video we're going to be talking about entrepreneurship, and
why musicians make great entrepreneurs generally speaking.
So I'm joined with Panos Panay.
And he is the Vice President for Innovation and
Strategy with Berklee College of Music.
So thank you, Panos, for being here today.
>> Thank you.
>> So what is entrepreneurship?
I feel like that's a term that's kind of tossed around a lot.
And some people know what it means, most people don't.
So tell us, what is entrepreneurship?
>> Well, for one, it's a very complicated word and impossible to spell.
>> It is impossible to spell.
[LAUGH] >> But for
me entrepreneurship is more of a state of mind and a bias towards action and
willingness to be creative, to experiment, to fail.
Interestingly the original application of the word,
actually was first used for the concept of a music promoter back in France.
And it's something that fascinated me,
especially as I've been going through this journey.
So for me, I don't think there's such a thing as a prototypical entrepreneur.
Again it's an act of wanting to create something of value.
But I don't see that as any different from the desire to
express something as a creative person.
We tend to use the word entrepreneurship here at Berkelee,
in its far broader application, rather than the very narrow definition.
And similar to the way that we actually see the concept of being a musician.
We don't just think of it as an act of performing, but
more as a way of relating to the world in a fairly unique way.
>> I've taken your creativity and entrepreneurship course,
I've gone through it.
And I love when you talk about kind of how musicians already have a lot of the key
components and the makings of someone who might be considered an entrepreneur.
So can you talk a little bit more about that and
kind of this creativity that you're discussing now?
>> Well, I went through that journey myself.
So I graduated from Berkelee, I came here to be a musician.
And I ended up pursuing a business path and starting my own business in Sonicbids.
And for years, to be honest with you,
I sort of ran away from the fact that I was a musician.
And it wasn't until I came to Berkeley to start the Institute for
Creative Entrepreneurship that I, sort of though a lot about my background.
And I did conclude that, actually, I always thought as a musician.
I like to say that if you're a musician you can't perform music unless
you're a good listener.
If you are a traditional prototypical entrepreneur,
then the ability to be hyperaware and
observant of the environment around you and the changes that happen.
So you can apply the musical metaphor, right,
the chord changes onto the entrepreneurial journey.
So unless you're hypersensitive to what's happening around you,
you won't be successful in either discipline.
>> And that goes for creating music and
also being aware of the market that you're in a group.
>> Without a doubt.
>> Right.
>> And musicians are extremely intuitive.
Any musician on any stage has this sixth sense, if you will, of what's going on
around them, and how the audience feeling at that particular time.
That is the same sense that you use as an entrepreneur in terms of gauging
market demand.
How your customers feel about something.
But then another area that fascinates me is this concept of collaboration.
We often think, at least on the business side, that well,
if you just define the roles that you need.
Then you just go and hire the people that play those parts and everything is fine.
But that's not quite the case.
I think a far more applicable analog to this is actually the way
that musicians go about collaborating and making music.
It's both multi-disciplinary, but it's also extremely intuitive.
And there's an inherent trust involved in the music making process.
I trust that you know what you're doing, and
that you trust that I know what I'm doing.
But more importantly, we trust that as a unit, whether it's a duo,
a trio, a quartet, whatever it may be, right?
That as a unit, we will create something interesting together,
even if we're just meeting for the first time.
There's that unspoken understanding and trust, that to some degree
the end product that we will create together will be interesting.
Because I trust that you're going to bring something unique to this conversation.
In the entrepreneurial process, especially in the early days of something.
That's a far better way of selecting who you work with,
rather than just sort of writing on a sheet of paper.
Well, I need an accountant, I need a salesperson, I need a marketing person,
I need a coder.
Often, some of the best companies on the planet were started because two
people just kind of quote vibed.
So in thinking a lot about this I feel that,
in today's world where change is constant.
Thinking a lot more like a musician when it comes to concepts of paying
attention to the environment.
Listening to your instincts with respect to who you collaborate with,
thinking quickly and improvisationally.
Being able to quote own the stage and present an effective argument,
which is what a musician intuitively does every night they get on a stage.
They convince an audience of a new reality, right?
Those instincts, for me, are far more applicable to the entrepreneurial
journey than traditional sort of business think, if you will.
Life is not that neat, it's not about writing a perfect business plan and
executing flawlessly against that.
I like to use the analogy of gardening versus architecting something.
You're much more of a gardener when you're running a business
than you're an architect.
If you have this trust,
then the concept of a leader is actually continuously evolving based on situations,
similar to the way that musicians interact in a live setting on stage.
>> Yeah, absolutely, and I think being aware of, as a leader,
I think being aware of your strengths and your weaknesses really play into that.
So that you can surround yourself with people who can augment
the things that maybe you struggle with.
So that you can really begin to trust those people and
create something really special.
>> Yeah, another area that I've been talking actually quite a bit about is
that, failure,
which is the big f-word in entrepreneurship,
is an endemic part of the music making process.
Even if you're the world's most accomplished musician, the first time that
you try anything you will fail, and you accept it as part of the learning journey.
As a matter of fact, the only way to master anything,
is to fail time and again.
For some reason in our careers, or in our business endeavors, if you will.
We tend to associate failure with an end, rather than as a step to a process.
>> As an iterative process.
>> So can you give some concrete, tangible advice for these kinds of
burgeoning artists on how to actually take these skills that they may already have.
And really transfer them over to the business side of managing a band,
of doing the publicity for their band.
All that kind of stuff that the business side of things entails.
>> Yeah, I would say don't separate the two.
Look at them as two critical parts of your ability to
bring what's inside of you, outside.
And that the quote business side of you,
is actually no different than the creative side of you.
We are one person, right?
And you shouldn't sort of say, well now I'm putting my business hat on and
I'm leaving my creativity aside.
Actually, what makes you successful as a musician is the very thing
that's going to make you successful as an entrepreneur.
Also, don't approach the business side, if there is such a thing as
something that's the equivalent of chewing bitter greens.
>> [LAUGH] >> Right, if you approach it as part of
your creative expression, and that it's something fun.
Just as fun as creating music but you're creating, quote, music in a different way.
That just as you get enjoyment from standing in front of an audience and
moving them, right?
Because of the power of what you're communicating to them through your music.
If you apply that and you say, well,
I'm going to enjoy moving my prospective consumers or
customers in the same way, but I'm using different levers.
You'll enjoy the process a lot better.
And also understanding that unless you do that,
barring maybe the desire to be a hobbyist.
Then you will never have the ability to accomplish what you set out to accomplish.
Which I think for
any creative person, it's the ability to communicate with others.
And bring this gift that's inside of you to them and
moving them because you're doing that.
>> I absolutely agree with everything that you're saying.
I think that it deepens your understanding of your fans and
it deepens their understanding of you.
>> Yeah, I think that it's important that whatever you do,
that it feels consistent with your values and
with your authentic self, if you will.
So I think it's important to, not approach this if, well,
I just have to be great at everything.
I have to learn how to crowdfund.
And I have to learn how to use Twitter, and Facebook, and
Pinterest, and Instagram, and so forth.
Find those channels that are authentic and feel real to you.
Work at them, because look, nothing is going to feel natural the first time.
Just like again, going back to your musical instincts the first time that you
got on stage was probably the most terrifying thing ever.
And just like the first time that you picked up the guitar, or played the piano,
or programmed Ableton, or whatever maybe, right?
So that's my advice to people starting out.
But critical that you try, that you understand that this is just
as important if you will as whatever, learning your scales,
practicing whatever vocals you're doing.
It's just part of the same thing.
>> That is excellent advice.
So is there any kind of last idea that you want to share?
>> Sure, work with people that are interesting and
people that you have fun working with.
I've learned in my career that the most difficult decisions,
but the most important decisions you make,
are not about money, they're not about products.
They're not about songs, they're not about where you live, I mean, it's not all that.
[LAUGH] Actually they tend to be about the people that surround yourself with.
Going back to the first thing we discussed, it's trust.
So to play with people and to create something enjoyable and different,
that needs to be the first thing that's present.
>> Absolutely, I completely and 100% agree.
[LAUGH] I want to make sure that I can trust my musicians,
that I can trust my producer, my manager, anybody that I work with.
I think that's the number one thing that I look for,
is this someone who shares my vision, and I trust that they have my vision at heart.
So thank you so much, Panos, for joining us today,
taking time out of your busy, busy schedule, and thanks.
>> Thank you.